Policies

Last updated: September 30, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how WVIA (“WVIA,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, shares, and protects your personal information, and the choices you have.

As a public media organization, we hold the information you share with us in trust, and we use it to serve you, provide better benefits, and nurture the public media community we build together.

This Policy applies to our website, mobile apps, streaming and podcasts, email newsletters, donations and any other websites, applications or online services that WVIA operates (collectively, the “Services”).

By using the Services, you agree to the policies and procedures described herein. Please read the following carefully. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us info@wvia.org.

1. Personal Information We Collect

We collect personal information in three ways:

1. Information you provide directly - such as your name, postal and email address, telephone number, donation and membership details, event registrations, survey responses, contest entries and the contents of messages you send to us.

2. Information collected automatically - such as your IP address, device and browser identifiers, cookie IDs and pixels associated with your browsers, listening and streaming activity, app usage, approximate location and email opens and clicks.

3. Information from other sources - such as reputable data providers, the Contributor Development Partnership (“CDP”), single sign-on (“SSO”) providers, social media platforms and National Public Radio (“NPR”).

Our Services are intended for adults; please see Section 6 regarding children’s privacy.

2. How We Use Personal Information

We may use the information that is collected from you in the following circumstances:

1. To provide, personalize and improve our Services and content.

2. To process your donations, issue tax receipts and administer your membership.

3. To deliver and coordinate member benefits, such as NPR+ and communicate with you — including newsletters, fundraising, and membership messages.

4. To understand our audience through analytics and research so we can serve the community better.

5. To keep our Services secure, prevent fraud and comply with the law.

We use your information only for the purposes described here or for compatible purposes and we limit what we collect to what is reasonably necessary for these uses. For more information regarding WVIA's policies on the handling and use of WVIA's membership list, please see WVIA's Membership List Sharing Policy on the WVIA website.

3. Who We Share Your Personal Information With

WVIA may share personal information with the following individuals and entities for the purposes set forth above:

1. Service providers - vendors that help us operate (for example, payment processing, email delivery, website hosting, analytics and fundraising) under contracts that require them to protect your information and use it only on our behalf.

2. NPR - if you are a donor with us and have also donated to NPR -- to recognize the supporters we share with NPR and to deliver to you any benefits that you may have earned, we may share information with NPR such as your name, contact information, donation frequency, and your donor status or giving level. We do not share payment information or financial account numbers for this purpose.  You may opt out of this sharing at any time by emailing us at info@wvia.org. Opting out will not affect your status with us, though it may limit our ability to deliver certain Network benefits that may be provided by NPR.  

3. Other public media organizations.

4. Analytics and marketing/advertising entities.

5. We may share your information with affiliated and unaffiliated companies that perform tasks on our behalf related to our business. Such tasks include analyzing website usage data, customer service, electronic and postal mail service, and social and other media services.

6. We may work with other companies who place cookies, tags, and web beacons on our websites. These companies help operate our websites and provide you with additional products and services.

7. We may also use third-party advertising networks to serve advertisements on our behalf. The cookies received with the banner advertisements served by these networks may be used to collect and build behavioral profiles by these companies to deliver targeted advertisements on our website and unaffiliated websites.

8. Social Media: Our online services may use social media plugins (e.g., the Facebook "Like" button, "Share to Twitter" button) to enable you to easily interact with certain social media websites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and share information with others. When you use our Services, the operators of the available social media plugins can place a cookie on your device, enabling such operators to recognize individuals who have previously used our Services. If you are logged in to these social media websites while using our Services, the social media plugins allow the relevant social media websites to receive information that you used our Services or other information. The social media plugins also allow the applicable social media websites to share information about your activities on our Services with other users of the social media website. We do not control any of the content from the social media plugins. We may also interact with you on social media platforms. If you contact us on one of our social media platforms, request services, or otherwise communicate directly with us on social media, we may contact you to interact with you. For more information about social media advertising and social media plugins from other social media websites, please refer to those websites' privacy and data sharing statements.

9. Professional advisors - such as accountants and lawyers for accounting, legal or business purposes.

10. Legal and safety - to comply with the law, respond to lawful requests, and protect the rights, property and safety of WVIA, our community and others.

