Privacy Policy of Idealized Science Institute
Effective Date: Mar 29, 2026
This website is owned and operated by Idealized Science Institute ("we," "us," or "our"). Our mission is to help teachers and students engage in authentic scientific practice by providing educational resources, training, and programs that foster scientific dialogue and inquiry. Idealized Science Institute is committed to honoring the privacy of all those with whom we work, including educators, students, donors, volunteers, and visitors to our website (www.idealizedscience.org, the "Site").
This Privacy Policy outlines our information gathering, use, and dissemination practices applicable to our Site and information provided by scholarship applicants, program participants, and other users. We encourage you to read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your information. We reserve the right to modify or amend this Privacy Policy at any time without notice by posting such changes on our Site, with any such change effective immediately upon posting.
Personal Information We Collect
Information You Provide to Us
You may provide us with information, including personally identifiable information ("Personal Information"), when performing actions such as:
Subscribing to our newsletter or email list
Registering for events, conferences, or programs
Making a donation
Applying for a scholarship
Requesting educational materials or resources
Contacting us with questions or feedback
Volunteering or mentoring with our programs
Purchasing items or registering for programs
In connection with these activities, you may be asked to provide your name, email address, physical address, phone number, school or institutional affiliation, and other relevant information. For scholarship applications, we may also collect additional personal, academic, and educational records necessary to evaluate your application.
All payment information for donations or purchases is processed by our third-party payment processor. Idealized Science Institute does not directly access or retain your payment card information.
Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our Site, we automatically collect certain information about your visit, including your Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, operating system, geographic location, referral source, length of visit, page views, and website navigation paths. We use this information to help diagnose problems with our server, administer our Site, analyze trends, track user movement on the Site, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use to improve the Site and your experience.
Use of Cookies
Our Site uses cookies to enhance your experience. Cookies are small pieces of information transferred to your computer that perform certain functions such as saving your preferences and ensuring a consistent experience. You may modify your browser settings to decline cookies; however, some areas of our Site may not function properly if you do so. Cookies do not contain personal or private information.
We may use analytics services, such as Google Analytics, to help us understand how visitors use our Site. The information collected is anonymous and used only for statistical purposes. You may prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out browser add-on, available here.
How We Use Your Information
We use your information, including Personal Information, to:
Respond to your inquiries and requests
Communicate with you about your account, submissions, or transactions
Process scholarship applications and notify applicants of decisions
Process donations and issue acknowledgments
Register you for events, conferences, and programs
Send newsletters, mailings, and information about our initiatives and events
Improve our Site, programs, and services
Perform statistical, demographic, and marketing analysis of our users
Personalize content and experiences on our Site
From time to time, your Personal Information may be used to contact you with fundraising campaigns, promotional materials, newsletters, or other information that may be of interest to you.
How We Share Your Information
Your right to privacy is important to us. Unless specified otherwise in this Privacy Policy, we will not sell, rent, loan, or otherwise share any personally identifying information you provide with any individual or organization.
We do not sell, share, or otherwise transfer your Personal Information to any third party, except for sharing your Personal Information with service providers, website hosting partners, payment processors, and other trusted third parties who assist us in operating our Site, conducting our programs, awarding scholarships, processing payments and donations, and providing requested services. These parties are obligated to keep your information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which it was disclosed.
Donor information, whether obtained online or offline, is not sold or shared with third parties for marketing purposes. Lists of our donors are not available to the public, except as may be published in an annual report or as required by law.
We may also release your Personal Information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our Site policies, respond to a court order, subpoena, or search warrant, or protect our or others' rights, property, or safety.
Scholarship Applicants
If you apply for a scholarship through the Idealized Science Institute, we will collect the Personal Information necessary to evaluate your application, which may include your name, contact information, academic records, educational history, and other relevant materials. This information will be used solely for the purpose of evaluating and processing your scholarship application and will be shared only with individuals involved in the scholarship review process. Scholarship applicant information will be kept confidential and will not be sold or shared with third parties for marketing purposes.
Your Choices and Rights
Limit the Personal Information You Provide
You can access and use the Site without providing any Personal Information or by limiting the Personal Information you provide. If you choose not to provide certain information, you may not be able to use certain functionality of the Site or receive certain services from us.
Opt-Out of Communications
At any time, you can choose to no longer receive solicitation or promotional emails or newsletters from us by unsubscribing. Every email communication we send includes an unsubscribe link that allows you to opt out by following the instructions provided.
Access, Correction, and Deletion
If you wish to request a copy of your Personal Information that we have stored, request a correction of any inaccuracies in your Personal Information, or request that your Personal Information be removed from our databases, please contact us using the contact information below.
Children Under the Age of 16
We recognize that students, including minors, may interact with our Site and programs. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 16 without first obtaining parental or legal guardian consent. If you are under the age of 16, you may not submit any Personal Information through the Site unless and until consent is provided by your parent or legal guardian. If you have reason to believe that a child under the age of 16 has provided Personal Information to us without the consent of the child's parent or legal guardian, please contact us and we will take steps to delete that information from our databases.
Security
Our Site uses industry-standard security measures to protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. Information collected through the Site, including Personal Information, is stored in a secure database accessible only by authorized personnel. All information provided to us is transmitted using encryption technology. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee the security of all information or transmissions, as no data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure.
Third-Party Websites
Our Site may contain links to other websites operated by third parties. When you click on one of these links, you are entering another website for which Idealized Science Institute has no responsibility. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of all such websites, as their policies may differ from ours. Inclusion of these links on our Site does not imply endorsement of those websites.
Your Consent
By using our Site, you consent to this Privacy Policy. Your continued use of our Site following the posting of changes to this Privacy Policy will mean you accept those changes.
Contact Us
We welcome comments and questions on this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the data practices of Idealized Science Institute, or your experience using this Site, please contact us at:
Idealized Science Institute 78 Fawnvue Drive McKees Rocks, PA 15136
Email: bwargo@idealizedscience.org, President
Last Revised: Mar 29, 2026