Privacy Policy

Document	Privacy Policy
Organization	DISHA USA Texas — Dharmic Initiative Serving Hindu Americans
EIN	88-3848101 · 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Corporation
Contact	info@dishausa.org | www.dishausa.org
Effective Date	May 1, 2025
Last Updated	April 30, 2026
Jurisdiction	State of Texas, United States of America

1. Introduction

DISHA USA ("DISHA," "we," "us," or "our") is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered in the State of Texas, dedicated to promoting civic engagement within the Hindu-American community. We are committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of everyone who interacts with our organization — including visitors to our website (www.dishausa.org), participants in our events, volunteers using the DISHA Connect mobile application, and donors.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, how we protect it, with whom we share it, and the rights you have regarding your personal data. By using our website, mobile application, or participating in our programs, you agree to the practices described in this Policy.

Because DISHA USA operates a mobile application (DISHA Connect) that involves voter file data and contact matching technology, this Policy includes specific sections addressing those privacy-sensitive activities.

2. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to:

• The DISHA USA website at www.dishausa.org and any related subdomains
• The DISHA Connect mobile application (iOS and Android)
• Email communications and event registrations
• Donation and contribution processing
• Volunteer onboarding and engagement programs
• The DISHA USA administrative web portal (for authorized staff and coordinators only)

This Policy does not apply to third-party websites or services that we may link to. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you access through our platforms.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Information You Provide Directly

We collect personal information you voluntarily provide when you:

• Register for events, webinars, or programs
• Sign up for our newsletter or email list
• Make a donation or financial contribution
• Contact us by email or through our website contact form
• Volunteer with DISHA USA or apply to join our programs
• Register for and use the DISHA Connect mobile application

This information may include: full name, email address, phone number, mailing address, and payment information (processed securely by third-party payment processors — we do not store raw payment card data).

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, we may collect:

• IP address and general geographic location (city/region level)
• Browser type and operating system
• Pages visited, time spent, and navigation patterns
• Referring URLs (how you found our site)
• Device type (desktop, tablet, mobile)

We use standard web analytics tools for this purpose. This data is collected in aggregate and is used only to improve our website and programs.

3.3 DISHA Connect App — Special Privacy Disclosures

a) Contact List Access

When you first open DISHA Connect, you will be asked to grant the app access to your device's contact list. This permission is required for the core functionality of the app — matching your contacts against the DISHA voter file to identify Hindu voters you may know.

• Contact matching is performed entirely on your device (on-device processing)
• Phone numbers from your contact list are converted to one-way cryptographic hashes (SHA-256) on your device before any comparison occurs
• Raw contact names, phone numbers, or other contact details are never transmitted to DISHA USA servers
• Only the results of the matching process (which voter IDs matched) are associated with your volunteer account
• You may revoke contact list access at any time through your device's Settings application

b) Voter File Data

DISHA USA maintains a voter file database for counties in which we operate. This database is sourced from publicly available voter registration records obtained from county and state election authorities. The voter file contains:

• Voter name, registered address, precinct, and ward information
• Phone numbers where publicly available or separately obtained
• A "Hindu voter" designation assigned by DISHA based on name analysis and community submiited data via the app which is reviewed. As with any analysis this categorization is based on best effort
• Early voting confirmation status (updated by DISHA coordinators during election periods from publicly released voting records)

Volunteers using DISHA Connect see only the voter records that match their personal contacts — they do not have access to the full voter file database.

c) Outreach Activity Tracking

DISHA Connect logs outreach activity to help volunteers track their civic engagement efforts. Specifically, the app records:

• That a text message was initiated to a particular voter record (not the content of the message)
• The timestamp of each outreach action
• Whether a voter has been flagged for reporting (e.g., not Hindu, wrong number)

All text messages are sent from the volunteer's personal phone number through the device's native messaging application. DISHA USA does not intercept, read, store, or have access to the content of any text messages sent by volunteers.

d) User-Submitted Reports

Volunteers may submit reports to improve voter file accuracy, including flagging records as incorrect or adding missing voters. Reports submitted through the app are reviewed by DISHA coordinators and may be used to update the voter file.

3.4 Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to:

• Remember your preferences and session information
• Analyze website traffic and usage patterns (via analytics tools)
• Improve website performance and user experience

We do not use advertising cookies or tracking pixels that profile you for commercial advertising purposes. You may control cookies through your browser settings; however, disabling cookies may affect certain website functionality.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information we collect solely for the following purposes:

Purpose	Description
Civic Engagement	Organizing events, voter registration drives, civic education programs, and community forums
Communication	Sending newsletters, event invitations, and program updates to people who have opted in
Volunteer Management	Onboarding and coordinating volunteers, providing access to DISHA Connect
Donation Processing	Processing charitable contributions and issuing donation acknowledgments for tax purposes
App Functionality	Enabling contact matching, outreach tracking, and voter data reporting in DISHA Connect
Research & Reporting	Generating anonymous, aggregate statistics on voter outreach impact (no individual identifiers)
Legal Compliance	Meeting our obligations as a 501(c)(3) non-profit and complying with applicable laws
Security	Detecting and preventing unauthorized access, fraud, or abuse of our systems

5. How We Share Your Information

DISHA USA does not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise disclose personal information to third parties except in the limited circumstances described below:

5.1 Service Providers

We work with carefully selected third-party service providers who assist us in operating our programs and technology infrastructure. These providers have access to your information only to perform specific functions on our behalf and are contractually prohibited from using your data for any other purpose. Service providers may include:

• Cloud hosting and database providers (for storing app and website data securely)
• Email service providers (for newsletter and event communications)
• Payment processors (for donation processing — they handle payment data directly and securely)
• Mobile app platform providers (Apple App Store, Google Play Store)
• Analytics providers (for aggregated, anonymized website and app usage data)

5.2 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, court order, or governmental authority, or if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of DISHA USA, our volunteers, or the public.