If you do not want your personal information collected, used and shared by us as set forth in this Policy, you have the opportunity to "opt-out” by emailing us at info@wvia.org. You need to recognize, however, that under certain circumstances, if you select to "opt-out", you may not be eligible for certain activities for which the personally identifiable information is needed (for example, if a contest participant elects to "opt-out" on permitting us to collect and use their personal information, we cannot contact them if they win without using such information).

Mobile information will not be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. This excludes text messaging originator opt-in data and consent, which will not be shared with any third parties. On occasion, WVIA will send informational SMS messages. Message frequency may vary. Message and data rates may apply. Text HELP for support, call (570) 826-6144, or email us at info@wvia.org.  Text STOP to unsubscribe at any time.

4. Third-Party Sources

We may collect information about you from third-party sources. For example, we may receive information about you from third-party social media services when you choose to interact or connect with them through the Services.

Additionally, if you access third-party services, such as Facebook, Google, or Apple, through the SSO to log into the WVIA website or to share information about your experience on the WVIA website with others, these third-party services may be able to collect information about you, including information about your activity on the WVIA website, and they may notify your connections on the third-party services about your use of the WVIA website, in accordance with their own privacy policies.

5. Use of Cookies and Tracking Technologies

The Services may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies for essential site functions, for analytics and for targeted advertising. You may be able to refuse or disable cookies by adjusting your web browser settings. Because each web browser is different, please consult the instructions provided by your web browser (typically in the “help” section). Please note that you may need to take additional steps to reject or disable some technologies, including local shared objects. If you choose to reject, disable, or delete these technologies, some of the functionality of our Services may no longer be available to you.

By using the WVIA website, you consent to our use of cookies and similar technology.

6. Children’s Privacy

Protecting the privacy of children is important to us. WVIA does not collect, solicit, or keep personal information from anyone under the age of 18. If we learn that we have collected personal information through the Services from a child under 18 without the consent of the child's parent or guardian as required by law, we will delete it.

7. Security

We have adopted reasonable technical, administrative, and physical procedures to help protect your information from loss, misuse, and alteration. Please note that no data transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. We want you to feel confident using the Services, but we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us.  

8. Data Retention

We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes described in this Policy, to meet our legal and operational requirements, and to maintain your membership relationship. When such personal information is no longer needed or where required by applicable law, we delete or de-identify it.

9. Third-Party Links and Services

Our Services may link to third-party websites and services that we do not control and whose privacy practices differ from ours; please review their policies. If you make a payment, our payment processors collect and handle your payment information under their own privacy policies. NPR's services are governed by NPR's separate privacy policy available on the NPR website.

10. Acceptance of the WVIA Privacy Policy and Changes to the WVIA Privacy Policy

By using the Services, you signify your agreement to the terms and conditions of this Policy. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, please do not use the Services. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of this Policy at any time. Please check this page periodically for any changes. Your continued use of the Services following any update to the Policy will constitute your acknowledgement and acceptance of the updated terms of this Policy and your agreement to abide by such updates to this Policy. If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at info@wvia.org.

Donor Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 30, 2026

The support from our individual members and donors is critical to fulfilling WVIA’s mission of community service. WVIA conducts our fundraising in compliance with nationally established guidelines while ensuring that our member’s trust and faith in us is deserved.

WVIA maintains lists of names, addresses, giving history, programming interests and other pertinent data for those who have supported us financially or otherwise have indicated an interest in our organization's programming or activities.

WVIA does not sell or exchange its member or donor lists with any other organization, except as set forth in our Privacy Policy, available on our website.

On occasion, WVIA provides its list to vendors who conduct work or an activity for WVIA. WVIA requires all vendors to maintain the confidentiality of WVIA’s files and confidential information and to adhere to a policy of not exchanging, selling, or otherwise disclosing the organization's member, donor and underwriter lists.

WVIA will adhere to all federal, state and local laws.

WVIA is required to disclose the identity of all donors who provide direct funding for any program produced by WVIA.

WVIA may publish a list of members and donors (for example, as part of our Annual Report.) This listing may indicate a monetary range into which each member or donor's gift falls. If you wish to be excluded from any such listing, contact us at info@wvia.org.

WVIA will not rent or purchase any mailing list that is politically affiliated including, but not limited to, political organizations, campaigns and committees.

