About

Fellowship

Team

Media

Donate

Substack

north_east

LAST MODIFIED ON JULY 28, 2026

Privacy Policy

We created this privacy policy to explain how the information you provide to us is used and shared. This privacy policy applies to personal information collected from program applicants, program participants, contributors, and other users who visit, interact, and/or use our website and online platform. Please read this policy carefully as it contains important information on how and why we collect, store, use, and share your personal information. This policy also explains your rights in relation to your personal information and how to contact us or supervisory authorities in the event you have a privacy-related complaint.

Key Terms

It would be helpful to start by explaining some key terms used in this policy:

  • “We,” “us,” or “our” refers to Flight School, Inc., a United States 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN: 93-4462586).

  • “Our website” refers to this website, https://www.theflightschool.org, unless otherwise specified.

  • “Personal information” refers to any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual.

What Personal Information We Collect and How It’s Collected

We use personal information for the purposes described below and as otherwise permitted by applicable law.

  • Program Administration. We use personal information to evaluate applications, select and support Fellows, administer stipends and other program benefits, arrange travel, organize programs and events, and manage participation in our programs.

  • Communications. We use personal information to communicate with applicants, Fellows, contributors, and others who interact with us. This includes responding to inquiries and providing information and updates about applications, programs, events, initiatives, and opportunities.

  • Program Evaluation, Research, and Reporting. We may use application, demographic, and program information to evaluate and improve our application process and programs, understand program participation and outcomes, and prepare program reports and research.
    We may publish general program statistics, such as the number of Fellows who completed a program and aggregated demographic information concerning age, gender, or race. We will not publish information that identifies an individual unless that person has authorized us to do so. Public reports and research will use aggregated or de-identified information designed so that it cannot reasonably be linked to a particular person. We will obtain consent before using personal information for research or publication when required by applicable law.

  • Tax and Legal Compliance. We use personal information to comply with tax-reporting requirements and other legal and regulatory obligations that apply to us.

  • Security and Technical Operations. We use personal information to operate and secure our websites, online platforms, databases, and systems. This includes troubleshooting technical problems, preventing fraud and unauthorized access, and investigating security incidents.

  • Other Purposes. We may use personal information for another purpose disclosed to you when the information is collected or with your consent when required by applicable law.

Third-Party Service Providers and Technologies

We may use third-party service providers and data processors to operate and support our websites, mobile applications, and services; provide services on our behalf; perform related business functions; and help us understand how our services are used.

We may also use third-party technologies, including analytics and statistical modeling tools, to recognize activity across devices and improve our communications and services.

These third parties may access personal information only as necessary to provide services to us and are contractually required to protect the information and not use or disclose it for purposes other than providing those services, except as otherwise required or permitted by law.

How and Why We Use Your Personal Information

We only use your personal information for legitimate reasons in accordance with the law. Our purposes for the information are:

  • Program. We use personal information as necessary to carry out our program, i.e., evaluate applications, process stipend disbursements and other program benefits, arrange travel for participants to attend our events, and organize program activities.

  • Communications. We use personal information to communicate with program applicants, program participants, contributors, and other users of our website and online platform. This includes providing updates, responding to inquiries, and delivering relevant information about our organization, events, initiatives, and opportunities.

  • Research and Publication. We use personal information for research purposes, such as identifying correlations between applicants' characteristics and their success in the program. We also use personal information to publish program metrics, such as the number of participants who completed our program and demographic information like age, gender, and race. At some point, we may publish our findings to contribute to a broader understanding of these research inquiries and to provide transparency about our program’s outcomes. When we do so, all personal information will be aggregated and anonymized to protect the privacy of our applicants and participants.

  • Tax and Legal Compliance. We use personal information to comply with tax reporting requirements and to fulfill any legal and regulatory obligations imposed under United States federal and state law as well as the laws of other jurisdictions that may apply to us.

  • Technical Issue Detection, Prevention, and Addressing. We use personal information to detect, prevent, and address technical issues, such as troubleshooting problems, ensuring web security, and investigating potential unauthorized access in our database and systems.

  • Other Purposes. We may use personal information for any other purpose fully disclosed at the time of collecting the information or with your consent.

Promotional Communications

We may use your personal information to send you updates by e-mail about our program and initiatives. We have a legitimate interest in processing your personal information for promotional purposes, which means we do not usually need your consent to send you these types of communications. However, where consent is needed, we will ask for this consent separately and clearly. We will always treat your personal information with the utmost respect and never sell or share it with other entities for marketing purposes. You have the right to opt out of receiving promotional communications at any time by using the “unsubscribe” link in e-mails.

You may opt out of receiving promotional emails at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link included in the email. Opting out of promotional communications will not affect program-related, transactional, or other non-promotional messages that we may need to send you.

