Data Policies

Wavelength gives organizations the best data on their constituents while giving users the control over what data is shared with whom. Wavelength does not sell data to third parties.

In this article we will go over how Wavelength handles data, the different types of data, where the data comes from, and who can do what with the data.

How Wavelength Handles Data

Wavelength does not sell data

Wavelength does not sell data to advertisers, data brokers, or any other third party. Wavelength provides data to organizations on their constituents that is publicly available.

Any data that Wavelength generates from usage is strictly to improve an organization and its constituents' experience on Wavelength. Wavelength may disclose topline usage statistics (e.g. % update their contact info, % clicked on an email) to organizations with networks on its platform. Usage data or any other data that Wavelength generates is not sold or disclosed to any other third party.

Data Storage and Security

All data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Each type of data is stored separately and securely. In addition, each organization has its data stored separately from any other organization’s.

Types of Data

There are three types of data on a Wavelength network.

• Organization Data
• Publicly Available Enriched Data
• User Data

Organization Data

Where Organization Data Comes From

Organization data is the data that Wavelength receives from an organization. Before being sent to Wavelength, this data is typically stored in an organization’s database, such as Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce, or a spreadsheet. This data includes information like contact info, locations, class year, and activities. This data varies in accuracy and complexity by organization. Organizations typically acquire this information from internal research departments, the internet, and user updates.

Organizations can provide all or part of their data to Wavelength. Organization data DOES NOT include credit card data or health care data.

Once Wavelength receives the organization data, it creates a namespace in its database unique to the organization that keeps its data separate and secure. Wavelength then transfers the organization data to this namespace.

What People Can Do With Organization Data

Administrators can add, update, or delete their organization data at any time by interacting with Wavelength or by contacting their account executive. Alumni Users cannot edit or change organization data.

Enriched Data

Where Enriched Data Comes From

Once the data is in its database, Wavelength enriches it with social data and sometimes wealth data.

For social data, Wavelength can find up-to-date contact info, social profiles, career data, locations, and profile photos on 70% of the email addresses that an organization provides.

Wavelength finds social data that is publicly available on an organization’s constituents. This data isn’t password protected and isn’t scraped illicitly. It exists and is out there because alumni have provided this data to other organizations that have published this data.

Wavelength doesn’t scrape the web. Wavelength pays providers to find public data and aggregate it. Wavelength periodically reruns queries so that if information is changed or deleted from the public sources, it gets updated on Wavelength. Everything that is sourced is legally and ethically acquired. While data on Wavelength seems similar to that of Linkedin and Facebook, Wavelength does not scrape them.

For wealth data, Wavelength can estimate net-worth, income, propensity to give, and other wealth metrics on 45% of addresses that an organization provides. The wealth data is created from an algorithm based on over 60 sources of information. It is not directly tied to one data source and it is a directional tool for development officers. Wealth data stays as enriched data (i.e. never turns into User data) and alumni Users cannot view or change it.

Wavelength uses this social and wealth data to seed a network. This gives organizations a lot of information that is publicly available about their constituents. Wavelength combines this data with organization data to provide organizations a holistic overview of their constituents. Before alumni log on, an organization can view the constituents’ public data.

What People Can Do With Enriched Data

Administrators can edit and change the enriched constituent data. Any changes that they make to the constituent data are not shown to any other network.

Normal alumni Users can change their enriched data by signing onto Wavelength and superseding enriched data with their User data.

User Data

Where User Data Come From

When an alumnus logs into their Wavelength network, they create a User. Their data starts with a combination of the organization data and enriched data. Both the organization data and the enriched data still exist, but are superseded by User data.

Users can then update their social data. From now on, all data that a User provides is User data. They can delete or add any information they want to their profile. Other Administrators and other Users see User data in place of enriched data when a User has been created.

What People Can Do With User Data

Users can add, delete, and update their social and contact data. They can also use their privacy settings to show or hide contact information from other alumni Users. However, network Administrators still have access to this contact information, because the contact information was supplied by the organization.

Users do not have an ability to view or edit their wealth data that development officers can see.

Users can ask to delete their User from an organization. This does not delete an organization’s data about them, but it does delete the associated enriched data and any User generated data. It also opts them out of all communications from Wavelength for that network.

Administrators can request data from Wavelength. Wavelength will pull organization data, enriched data, and current User data from Wavelength.

A Data Example

Jane Smith is a member of the Soccer and High School networks on Wavelength. She has not logged into Wavelength.

Her profile is slightly different between the Soccer and High School networks because both of them provided different organization data to Wavelength. High School Administrators do not see the Soccer organization data provided on Jane Smith. Both the Soccer and High School networks see a copy of Jane Smith’s public data, because they provided the same email address on Jane Smith.

The Soccer Administrators decide to change some data on Jane, because they know she moved from San Francisco to Seattle. They change her data. High School Administrators do not see these changes, because they were not aware of her move.

Jane Smith logs on and creates a Wavelength User. She confirms that she lives in Seattle now, which lets the High School network know she moved. She decides to add that she is now a lawyer, which both the Soccer and High School network can now see.

She also hides her phone number from search in the High School network, but allows it in the Soccer network. Administrators of High School and Soccer can see her phone number, but alumni Users of High School cannot see her phone number.

Questions?

Want to read more about Wavelength and Data? Read What are Wavelength's Data sources?, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.

At Wavelength, we know that data is a primary concern for organizations and their members. If you have any additional questions, please email [e-mail].