5.3 Organizational Transfers

In the unlikely event of an organizational merger, acquisition, or dissolution of DISHA USA, personal information held by DISHA USA would be transferred subject to the same privacy protections described in this Policy. We would notify you of any such change.

5.4 With Your Consent

We may share your information in any other circumstances with your explicit prior consent.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and to comply with our legal obligations:

• Website analytics data: 26 months, then aggregated and anonymized
• Event registration data: 3 years from the event date
• Volunteer and donor records: 7 years (required for non-profit financial record-keeping)
• DISHA Connect account data: Retained while your account is active; deleted within 90 days of account deletion request
• Voter file and outreach logs: Retained for the duration of the election cycle for which they were collected; purged or archived within 12 months after the election
• Newsletter subscription data: Retained until you unsubscribe; requests honored within 10 business days

7. Data Security

DISHA USA implements appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, accidental loss, destruction, or alteration. Our security practices include:

• Encrypted data transmission using HTTPS/TLS for all web and app communications
• Encrypted storage of sensitive data at rest using industry-standard encryption
• Role-based access controls limiting data access to authorized personnel only
• On-device contact hashing in DISHA Connect (raw contact data never transmitted)
• Regular security reviews of our systems and third-party service providers
• Secure, access-controlled admin dashboards for coordinators

While we take privacy and security seriously, no system is completely immune to security risks. In the event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify affected individuals and relevant authorities as required by applicable law.

8. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

8.1 Access and Portability

You may request a copy of the personal information DISHA USA holds about you, in a commonly used, machine-readable format.

8.2 Correction

You may request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.

8.3 Deletion

You may request that we delete your personal information. We will honor deletion requests subject to our legal obligations to retain certain records (e.g., donation records required for tax purposes).

8.4 Opt-Out of Communications

You may unsubscribe from DISHA USA newsletters and email communications at any time using the unsubscribe link included in each email, or by contacting us at info@dishausa.org.

8.5 DISHA Connect Account

You may delete your DISHA Connect account at any time through the app's Settings screen. Upon account deletion, your profile data and outreach activity logs will be permanently deleted within 90 days. Contact matching data is processed on-device and is not stored on DISHA servers.

8.6 Contact List Access (Mobile App)

You may revoke the DISHA Connect app's access to your device contacts at any time through your device's Settings application. Revoking this access will disable the contact matching feature of the app but will not affect other app functionality.

8.7 Texas Residents

If you are a Texas resident, you may have additional rights under the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA), including the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal data (note: DISHA USA does not sell personal data), the right to appeal our decisions regarding your data requests, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights.

To exercise any of the rights described above, please contact us using the information in Section 11.

9. Children's Privacy

DISHA USA's website and DISHA Connect application are not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately at info@dishausa.org and we will delete such information promptly.

For event programs that involve minors (such as educational visits), parental or guardian consent is obtained separately through our event registration process.

10. Third-Party Links and Services

Our website and app may contain links to external websites and services, including voter registration tools, government websites, and partner organization sites. DISHA USA is not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit.

The DISHA Connect app uses the device's native messaging application (SMS/iMessage) to send outreach texts. DISHA USA does not control or access data processed by your device's messaging system.

11. Contact Us — Privacy Inquiries

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us:

Email	info@dishausa.org
Website	www.dishausa.org
Response Time	We aim to respond to all privacy inquiries within 10 business days.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

DISHA USA may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or organizational activities. When we make material changes, we will:

• Post the updated Policy on our website with a new "Last Updated" date
• Send an email notification to registered newsletter subscribers and DISHA Connect users
• Display a prominent notice on the DISHA Connect app home screen for 30 days following significant changes

We encourage you to review this Policy periodically. Your continued use of our website or application after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the updated Policy.

13. Non-Partisan Compliance Statement

All personal information collected by DISHA USA — including voter file data used in DISHA Connect — is used exclusively for non-partisan civic participation activities. Specifically:

• We do not use personal data to identify, target, or communicate with voters on behalf of any political party or candidate
• We do not share voter data or volunteer outreach data with political campaigns, PACs, or political parties
• Message templates provided in DISHA Connect are reviewed and approved by DISHA coordinators to ensure they contain no partisan content
• All outreach activities are focused solely on encouraging voter registration and participation — not on influencing how people vote
• DISHA Connect's Terms of Service explicitly prohibit volunteers from using the app to send partisan content
• Aggregated outreach statistics shared with DISHA coordinators contain no individual voter identifiers

This non-partisan commitment is fundamental to DISHA USA's mission and our tax-exempt status. Any concerns about potential violations of this commitment may be reported to info@dishausa.org.