Aftermath Privacy Policy

Updated: November 9, 2023

Aftermath (“we” or “us”) values your privacy. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes how we collect, use, and disclose information that we obtain about users of our websites, ouraftermath.org (collectively, the “Sites”), and the services available through our Sites, as well as any other services we may provide or activities in which we and you may engage (the “Services”).  

By visiting the Sites and using our Services, you agree that your information will be handled as described in this Policy.  Your use of our Services, and any dispute over privacy, is subject to this Policy and our Terms of Use, including its applicable limitations on damages and the resolution of disputes. Our Terms of Use are incorporated by reference into this Policy. 

What information does Aftermath collect?

We collect information directly from you, from non-affiliated entities, and automatically as you use our Sites and Services.  The type of information that we collect from you depends on your particular interaction with our Sites and Services as set forth below. 

Information you provide to us. We offer Services on our Sites as well as off them, certain of which require you to provide us with information, including the following: 

Registration. To register with us, we collect information from you such as the following: name, address, zip code, telephone number, occupation, age, date of birth, email address, and in some circumstances, social media handles/usernames (collectively, your “Basic Demographic Info”). 

Sponsors, Volunteers, Influencers and Ambassadors.  If you are interested, or we reach out to you to gauge your interest, in being or connecting us with a donor, sponsor, influencer, ambassador, or volunteer, we may collect Basic Demographic Info. 
Communications and Customer Service. When you email us, call us or otherwise contact us, we maintain records about our interactions and communications with you, including the nature of the request, information provided, and Basic Demographic Info.

Donations or Purchases.  When making a donation or a purchase from us, we collect information such as Basic Demographic Information and donation amount and payment information (which may include credit card information or other information you provide us in order for us to process your donation or purchase) (collectively, your “Payment Info”).

Doctors and Medical Professionals. When doctors or medical professionals become involved in our Services, we may collect their Basic Demographic Info as well as information regarding their practices, such as their practice areas, hospital or medical practice affiliations, accolades, experience, and educational and professional backgrounds (“Medical Professional Info”). 

Survivor Information. When survivors of mass shootings, or family members of survivors or victims of mass shootings, become involved in our Services, we may collect Basic Demographic Information, as well as their stories and experience (“Stories”). Additionally, we may collect your location so that it can be used to connect to your local government representatives.

Petitions. We have posted petitions for signature online, and collect the Basic Demographic Info applicable to those petitions and the websites that host them. Additionally, we may collect your location so that it can be used to connect to your local government representatives.

Mail. All (or at least most) mail we receive gets photographed by the United States Postal Service and sent to us as a digest, so if you send us mail, any information on the outside of the envelopes (such as your name and address) may get photographed and saved to the digest we receive.

Government-related Contacts. To the extent we may be in contact with government employees or staff members as part of our activities, we may receive or collect Basic Demographic Info from you (which we may then be saved on Google Drive).


Information we automatically collect from you.

Usage Data. We may automatically collect information about your use of our Services through cookies, local storage, analytics tools and other technologies, such as your mobile device ID, location information, device name and model, operating system type, name and version, the length of time that you are using our Services on our Site (“Site Services”) and your activities within our Site Services (“Usage Data”).  We may combine Usage Data with other information that we have collected about you.  Please see the section “Cookies and Other Tracking Mechanisms” below for more information.

How does Aftermath use information? Our uses of information collected include:

Providing Our Services. To provide and maintain our Services; to enable users to make donations; to enable users to make purchases and/or obtain educational materials; to provide troubleshooting; and for other customer service and support purposes, such as responding to inquiries about volunteering with Aftermath.


Improving Our Services. To improve our Services; to develop new features, products, or services; and to perform technical operations, such as updating software.


Communications. To communicate with you about your account and use of our Services via email, including to send you updates; to respond to your inquiries; to and for other informational purposes.  We may also send you notifications by text message if you have opted in to receive them.  

Marketing. To provide you with news and newsletters, special offers, promotions, and other information we think may interest you; and for other marketing or promotional purposes.


Personalizing Content and Ads. We may use the information we collect about you to personalize the information and content we display to you, including marketing, promotional and sponsored content, as well as providing you with more relevant ads. 

Research and Analytics. To better understand how users access and use our Services, and for other research and analytical purposes, such as to evaluate and improve our Services and business operations and to develop additional products, services and features. 

