How we handle your family’s information

Next Generation Scholars, Inc. (“Next Generation Scholars,” “we,” “us”) is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based at 202 Lee Street, Statesboro, GA 30458. We serve students in grades 4-12 and their families, and we take the privacy of children and families seriously. This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and your choices.

Information we collect

We collect only what you give us, through our website forms, event registrations, and program sign-ups. Depending on the form, that may include:

• Contact details: parent/guardian name, email, phone number; emergency contact name and phone.
• Student information:the child’s name, grade level, and school.
• Health and safety information: allergies, medical conditions, or accommodations you share with us, and activity permissions. We collect this only to keep children safe during programs and events.
• Mentor applicants: name, contact details, references, and background-check information.
• Supporters, sponsors, and donors: name, contact details, and, for donations, the payment information needed to process your gift (handled by our payment processor, not stored by us).

How we use your information

To respond to you; review and process program, mentor, and event applications; match students with mentors; run programs, tutoring, and events safely (including using health and permission information on-site); process donations; and send updates to people who have asked to hear from us. We collect only what we need and don’t use your information for unrelated purposes.

Children’s privacy and parental consent

Our programs serve children, including children under 13. We do not knowingly collect a child’s information without a parent or guardian’s involvement. Forms and event registrations that involve a child are completed by a parent or legal guardian, who provides consent on the child’s behalf. A parent or guardian may review, correct, or request deletion of their child’s information at any time by contacting us below. If you believe a child gave us information without a parent’s consent, contact us and we’ll delete it.

Photos and video (media release)

With a parent or guardian’s permission, we photograph and record children at events and programs and may use those images for educational, promotional, website, social media, and other nonprofit purposes. We ask for this permission on a per-child basis (you can decline), and we honor a decline: we will not publish images of a child whose parent or guardian said no. You can withdraw permission at any time by contacting us, and we’ll stop using new images and remove existing ones where we reasonably can.

Who we share information with

We do not sell your information, and we do not use advertising cookies or third-party ad tracking. We rely on trusted service providers to operate, and we share only what’s needed for them to do their job: Google (event registrations, form responses, and website analytics), Stripe (donation processing: your card details go to them, not to us), and Resend (delivering website form submissions to our inbox). These providers handle your information under their own privacy terms.

How we store and protect your information

Access to family and student information, including health information, is limited to authorized leadership and the volunteers who need it to run our programs. We take reasonable steps to protect it, but no system is perfectly secure. We keep information only as long as needed for the purpose you gave it (for example, event health and permission forms are kept through the event and for a reasonable period afterward), then delete it.

Mentor screening

Our mentors are not anonymous strangers. Every mentor completes an application and interview and clears a professional background check, reference checks, and a community and social-media review before being approved to work with students.

Your choices

You can ask what information we hold about you or your child, ask us to correct or delete it, or ask to stop receiving updates. Email info@nxtgenerationscholars.org and we’ll take care of it.

Cookies and tracking

Our website uses Google Analytics, a third-party analytics service, to understand how visitors use the site, such as which pages are viewed. This information is aggregated and does not identify you personally. We do not use advertising cookies. Some features that process payments or store form responses may set functional cookies needed to make them work.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The effective date above shows the latest version.

Contact us

Next Generation Scholars, Inc.
202 Lee Street, Statesboro, GA 30458
info@nxtgenerationscholars.org