Privacy Policy

The network of websites (collectively, the “Websites,” “Sites” or “Site” operated by Fund for Theological Education dba Forum for Theological Exploration or its brands, affiliates, assigns, successors, subsidiaries, licensors, licensees, and/or agents (“FTE”) is comprised of various websites and webpages. FTE is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information you provide. Any personal information you provide will not be sold to a third party. Your personal information includes your name, email address, and all other data or preferences you provide here.

By using this Site, you consent to the data practices described below.

Information we collect on FTE’s Sites

  • Contact information includes but is not limited to names (including nicknames and previous names), titles, mailing addresses, email addresses, telephone/mobile numbers, and contact information for related persons, such as emergency contact.
  • Demographic information includes but is not limited to age, race and ethnicity, pronouns, birthdate, denomination, faith tradition, educational institution, and degrees awarded.
  • Registration information and subscription or attendance history for events, courses, online newsletters, and mailing lists.
  • Registrations to receive YTN’s online newsletter.
  • Information submitted explicitly by website visitors via the completion of webforms to request mailing lists or other business-related functions.

What does FTE do with the information it collects?

We use your personal data to help us meet our purpose of providing resources, events, networks, grants, and fellowships to cultivate tomorrow’s leaders, pastors, and theological educators. For example, we use your information for the following purposes:

  • Communicating with you about our offerings, including programs, events, grants, fellowships, and other resources offered by FTE.
  • Allowing you to apply for fellowships or grants.
  • Registering you for FTE events and courses.
  • Adjudicating and/or administering grants and fellowships for which you applied and/or were awarded.
  • Interacting with you on social media.
  • Determining how FTE resources are being accessed and the frequency of access.
  • Measuring and tracking the effectiveness of advertising campaigns and other marketing efforts.
  • Managing our technology and systems.
  • Providing security measures.
  • Other legitimate business purposes that are compatible to collect your personal data and that are not prohibited by law.

Use of Cookies

This website uses cookies to enhance the user experience and for analytical purposes. Cookies are small pieces of data stored on a user's device by a website. They are commonly used to remember user preferences, analyze website usage, and provide personalized content. Cookies may involve the transmission of information from us to you and from you directly to us, to another party on our behalf, or another party in accordance with its privacy policy. By continuing to browse the Site, you agree to use cookies as described in this policy. You have the option to control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Most web browsers allow you to delete cookies, block certain types of cookies, or reject all cookies. Please note that blocking or disabling cookies may impact user experience and functionality. If you do not consent to using cookies, please adjust your browser settings accordingly or refrain from using this Site.

Type of Cookies

  • Essential Cookies: These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. They enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility.
  • Analytical/Performance Cookies: These cookies allow us to analyze website traffic and usage patterns, which helps us improve our website's performance and design.
  • Functionality Cookies: These cookies enable enhanced functionality and personalization, such as remembering user preferences and settings.
  • Targeting/Advertising Cookies: These cookies deliver targeted advertisements based on user interests and behavior, both on our website and on third-party websites.
  • Third-Party Cookies: We may also use third-party cookies from trusted partners for analytics, advertising, and other purposes. These cookies are subject to the privacy policies of the respective third parties.

Security of Your Personal Information

FTE aims to protect your personal information through a system of organizational and technical security measures. We have implemented appropriate and reasonable technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process.

When personal information (such as a credit card number) is transmitted to other websites, it is protected through encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.

However, despite our safeguards and efforts to secure your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, transmission of personal information to and from our Services is at your own risk. You should only access the Services within a secure environment.

Responsibility for External Sites

We are not responsible for the performance of websites operated by third parties or for your business dealings with them. Therefore, whenever you leave this Site, we recommend that you review each website's privacy practices and draw your conclusions regarding their adequacy.

Payments for purchases made through some of our Sites are completed using a third-party vendor’s online payment system. For these sites, FTE does not have access to your credit card information provided for purchases and does not store or disclose your credit card information as part of your purchases through these third-party systems. The personal or financial information you provide to our online payment system on these sites is subject to the third party’s privacy policy and terms of use. We recommend you review these policies before providing any personal or financial information.

This Site may contain links to other websites, some of which may be operated by third parties. We provide the links for your convenience, but we do not review, control, or monitor the privacy practices of websites operated by others.

Disclosure of Personal Data

We may disclose or otherwise make available your personal data to our consultants or vendors (including “service providers” and “processors” defined under applicable laws, which we collectively refer to as “service providers” or “vendors” herein) who help us run the organization. This includes hosting our Sites, processing payment information for your purchases through our sites, and delivering our emails and marketing communications to you. We disclose or otherwise make available only the personal data needed for these companies to complete the tasks we request or, where applicable law, use the personal data for certain internal purposes such as security or fraud detection. We instruct our service providers to process and protect your personal data appropriately.

Changes to This Statement

FTE will occasionally update this Privacy Policy to reflect organization and constituent feedback. FTE encourages you to periodically review this Policy to learn how FTE protects your information.

Contact Information

FTE welcomes your comments regarding this Privacy Policy. If you believe FTE needs to adhere to this Policy, please contact us at fte@fteleaders.org. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to determine and remedy your issues or concerns promptly.