Cookie Policy.

1. What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device (computer, tablet, or phone) when you visit a website. They're widely used to make websites work properly, improve user experience, and provide information to website owners about how people use their site.

Similar technologies — like pixels, web beacons, and local storage — work in comparable ways and are also covered by this policy.

2. Why we use cookies

We use cookies on rescuenetworkmn.org for the following purposes:

• Essential operation: Keep our website functioning correctly
• Analytics: Understand how visitors use our site so we can improve it
• Personalization: Remember your preferences (like dismissed banners)
• Marketing: Measure the effectiveness of any fundraising or awareness campaigns

3. Types of cookies we use

Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies are essential for our website to function. You can't refuse them without breaking site functionality. Examples:

• Form submission tokens (CSRF protection)
• Session cookies for staff signing in to our admin dashboard
• Cookie consent preferences (to remember you've accepted or declined)

Analytics & performance cookies

These help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting information anonymously. Examples:

• Google Analytics — tracks page views, session duration, and traffic sources

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Marketing & social media cookies

These tell us whether our advertising actually helps animals find homes. They are set when you visit our site, and also if you interact with embedded social media content or click one of our ads.

• Meta Pixel (Facebook and Instagram) — records page views and a small number of specific actions: starting an adoption or foster application, opening our donate page, or requesting a free pet ID tag. We use it to measure whether our Facebook and Instagram ads lead to adoptions and donations, and to stop showing ads to people who have already taken action. Meta receives this activity and may connect it to your Meta account if you have one.

You can control how Meta uses this activity in your Meta ad preferences and under Your activity off Meta technologies. Meta also explains how its ads work.

If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, we do not load the Meta Pixel at all.

Functional cookies

These remember choices you've made (like region or accessibility preferences) to give you a more personalized experience.

4. Third-party cookies

Some cookies are placed by services we use rather than by Rescue Network directly. These third parties have their own privacy and cookie policies:

• Google (Analytics, Fonts)
• Meta (Facebook, Instagram)
• Stripe (payment processing)
• Brevo (email, SMS & live chat)
• Shelterluv (adoptable animals widget)

5. Controlling cookies

You have several options for managing cookies:

Browser settings

Most browsers let you refuse cookies, delete existing cookies, or get notified when cookies are being set. See the help section of your browser for instructions:

• Google Chrome
• Firefox
• Safari
• Microsoft Edge

Cookie banner

If we display a cookie consent banner on our site, you can use it to accept or decline non-essential cookies. You can change your preferences at any time by clearing your browser cookies for our site and visiting again.

Do Not Track

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal. Because no industry standard for DNT exists yet, our site doesn't currently respond to DNT signals. We do honor opt-outs through standard tools like the Global Privacy Control where supported.

Note: If you disable cookies, some parts of our website may not function correctly — particularly forms, donation flows, and embedded content.

6. Changes to this policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time as we change our tools or as laws evolve. When we do, we'll update the "Last updated" date above. For significant changes, we may post a notice on the website.

7. Contact us