Privacy Policy

Effective: July 20, 2026

The Personal Finance Institute (“PFI,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free, accessible personal finance education to the public. “You” or “your” includes users of the Site (“Users”). Depending on where you live and subject to applicable law, you may have certain rights with respect to personal information about you, as described below. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and otherwise process information in connection with your access to and use of www.personalfinanceinstitute.org and any content, features, or services offered through the site (collectively, the “Site”). It also describes your choices and rights regarding that information.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to personal information that we collect from employees of or job applicants to PFI in connection with their employment or potential employment with us.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. Where applicable law requires consent for a particular use of personal information, we will seek that consent separately.

By accessing or using our Site, or by providing personal information to us, you acknowledge that you accept our privacy practices and policies outlined below, and you consent that we may collect, use, disclose, and otherwise process personal information as described in this Privacy Policy.

Summary

To support, enhance, and improve your experience on the Site, we collect, use, and disclose certain information about you. As described below, this information may be used to improve the Site’s content and user experience, analyze traffic patterns, and support the educational mission of PFI. We do not sell personal information, and we do not use personal information to provide individualized financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice. We disclose personal information only as described in this Privacy Policy or as otherwise permitted by law.

Please do not submit Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, login credentials, tax returns, detailed account statements, or other sensitive financial information through the Site unless we specifically request it through a secure mechanism.

If you have any questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us using the information provided at the end of this document.

Scope of this Privacy Policy; Third-Party Links

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information we collect through or in connection with the Site and related interactions with PFI, including emails, forms, and communications related to the Site. It does not apply to information collected in connection with employment or job applications.

This Privacy Policy also does not apply to third-party websites, services, platforms, plug-ins, embedded content, social media features, videos, applications, or other third-party resources that may be linked from, embedded in, or otherwise accessible through the Site. Those third parties have their own privacy policies and practices, and PFI does not endorse or control, and is not responsible for their privacy practices, content, or security. Clicking on third-party links, enabling third-party connections, or interacting with third-party features may allow third parties to collect, use, disclose, or otherwise process personal information. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any third party before providing personal information to it, and to direct any privacy requests to the applicable third party with respect to personal information in its control.

Please think carefully before submitting personal information in public areas of the Site, such as comment sections, forums, or other interactive features, if any. Information you voluntarily share publicly may be visible to others. PFI is not responsible for personal information you choose to disclose in public forums or other public areas of the Site. To request removal of personal information from such forums or public areas, please contact us as described below. In some cases, removal may not be technically feasible or may be limited by legal, security, operational, or retention requirements.

Information We Collect

We collect, use, disclose, and otherwise process information that identifies, relates to, describes, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular individual or household (“personal information”). Personal information does not include information that is publicly available from government records or information that is not personal information under applicable law, such as aggregated, deidentified, or other non-identifiable information.

Information You Provide Voluntarily

PFI may collect information that you voluntarily provide through your use of the Site. The categories of personal information we collect from or about you depend on your relationship with us and how you interact with the Site.

This may include, for example:

• Your name and email address when you sign up for newsletters, updates, or other communications from PFI;
• Contact information or other details you provide when reaching out to PFI through a contact form;
• Information you provide in connection with event registrations, downloadable resources, surveys, feedback forms, or other Site features, if any;
• Donation-related information, if you make a donation, such as donor contact information, donation amount, transaction date, and related records; provided that payment-card information may be processed directly by a third-party payment processor and not stored by PFI; and
• Any other information you choose to submit when interacting with the Site.

You always have the option not to provide the information we request. If you choose not to do so, you may still access most of the Site, though certain features, resources, transactions, or communications may not be available to you.

Information Collected Automatically

When you access the Site, certain information may be collected automatically through standard web technologies, including:

• Internet and device identifiers, activity, and analytics information, such as information we automatically collect through cookies and similar technologies used on our Site, including user activity on our Site, device information, IP address, browser type, and operating system;
• Pages visited, time spent on the Site, and navigation patterns;
• Referring URLs and similar referral information, where available;
• Approximate location information derived from your IP address, such as city, state, or country;
• Preference information, including preferences related to marketing, privacy, and communications; and
• Other technical information reasonably necessary or useful to operate, secure, and improve the Site.