Protecting Rights and Interests. To protect the safety, rights, property, or security of Aftermath, the Services, any third party, or the general public; to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues; to prevent or stop activity that we consider to be, or to pose a risk of being, an illegal, unethical, or legally actionable activity; to use as evidence in litigation; and to enforce this Policy or our Terms of Use.  


Legal Compliance.  To comply with applicable legal or regulatory obligations, including as part of a judicial proceeding; to respond to a subpoena, warrant, court order, or other legal process; or as part of an investigation or request, whether formal or informal, from law enforcement or a governmental authority.


General Business Operations.  Where appropriate for the administration of our general business, accounting, recordkeeping and legal functions.  As part of our routine business administration, such as employee training, compliance auditing and similar internal activities.

How does Aftermath share the information I’ve provided?

We may share your information, including personal information, as follows:

Users. Certain user activity within the Services or on the Sites may be viewable by other users.


Service Providers. We may disclose the information we collect from you to vendors, service providers, contractors, or agents who perform functions on our behalf. For example, we utilize, or have utilized, Venmo, Eventbrite, Slack, Google Drive, Gmail, Square, Stripe, Squarespace, and GiveSmart to process payments or donations, and store information, and therefore those organizations may have been provided with the applicable Payment Info, and Basic Demographic Info. We have utilized change.org and GiveSmart to post online petitions, and therefore those organizations may have been provided with any Basic Demographic Info (and any other info) that you provided in relation to such petitions. We have also stored Basic Demographic Info, as well as Medical Professional Info, using Google Drive and Squarespace. We use Wintrust Bank for banking, so if you have submitted an expense reimbursement, they will send you a check (and therefore must have your Basic Demographic Info in order to do so).


Please visit the websites of the aforementioned organizations and products to view their privacy polices and learn how they store and utilize information.

Business Transfers. If we are acquired by or merged with another organization, if some or all of our assets are transferred to another organization, or as part of a bankruptcy proceeding, we may transfer the information we have collected from you to the other organization.


Protecting Rights and Interests. We may disclose your information to protect the safety, rights, property, or security of Aftermath, the Sites, any third party, or the general public; to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues; to prevent or stop activity which we, in our sole discretion, may consider to be, or to pose a risk of being, an illegal, unethical, or legally actionable activity; to use as evidence in litigation; and to enforce this Policy or Terms of Use.  


Legal Compliance. We may disclose your information to comply with applicable legal or regulatory obligations, including as part of a judicial proceeding; in response to a subpoena, warrant, court order, or other legal process; or as part of an investigation or request, whether formal or informal, from law enforcement or a government official.


Aggregate and De-Identified Information. We may disclose aggregate, anonymous, or de-identified information about users for analytics, research, compliance, or other purposes.


Meetings. We may record meetings using Zoom or Google Meet, so any information provided during those meetings may be saved on those platforms.


Social Media. To the extent that we are in contact with you, or reach out to you, or you reach out to us, via any form of social media (such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Slack, etc.), any information on your social media accounts or handles, or any information you provide us via that contact or interaction may be saved by those social media platforms.


Text or email. We may also be in contact with you via email or text, in which case any information we exchange may be saved by the applicable email platforms (we use Gmail) or cell phone providers.



Cookies and Other Tracking Mechanisms

We and our service providers may use cookies, pixels, java script, and other tracking mechanisms to track information about your use of our Sites. We or our service providers may combine this information with other information, including personal information, we collect from you. 

Cookies. A cookie is a small file that a website may send to your browser and which may then be stored on your hard drive. Our Sites use cookies to simulate a continuous connection. Cookies also let us “remember” information about your preferences and session and allow you to move within areas of our Sites without reintroducing yourself. 

There are two types of cookies: session and persistent cookies.

Session Cookies. Session cookies exist only during an online session. They disappear from your device when you close your browser or turn off your device. We use session cookies to allow our systems to uniquely identify you during a session or while you are logged into the Sites and Services. This allows us to process your online transactions and requests and verify your identity, after you have logged in, as you move through our Sites and Services.

Persistent Cookies. Persistent cookies remain on your device after you have closed your browser or turned off your device. We use persistent cookies to track aggregate and statistical information about user activity, and to display advertising both on our Sites, Services, and on third-party sites.

Disabling Cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but if you prefer, you can edit your browser options to block them in the future. The Help portion of the toolbar on most browsers will tell you how to prevent your computer from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies altogether. Visitors to our Sites and Services who disable cookies will be able to browse certain areas of the Sites, but some features may not function.