Who We Share Your Personal Information With

We share personal information with:

  • Service Providers. We share personal information with service providers we use to facilitate the program, such as contractors to review the applications, and payment processors to disburse stipend payments and receive donations. We only allow our service providers to handle your personal information if we are satisfied they take appropriate measures to protect your personal information. We also impose contractual obligations on service providers to ensure they can only use your personal information to provide services to us and to you.

  • Other Third Parties. We may from time to time share personal information with other third parties we use to assist with our general operations, such as legal and tax counsel, accountants, as well as external auditors in relation to the audit of our books and records. We may share personal information with third parties approved by you, including social media sites you choose to link your account to or third-party payment providers. We will typically anonymize information when we share it with third parties, but this may not always be possible. That said, the recipient of the information will typically be bound by confidentiality obligations.

  • Government Agencies. Lastly, we may disclose and exchange information with law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

We have never sold, nor will we ever sell, any personal information to a third party. In the preceding 12 months, we have only disclosed personal information to our service providers and other third parties to the extent conducive to our operations. The categories of personal information disclosed are those outlined earlier above (see What Personal Information We Collect and How It’s Collected).

Where Your Personal Information is Held

Information may be held at our offices and those of our service providers, third-party agencies, representatives, and agents as described above (see Who We Share Your Personal Information With). These third parties may be based outside the European Economic Area. For more information on how we safeguard your personal information when this occurs, see Residents of the European Economic Area.

How Long Your Personal Information Will Be Kept

We will keep your personal information only for as long as is necessary:

  • To process your application and to provide you with program benefits;

  • To respond to any questions, complaints, or claims made by you or on your behalf;

  • Document our application and selection processes;

  • Conduct authorized program evaluation and research; and

  • Comply with applicable legal, tax, accounting, and recordkeeping requirements.

We will not retain your personal information for longer than necessary for the purposes set out in this policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of personal information depending on applicable law. For instance, U.S. tax law may require us to keep these records for a certain number of years. When personal information is no longer needed, we will delete or de-identify it, subject to any legal or recordkeeping obligations.

International Transfers of Personal Information

We are based in the United States. If you are located outside the United States, including in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), your personal information may be transferred to, stored in, or processed in the United States or other countries where we or our service providers operate.

These countries may have data protection laws that differ from those in your country. Where required by applicable law, we use appropriate safeguards for international transfers, such as an adequacy decision, Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, or another lawful transfer mechanism.

Please contact us using the information provided in the “How to Contact Us” section if you would like additional information about the safeguards applicable to your personal information.

Children Under 13

Our programs are intended for individuals who are at least 18 years old. Individuals under 18 should not apply to our programs or submit personal information through our websites or online platforms.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take reasonable steps to delete it promptly. If you believe that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us using the information provided in the “How to Contact Us” section.

Your Rights

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), you have the following rights:

  • Right to Access (GDPR): You have the right to access and obtain a copy of your personal information held by us.

  • Right to Rectification (GDPR): You have the right to request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

  • Right to Erasure (GDPR): You have the right to request the deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.

  • Right to Restrict Processing (GDPR): You have the right to request the restriction of processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

  • Right to Data Portability (GDPR): You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and to transmit that information to another data controller.

  • Right to Object (GDPR): You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information, including for direct marketing purposes and in certain other situations.

  • Right Not to be Subject to Automated Decision-Making (GDPR): You have the right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing, including profiling, if it produces legal effects or significantly affects you.

  • Right to Know (CCPA): You have the right to know the categories of personal information collected, the sources of collection, the purposes of collection, the categories of third parties with whom the information is shared, and the specific pieces of information collected about you.

  • Right to Opt-Out (CCPA): You have the right to opt out of the sale or disclosure of your personal information to third parties.

  • Right to Deletion (CCPA): You have the right to request the deletion of your personal information, with certain exceptions.

  • Protection Against Discrimination (CCPA): We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights under the CCPA.

Please note that certain exceptions and limitations may apply to these rights as outlined in the respective regulations.

Keeping Your Personal Information Secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorized way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to access it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorized manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality. We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

How to Exercise Your Rights

If you would like to exercise any of your rights as described in this privacy policy, please contact us at info@theflightschool.org.

Please note that you may only make a CCPA-related data access or data portability disclosure request twice within a 12-month period. When you contact us, you will need to provide enough information to identify you, including your full name and email address, a description of the right you want to exercise, and the information to which your request relates. Note that we are not obligated to make a data access or data portability disclosure if we cannot verify that the person making the request is the person about whom we collected information, or is someone authorized to act on such person’s behalf. Any personal information we collect from you to verify your identity in connection with your request will be used solely for the purposes of verification.

Changes to This Privacy Notice

This privacy notice was published on May 1, 2024 and last updated on the date provided above. We may change this privacy notice from time to time–when we do, we will post any such changes to this page and inform you by posting notice of the same on our website.

How to Contact Us

If you have questions about this policy or would like this notice in another format (for example: audio, large print, braille), please contact us at info@theflightschool.org. Additionally, the contact information for our representative and Data Protection Officer is provided below.