Some of this information may be personal information under applicable law. We may also use aggregated or deidentified information to understand how visitors use the Site and to improve its content and functionality.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

A cookie is a small data file stored on your device by your web browser. PFI and its service providers may use cookies and similar technologies on the Site to:

• Customize, remember preferences, and optimize your browsing experience;
• Analyze Site traffic and user behavior;
• Safeguard the Site against spam or malicious activity; and
• Support administrative functions of the Site.

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies but allow users to modify their settings to decline cookies or receive a warning before one is stored. Please note that disabling cookies may limit your ability to use certain features of the Site.

Cookies used on the Site may fall into one or more of the following categories:

• Essential Cookies: Required for the basic operation and security of the Site. These may be necessary for certain core Site functionality.
• Preference Cookies: Used to remember your settings and preferences to improve your browsing experience.
• Analytics Cookies: Used to collect data about Site usage to help us understand how visitors interact with our content.
• Security Cookies: Used to help detect spam, abuse, fraud, malicious activity, and unauthorized access attempts.

Web Beacons and Log Files

The Site may use web beacons (also known as pixel tags or clear GIFs) to recognize devices or browsers, assess traffic patterns, and measure engagement. The Site’s servers also automatically log certain technical information, including IP addresses, browser types, requested URLs, referring pages, and dates and times of access. This information is used to operate, secure, maintain, troubleshoot, and improve the Site and for other purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

Do Not Track

“Do Not Track” is a privacy preference that Users can set in their web browsers. When a user turns on the Do Not Track signal, the browser sends a message to websites requesting them not to track the User. Our Site is not currently configured to respond to Do Not Track signals. Because PFI does not sell personal information or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, we do not currently maintain a separate browser-signal opt-out mechanism. If we begin engaging in activities that legally require recognition of opt-out preference signals, we will update this Privacy Policy and our practices accordingly.

Disable or Delete Cookies

You can also decide whether or not to accept certain cookies through your internet browser’s settings. Most browsers have an option for turning off the cookie feature, which will prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, as well as (depending on the sophistication of your browser software) allow you to decide on acceptance of each new cookie in a variety of ways. To explore what cookie settings are available to you, look in the “preferences” “options” or “help” section of your browser’s menu. 

You can also delete all cookies that are already on your device. If you delete or block all cookies, however, you may have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit our Site and some of the Site’s functionalities may not work or may not function at all. 

Third-Party Cookies

Depending on the Site features and vendors we use, certain third parties may place or read cookies or similar technologies through the Site. Please review such third parties’ privacy policies and other terms for information on their privacy practices and uses of personal information.

Third-party cookies and similar technologies used through the Site may include, for example and where applicable, cookies or similar technologies associated with analytics providers, embedded media providers, social sharing tools, online forms, donation or payment processors, security and functionality providers, plug-ins, and similar third-party tools or services. These third parties may include, for example, Google Analytics, YouTube or similar embedded video providers, PayPal or other donation/payment processors, Jotform or other form providers, and social sharing or social media tools, where those features are enabled on the Site. Google Analytics

• Please see Google’s policies here: https://policies.google.com/privacy and https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads
• If you do not wish for Google Analytics to gather information about how you interact with the Site, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on available here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout or use your browser settings to manage cookies.

Other third-party tools or services may offer their own privacy settings, cookie controls, or opt-out mechanisms. We do not control third-party cookies or similar technologies, and your interactions with those third parties may be governed by their own privacy policies and terms.

To find out more information about cookies, including information about how to manage and delete cookies, please visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org/.