Clear GIFs, pixel tags and other technologies. Clear GIFs are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies. In contrast to cookies, which are stored on your computer’s hard drive, clear GIFs are embedded invisibly on web and app pages. We may use clear GIFs (a.k.a. web beacons, web bugs or pixel tags), in connection with our Sites and Services to, among other things, track the activities of our Sites’ visitors and app users, help us manage content, and compile statistics about our Sites’ usage. We and our service providers also use clear GIFs in HTML e-mails to our customers, to help us track e-mail response rates, identify when our e-mails are viewed, and track whether our e-mails are forwarded.

Analytics Performed by Service Providers. We use non-affiliated analytics companies, for example Google Analytics (see privacy policy and opt-out), to evaluate use of our Sites. We use these tools to help us understand use of, and to improve, our Sites, performance, ad campaigns, and user experiences. These entities may use cookies and other tracking technologies, such as web beacons or local storage objects (LSOs), to perform their services.  

Do-Not-Track. Currently, our systems do not recognize browser “do-not-track” requests. You may, however, disable certain tracking as discussed in this section (e.g., by disabling cookies); you also may opt-out of targeted advertising by following the instructions in the Interest-based Advertising section. 

Interest-based Advertising 

To display more relevant advertising on our Services, to manage our advertising on third-party sites and online services and to measure and improve our ads and marketing efforts, we may work with third-party ad companies, ad exchanges, channel partners, measurement services and ad networks—for example, Facebook and Google.  

These entities may use cookies, web beacons or other tracking technologies to collect information about your use of the Services and your activities across other websites and online services, which they may associate with cookies and persistent identifiers, in order to provide you with more relevant advertising or other content on our Services and other websites or services, and to measure the performance of such advertising. Their activities and your choices regarding their use of your information is subject to and set out in their own policies. 

Custom Audiences and Matching. We may disclose certain information (such as your email address) with non-affiliated entities—such as Facebook (more info on Facebook Custom Audience here or see above) so that we can better target ads and content to our Users, and others with similar interests on these non-affiliated entities’ platforms or networks (“Custom Audiences”). We may also work with third-party ad networks and marketing platforms that enable us and other participants to target ads to Custom Audiences submitted by us and others As noted above, you may also control how Facebook and other non-affiliated entities display certain ads to you, as explained further in their respective privacy policies.

More Info and Choices. You can also obtain more information about targeted advertising and how to opt-out of interest-based ads by many third-party ad networks at: www.aboutads.info/choices (Digital Advertising Alliance).  Opting out of participating ad networks does not opt you out of being served advertising. You may continue to receive generic or “contextual” ads on our Services. You may also continue to receive targeted ads on other websites, from companies that do not participate in the above programs. Please note, that many opt-out mechanisms are cookie based; so, if you delete cookies, block cookies or use another device, your opt-out will no longer be effective.  

Third-Party Websites 

Our Sites and Services may contain links to third-party websites. Any access to and use of such linked websites is not governed by this Policy, but instead is governed by the privacy policies of those third-party websites. We are not responsible for the information practices of such third-party websites.

Your Choices

We may send periodic promotional emails to you. You may opt out of such communications by following the opt-out instructions contained in the email, use our contact form, or write to us at: Aftermath, 512 Chestnut St, Unit 313, Winnetka IL 60093. Please note that it may take up to ten (10) business days for us to process opt-out requests. If you opt out of receiving promotional emails about recommendations or other information we think may interest you, we may still send you emails about your account or any Services you have requested or received from us.
How can I update or change my information? 

To update or change your information, please use use our contact form, or write to us at: Aftermath, 512 Chestnut St, Unit 313, Winnetka IL 60093.

How does Aftermath secure my personal information?

Please be aware that no data security measures can guarantee 100% security. You should take steps to protect against unauthorized access to your password, phone, and computer by, among other things, signing off after using a shared computer, choosing a robust password that nobody else knows or can easily guess, and keeping your log-in and password private. We are not responsible for any lost, stolen, or compromised passwords, or for any activity on your account via unauthorized password activity.

Children Under 13

Our Services are not designed for children under 13. If we discover that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will delete such information from our systems.

Will this Privacy Policy change?

This Policy is current as of the Updated Date set forth above. We may change this Policy from time to time, so please be sure to check back periodically.  If there are changes or additions to this Privacy Policy, we will post those changes here. 

Have a question regarding our Privacy Policy? Contact us through our use our contact form, or write to us at: Aftermath, 512 Chestnut St, Unit 313, Winnetka IL 60093