Donor Bill of Rights

Last updated: September 30, 2026

Each nonprofit organization holds a public trust to improve the quality of life. Likewise, philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, WVIA accepts several guiding principles that all donors have the right to:

Be informed of WVIA's mission, of the way WVIA intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.

Be informed of the identity of those serving on WVIA’s governing board and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.

Have access to WVIA's most recent financial statements.

Be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.

Receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition.

Be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.

Be assured that privileged or confidential information about themselves and their giving will not be disclosed outside of WVIA, except as set forth in the WVIA Privacy Policy, available on the website.

Expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.

Be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.

Feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

Ensure that all solicitation materials are accurate and correctly reflect WVIA's mission and use of solicited funds.

Receive informed, accurate and ethical advice about the value and tax implication of potential gifts.

Give their consent before WVIA might alter the conditions of a gift.

Know with confidence that WVIA will use accurate and consistent generally accepted accounting methods that conform to the appropriate guidelines adopted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).

Gift Acceptance Policy

View the

Member List Sharing Policy

Last updated: September 30, 2026

Long-term support from our individual members is critical to fulfilling WVIA’s mission of community service. Maintaining and preserving a strong, trusting relationship with our members is key to this vital source of support. WVIA maintains lists of names, addresses, giving history, programming interests and other pertinent data for those who have supported us financially or otherwise have indicated an interest in our organization's programming or activities. As policy, WVIA does not sell or exchange its list with any other organization, except for certain donor information that is shared as part of a donor matching program with National Public Radio, for which you may opt out at any time by emailing us at info@wvia.org. Further, on occasion, WVIA provides its list to vendors who conduct work with WVIA. Vendors are required to maintain the confidentiality of WVIA’s files and to adhere to a policy of not exchanging, selling, or otherwise disclosing the organization's lists. It is WVIA’s intention to retain the trust of its donors, members, viewers and listeners through this policy.

Editorial Independence Policy

We subscribe to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News:

Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.

We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.

Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.

Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $5,000 or more per year. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with INN's Membership Standards.

State Charitable Disclosures

Northeastern Pennsylvania Educational Television Association (WVIA/WVIA Public Media) is a registered charitable organization in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. A complete copy of WVIA's financial statement and other information about WVIA's mission, programs and activities is available upon request by writing to WVIA, at 100 WVIA Way, Pittston PA 18640, by calling 570-826-6144, on our website at wvia.org, or as stated below. Inquiries may be directed to Kristen Clark at the above address.

Pennsylvania: The official registration and financial information of Northeastern Pennsylvania Educational Television Association may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. Northeastern Pennsylvania Educational Television Association does business as WVIA and WVIA Public Media.

New York: A copy of the last annual report filed by Northeastern Pennsylvania Educational Television Association may be obtained by either writing 100 WVIA Way, Pittston, PA 18640 or from the Office of the Attorney General, Department of Law, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.

New Jersey: INFORMATION FILED WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING THIS CHARITABLE SOLICITATION AND THE PERCENTAGE OF CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED BY THE CHARITY DURING THE LAST REPORTING PERIOD THAT WERE DEDICATED TO THE CHARITABLE PURPOSE MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY BY CALLING 973-504-6215 AND IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/charfrm.htm. REGISTRATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT.

Donor & Financial Transparency

We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization.

Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions.

We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to help with our general operations, coverage of specific topics and special projects. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates as a public trust, we do not pay certain taxes. We may receive funds from standard government programs offered to nonprofits or similar businesses.

Our news judgments are made independently – not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source. We do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content.

We make public for WVIA News all revenue sources and donors who give $5,000 or more per year. As a news nonprofit, we avoid accepting charitable donations from anonymous sources, government entities, political parties, elected officials or candidates seeking public office. We will not accept donations in support of WVIA News from sources who, deemed by our board of directors, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.

For the full list of $5,000+ donors in support of WVIA News, click here.

Policy Prohibiting Sale to Political Candidates

WVIA does not sell commercial time of any kind, including time to candidates for public office, and does not sell, rent, give or exchange a member or donor name to, with or from any candidate for public office, committees or organizations supporting a candidate, political parties, or organizations that solicit funds for use in political campaigns for any purpose.

Commenting Policy

WVIA reserves the right to delete comments that contain:

• offensive language
• personal attacks
• improper comments that target any ethnic, racial, or religious group
• spam or include certain links to other sites
• are clearly off topic