How We Use Your Information

PFI uses the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To deliver, maintain, operate, and improve the Site and its educational content;
• To respond to inquiries and communicate with users who have requested information from PFI;
• To send newsletters, updates, event information, educational resources, donor communications, sponsor, partner, grantmaker, or supporter communications, and other communications you request or that may be of interest to you, subject to applicable law and your communication preferences;
• To analyze Site traffic and user behavior in order to improve the user experience;
• To support Site functionality and operations, including to customize content, retain User preferences, verify identity where appropriate, use service providers that support our operations, troubleshoot, test, conduct internal research and development, and make informed operational decisions;
• To protect the security and integrity of the Site;
• To administer events, surveys, resources, donations, sponsorships, grants, partnerships, registrations, online forms, social sharing tools, embedded media features, sponsorship, partner, grantmaker, or supporter acknowledgments, or other Site features, if applicable;
• To process or facilitate donations, sponsorships, grants, payment-related records, donor, sponsor, partner, grantmaker, or supporter communications, receipts, and related administrative functions, including through third-party donation or payment processors, where applicable;
• To operate or make available third-party tools and features on or through the Site, such as analytics tools, embedded videos, social media or social sharing tools, online forms, donation tools, plug-ins, and similar features;
• To deidentify, aggregate, or otherwise process information so that it no longer identifies you;
• To comply with legal obligations, enforce our terms and policies, resolve disputes, exercise and defend legal claims, and protect the rights, safety, and property of PFI, our users, and others;
• To evaluate or conduct organizational changes, including a merger, reorganization, affiliation, dissolution, transfer of assets, change in fiscal sponsor, or other organizational change or similar transaction involving PFI; and
• For any other purpose disclosed to you at the time we collect the information, with your consent where required, or as otherwise permitted or required by applicable law.

Because PFI is a nonprofit organization focused on public education, we do sell your personal information or use your personal information to target commercial advertising to you. We may recognize or communicate with donors, sponsors, grantmakers, partners, or similar supporters in connection with PFI’s nonprofit mission, but we do not use personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising or targeted advertising.

Under the laws of some jurisdictions, we must be able to describe the legal bases on which we rely to process personal information. Where such laws apply, we may rely on one or more of the following legal bases: our legitimate interests in operating, securing, improving, and communicating about the Site and PFI’s educational mission; performance of a contract with you; compliance with legal obligations; and consent where legally required or where we otherwise request consent.

How We Share Your Information

PFI does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties.

For purposes of this Privacy Policy, “sell” means the disclosure of personal information to a third party in exchange for money or other valuable consideration, or as otherwise defined by applicable privacy law.

We do not share personal information with third parties for cross-context behavioral advertising or targeted advertising.

We do not share personal information with third parties for such third parties’ direct marketing purposes, unless you direct us to do so or we obtain your consent where required by applicable law.

We may disclose personal information in the following limited circumstances:

Affiliates and Related Organizations

PFI may share certain information with affiliates or related nonprofit, fiscal sponsor, program, or operational partners for purposes consistent with this Privacy Policy, where applicable.

Service Providers

PFI may engage third-party service providers to perform functions on our behalf, such as web hosting, email delivery, analytics services, donation processing, payment processing, online forms, embedded media, social sharing tools, event registration, security, database management, and other operational services. These providers are given access to the information they need to perform their services and are authorized to use personal information only as necessary to provide services to us or as otherwise permitted by our agreements with them and applicable law.

Sponsors, Grantmakers, Partners, and Program Collaborators

PFI may disclose certain personal information to sponsors, grantmakers, partners, co-hosts, or other program collaborators where reasonably necessary to administer, operate, acknowledge, or report on a program, event, resource, sponsorship, grant, partnership, or similar activity, or where we have disclosed the sharing to you at the time of collection or obtained your consent where required by applicable law.

For example, if you register for a webinar, event, program, or similar offering that is sponsored, co-hosted, or presented with another organization, we may disclose registration or attendance information, such as your name, email address, organization, registration status, and participation information, to the applicable sponsor, co-host or program collaborator if we disclose that sharing to you at the time of registration or otherwise obtain your consent where required by applicable law.

Professional Advisers

We may disclose personal information to our attorneys, accountants, auditors, insurers and other professional advisers where reasonably necessary for the services they provide to us.

With Your Direction or Consent

We may disclose personal information to third parties when you direct us to do so, when you use features that enable such disclosure, or when you otherwise consent to the disclosure, including where required by applicable law.

Legal Requirements

PFI may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law, or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, respond to legal process or governmental requests, enforce our terms and policies, resolve disputes, exercise or defend legal claims, protect the safety of any person, investigate fraud, or protect the rights or property of PFI, our Users, or others.

