Confidential & Proprietary Information
Standards for identifying business plans, financial data, trade secrets, intellectual property, customer information, and other nonpublic organizational information.

Employee, Customer & Third-Party Information
Guidance for protecting personal, personnel, client, donor, vendor, partner, and other sensitive information entrusted to the organization.

Access, Use & Internal Sharing
Requirements for accessing information only when authorized, using it for legitimate business purposes, and limiting internal disclosure to those with a need to know.

Storage, Transmission & Security
Expectations for securely storing, transmitting, copying, discussing, and disposing of confidential information in physical and electronic formats. 

External Disclosure & Legal Requests
Procedures for obtaining authorization before disclosure and appropriately handling subpoenas, regulatory inquiries, media requests, and other external demands.

Reporting, Return & Continuing Obligations
Requirements for reporting suspected loss or disclosure, returning organizational information, preserving confidentiality after separation, and addressing noncompliance.

Who This Policy Is For

Designed for organizations that create, maintain, receive, or share confidential, proprietary, personal, or other sensitive information.

A strong fit for small and mid-sized organizations, nonprofits, growing employers, organizations handling employee, customer, donor, financial, strategic, technical, or third-party information, and leaders responsible for protecting privacy, intellectual property, business relationships, and organizational trust. 

How to Use This Template

Start with a professionally structured framework, then tailor it to your confidential-information categories, access controls, handling practices, and disclosure requirements.

Customize the editable Word template with your organization’s definitions, protected-information categories, authorized access, permitted uses, internal and external sharing standards, physical and electronic security practices, disclosure-approval process, reporting requirements, information-return procedures, and continuing obligations. Coordinate it with related privacy, data-security, records-retention, technology-use, intellectual-property, and separation policies; communicate responsibilities to employees and authorized third parties; and review the finalized policy as information, systems, relationships, or legal requirements change.