Privacy Policy

Volbase is a volunteer-opportunity directory and account workspace that helps students discover volunteer, internship, and program opportunities and helps organizations present, manage, or link to those opportunities. The operator of the Service is the data controller responsible for your personal information.

We collect the following categories of information:

Information you provide

• Account information — name, email address, password (stored only in hashed form by our authentication provider), account role (student/organization), and, if you sign in with Google, the identifiers Google shares with us.
• Profile information — details you add such as school, biography, interests, location preferences, and any profile photo you upload.
• Activity and content — opportunity applications, logged volunteer hours, saved opportunities, messages you send through the Service, scholarship essays, reviews, and organization listings.
• Payment information — if you purchase a paid plan, payments are processed by Stripe. We do not receive or store your full card number; we receive limited details such as your subscription status and a customer identifier.
• Communications — information you submit through our contact form or other support requests.

Information collected automatically

• Device and usage data — IP address, browser type, device information, pages viewed, and interactions, collected through server logs and cookies.
• Approximate location— if you use the “near me” search, we store a coarse location (and a label, if provided) in a cookie on your device to sort opportunities by distance. Map features may transmit your IP address to our map and geocoding providers to render tiles.
• Cookies and similar technologies — see the Cookies section below.

We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal information (such as government ID numbers, financial account numbers, health, or precise geolocation). Please do not submit such information through free-text fields.

We use personal information to:

• Create and operate your account and provide the Service;
• Match students with relevant opportunities and power search, maps, and the 'near me' feature;
• Process applications, logged hours, messages, and (where applicable) payments;
• Send transactional and service messages, such as confirmations, security alerts, and notifications you enable;
• Maintain safety and security, prevent fraud and abuse, and enforce our Terms;
• Understand and improve the Service, including (with your consent) usage analytics; and
• Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We share information only as described here:

• With organizations you interact with — when you apply to or message an organization through the Service, the relevant profile and application details are shared with that organization so it can respond.
• Service providers (processors) — we use trusted vendors who process information on our behalf under contract, including Supabase (database, authentication, and file storage), Stripe (payment processing), Resend (email delivery), Vercel (hosting and infrastructure), and our map/geocoding tile providers.
• Legal and safety — when we believe in good faith that disclosure is required by law, or necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of users, the public, or Volbase.
• Business transfers — in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this Policy.
• With your direction or consent — when you ask us to share information or otherwise consent.

Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use the following categories:

• Strictly necessary — required for the Service to function, including sign-in and session cookies set by our authentication provider, your theme (light/dark) preference, and the cookie that remembers your consent choice. These cannot be switched off.
• Functional — the volbase-location cookie that stores your “near me” location so search results can be sorted by distance.
• Analytics (optional) — if and when enabled, these help us understand aggregate usage to improve the Service. They load only after you accept optional cookies.

When you first visit, a banner lets you Accept all or Reject optional cookies. Optional cookies are not set unless you accept. You can change your choice at any time using the Cookie settings link in the site footer, or by clearing cookies in your browser. Most browsers also let you block or delete cookies through their settings; note that some browsers offer a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, which we honor as a request to limit optional cookies where applicable.

We keep personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service, then retain and use it only as necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. When information is no longer needed, we delete or de-identify it. You can request deletion of your account as described below.

We use administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information, including encryption in transit, access controls, and database row-level security. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a breach of the security of your personal information, we will notify you and applicable authorities as required by law, including Michigan’s data-breach notification statute (MCL 445.72) and any other applicable state or federal law.

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• Correction — ask us to correct inaccurate information;
• Deletion — ask us to delete your account and personal information;
• Portability — request an export of your information in a portable format; and
• Opt out — decline optional cookies and unsubscribe from non-essential email.

Many of these are available directly in your account settings: you can edit your profile, export your account data, and delete your account from the Settings area. You can also exercise any of these rights, or ask a question about your privacy, through the contact page. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law and will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

We do not sell your personal information and do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. Residents of states with comprehensive privacy laws may have additional rights, including the right to appeal a denied request; contact us to do so.

The Service is intended for users 13 years of age and older and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected such information, we will delete it promptly. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child under 13 has provided us personal information, please contact us so we can remove it.

Some users may be minors aged 13–17. We encourage parents and guardians to be involved in their student’s use of the Service. A parent or guardian may contact us to review, correct, or request deletion of a minor’s information.

Volbase includes listings and links to third-party websites and application flows operated by others, and some listings are aggregated from public sources. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those third parties. Their use of your information is governed by their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to review.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above and, for material changes, provide additional notice as appropriate. Your continued use of the Service after an update means you accept the revised Policy.

For privacy questions, data-rights requests, or to report a concern, please reach us through the contact page. We will route your request to the person responsible for privacy at Volbase.