Organizational Change

In the event of a merger, reorganization, affiliation, dissolution, transfer of assets, change in fiscal sponsor, or other organizational change or similar transaction involving PFI, personal information may be transferred to a successor organization or other relevant party. Any such transfer would be subject to this Privacy Policy, and we will provide notice of any material changes where required by applicable law.

Other Disclosures Permitted by Law

We may disclose personal information for other purposes disclosed to you at the time of collection, with your consent where required, or as otherwise permitted or required by applicable law.

International Transfer, Storage, and Processing

We operate from the United States, and the personal information we collect or receive is stored and processed in the United States and may be processed in other countries where our service providers or other recipients described in this Privacy Policy are located, consistent with this Privacy Policy and applicable law.

If you are located outside the United States, please note that we may transfer personal information to the United States and other jurisdictions that may not provide the same level of data protection as your jurisdiction. Where required by applicable law, we will implement appropriate safeguards for such transfers. By using the Site or otherwise providing us with personal information, you understand that your personal information may be transferred to and processed in the United States and other jurisdictions as described in this section.

Security

PFI uses reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect your information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. If you believe your privacy or security may have been compromised in connection with the Site, please contact us as provided below.

Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including to provide the Site, respond to inquiries, maintain newsletter or donor records, administer events or resources, maintain security and fraud-prevention records, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our terms and policies. The criteria we use to determine retention periods include the nature of the information, the purposes for which it was collected, legal and operational requirements, and whether retention is necessary to protect PFI, our Users, or others. When personal information is no longer needed, we will delete it or retain it in aggregated, deidentified, or other non-identifiable form.

Your Choices and Rights

Depending on where you live and subject to applicable law, you may have some or all of the following rights with respect to your personal information:

• Access and Correction: You may request access to the personal information we hold about you and ask that we correct any inaccuracies.
• Access and Copies: You may request access to, or a copy of, personal information we maintain about you. Where required by applicable law and to the extent technically feasible, you may request that certain personal information you provided to us be made available in a portable and reasonably usable format.
• Opt-Out of Communications: If you have signed up to receive emails or newsletters from PFI, you may opt out at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions in those communications or by contacting us directly.
• Deletion: You may request that we delete your personal information, subject to applicable exceptions and our legal, security, and operational retention needs.
• Withdraw your consent to the processing of your personal information: You may withdraw your consent if our processing is based on your consent, where provided by applicable law, without affecting the lawfulness of any processing prior to your withdrawal of consent.
• Non-discrimination: You have the right not to be unlawfully discriminated against for exercising your rights under applicable privacy law.

We do not request that you provide sensitive personal information through the Site.

To exercise any of these rights described above, you or your Authorized Agent (defined below) must send us a written request using the contact information provided below that (1) provides sufficient information to allow us to verify that you are the person about whom we have collected personal information, and (2) describes your request in sufficient detail to allow us to understand, evaluate, and respond to it. Each request that meets both of these criteria will be considered a valid request. We may ask for information to verify your identity, such as name, phone number, email, and address. We will only use personal information provided in connection with your request to verify your identity and complete your request. You do not need an account to submit a request.

We will work to respond to your request promptly within the timeframes required by applicable privacy law. We will not charge you a fee for making a request unless your request is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded, and then only where permitted by applicable law. If we determine that your request warrants a fee, we will notify you of the fee and explain that decision before completing your request.

You may also authorize an agent (an “Authorized Agent”) to exercise your rights on your behalf, where permitted by applicable law. To do this, you must provide your Authorized Agent with written permission to exercise your rights on your behalf, and we may request a copy of this written permission from your Authorized Agent when they make a request on your behalf. We may also require you to verify your own identity directly with us or confirm directly with us that you provided the Authorized Agent permission to submit the request.

In some instances, we may not be able to honor your request. For example, we may not honor your request if we cannot verify your identity or if we cannot verify that you have the authority to make a request on behalf of another individual. We may not honor your request if we are not the controller of your personal information. We may not honor your request if it is technically infeasible for us to do so. For example, if you ask us to correct personal information that we store in an unalterable format, we may be unable to honor your request or we may offer to delete the personal information instead of correcting it. Additionally, we may not honor your request where not required to do so under applicable privacy laws. For example, we may deny a deletion request if the information is necessary for us to provide our Site, maintain security, prevent fraud or abuse, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, or enforce our rights or agreements. We will advise you in our response if we are not able to honor your request.

Where provided by applicable law, you may appeal our decision not to honor your request by contacting us using the contact information provided below and clearly stating that the purpose of the communication is an “appeal of privacy rights.” We will respond to appeals as required by applicable law.

Opt Out of Marketing Communications

You may opt out of receiving marketing communications from us by following the unsubscribe instructions included in those communications or by contacting us directly. To opt out, please send an email to info@personalfinanceinstitute.org. In your request, please indicate if you wish to opt out of all marketing communications or identify which specific types of marketing communications you no longer wish to receive. We will process opt-out requests as required by applicable law. You will continue to receive transactional, administrative, and service-related communications where permitted by applicable law.

Complaints

To the extent provided by applicable law, you may have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent data protection authority, supervisory authority, or other regulator if you believe we have not addressed your concern in a satisfactory manner. We encourage you to contact us first so that we have an opportunity to address your concern directly.

California Residents: Your California Privacy Rights

PFI is a nonprofit organization. The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (collectively, the “CCPA”), generally does not apply to nonprofit organizations. If and to the extent PFI is subject to the CCPA or any other applicable California privacy law, PFI will comply with its obligations under applicable law.

PFI does not sell personal information or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined under the CCPA.

To the extent applicable, California’s Shine the Light law permits California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. PFI does not share personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes.

Personal Information of Others You Share with Us

You may not disclose the personal information of someone other than yourself to us unless you have provided any required notices and obtained any required consent, authorization, or other legal basis to share their information with us. To the extent that you provide another individual’s personal information to us, you represent, warrant, acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for compliance with all applicable laws concerning such personal information, including:

• providing all applicable notices;
• obtaining the proper authority or consent to allow us to collect, store, process, use, disclose, and share such personal information; and
• responding to any requests or inquiries from the individual whose personal information you provided, unless we are legally required to respond directly.

You should not provide us with personal information about another individual unless it is necessary for your interaction with the Site or PFI.

Privacy of Children

The Site is a general-audience educational resource and is not directed to children under the age of 13 for purposes of collecting personal information. Children, students, teachers, parents, guardians, nonprofits, schools, and other educational organizations may view and use publicly available educational content on the Site, including in school, museum, nonprofit, or similar educational settings.

PFI does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, please do not provide personal information to us or submit personal information through forms, registrations, comments, newsletter signups, donation pages, quizzes, or other interactive features that request personal information. If a form, quiz, registration, or other interactive feature requests personal information, it should be completed by a parent, guardian, teacher, or other authorized adult, or by a user who is at least 13 years old.

If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will delete that information promptly, unless we are legally permitted or required to retain it. If you believe we may have collected such information, please contact us immediately using the contact information provided below.

If PFI later offers features through the Site that are directed to children under 13 or that involve the knowing collection of personal information from children under 13, PFI will update this Privacy Policy and implement any additional notices, consents, parental or school consent mechanisms, or safeguards required by applicable law.

How to Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or personal information about you, you may contact PFI at:

Website: www.personalfinanceinstitute.org

Email: info@personalfinanceinstitute.org

We may need to verify your identity and/or the nature of your request before responding to certain privacy-related requests, and we will respond as required by applicable law.

Please do not include Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, login credentials, tax returns, detailed account statements, or other sensitive financial information in emails or other unsecured communications to us.

Disability Access

If you have a disability, you may request access to this Privacy Policy in an alternative format by contacting us at info@personalfinanceinstitute.org.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

PFI reserves the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by posting a notice on the Site or by sending an email to the address associated with your account, if any, before or after the changes take effect, as appropriate and where required by applicable law. We encourage you to review this page periodically for the most current information on our privacy practices. For material changes that require your consent or acknowledgment under applicable law, we will request such consent or acknowledgment as required by applicable law. For all other changes, your continued use of the Site after the updated Privacy Policy is posted will be subject to the updated Privacy Policy as of its effective date. The “Effective” date at the top of this Privacy Policy indicates when it was last updated.

Personal Finance Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

www.personalfinanceinstitute.org