This website, mobile application, or other social media application is operated by Friends of Mera K. Corlett. This privacy policy (“Policy”) explains how personal information is collected, used, and disclosed by Friends of Mera K. Corlett with respect to your use of the web site and other Friends of Mera K. Corlett websites and applications that display this Policy (the “Sites”) so you can make an informed decision about using the Sites. This Policy also applies to personal information collected on other web sites on our behalf by third-party vendors. This Policy does not necessarily apply to any information that you may provide, or that we may collect, through other means offline (e.g. telephone, mail). We reserve the right to change the provisions of this Policy at any time. We will alert you that changes have been made by indicating on the Policy the date of its last update. We encourage you to review this Policy from time to time to make sure that you understand how any personal information you provide will be used. By accessing or using the Sites, you accept the terms of this Policy.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

As used herein, the term “personal information” means information that specifically identifies an individual (such as a name, address, telephone number, mobile number, demographic information, e-mail address, payment information where needed to complete a requested service or transaction, or information you post in comments or other interactive features) and information about that individual or his or her activities that is directly linked to personally identifiable information. Personal information does not include “aggregate” information, which is data we collect about the use of the Sites or about a group or category of services or users, from which individual identities or other personal information has been removed. This Policy in no way restricts or limits our collection and use of aggregate information.

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

Active Collection: Personal information may be collected in a number of ways when you visit our Sites. We collect certain information you voluntarily provide to us, such as when you make a donation, send us an email or sign up to receive email or text message updates, fill out a form, connect through a social feed, sign up to be a volunteer or host an event, or request information. Such information may include personal information, such as your name, mailing address, email address, phone number, geographic location, and credit card information. We may also collect demographic information you may voluntarily provide from time to time, such as in response to questionnaires and surveys, including gender, ethnicity, education, and interest information. If this information is tied to personally identifiable information, it will be treated as personal information. Personal and demographic information may also be collected if you provide such information in connection with creating a profile or group, leaving comments, posting blog comments or other content, sending an email or message to another user, or participating in any interactive forums or features on the Sites. We may also obtain information from other sources and combine that with information we collect on our Sites. We will never knowingly collect personal identifiable information from persons thirteen years of age or younger, in accordance with the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and we ask that children under thirteen not submit their information.

Passive Collection: When you use the Sites, some information is also automatically collected, such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address, your operating system, the browser type, the address of a referring web site, and your activity on our Sites. If you access the Sites from a mobile device, we may also collect information about the type of mobile device you use, your device’s unique ID, the type of mobile Internet browsers you use, and information about the location of your device (for information about how to opt-out of this data collection, please see “What Choices Do You Have Regarding the Use of Your Information?” below). We treat this information as personal information if we combine it with or link it to any of the identifying information mentioned above. Otherwise, it is used in the aggregate only.

We may also automatically collect certain information through the use of “cookies” or web beacons. Cookies are small data files stored on your hard drive at the request of a website. Among other things, cookies help us improve our Sites’ features & functionality in order to provide users with the best possible experience. Information obtained from cookies and linked to personally identifying information is treated as personal information. If you wish to block, erase, or be warned of cookies, please refer to your browser manufacturer to learn about these functions. However, if you choose to remove or reject browser cookies, this could affect certain features on our Sites. Web beacons are small, invisible graphic images that may be used on the Sites or in emails relating to the Sites to collect certain information about usage and effectiveness and monitor user activity on the Sites.

Collection By Third Parties: Third-party vendors, such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft may use cookies or other technologies to serve ads or deliver content on this or other websites based on your visits to this site and other sites on the Internet and to provide analytics services. These third parties may automatically collect information about your visits to this and other websites, your IP address, your ISP, the browser you use to visit our Site, pages viewed, time spent on pages, links clicked and conversion information. They do this using cookies, clear gifs or other technologies. Information collected may be used by Friends of Mera K. Corlett and third parties, among other things, to analyze and track data, to solicit donations, to deliver advertising or content on this or other websites based on your prior activities on this or other sites or targeted to your interests, and to better understand the usage and visitation of our Sites and the other sites tracked by these third parties. This Policy does not apply to, and we are not responsible for, cookies or clear gifs used by the third parties, and we encourage you to check the privacy policies of advertisers and/or ad services to learn about their use of cookies and other technology. If you would like to opt out of these cookies or obtain more information about this practice, click here. In some cases, third-party vendors may collect personal information from you, such as your name and email address, on other web sites and provide this information to us, or Friends of Mera K. Corlett may collect personal information that you enter directly within an advertising unit. This Policy does apply to such personal information collected online in this manner, and we will treat such information in the same manner as information collected on our Sites.

HOW DO WE USE THE PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT?

We use personal information collected through our Sites for the purposes described in this Policy or elsewhere on the Sites. For example, we may use personal information we collect:

• to provide the services, products, or information you request, and to process and complete such requests and any related transactions;
• to invite you to subscribe to email or text-message alerts related to Friends of Mera K. Corlett;
• to send you confirmations, receipts, updates, alerts, and support and administrative messages and otherwise facilitate your use of, and our administration and operation of, the Sites;
• to notify you about important changes to the Sites;
• to send you newsletters and otherwise provide you with information or services you request or that we think will be of interest to you, such as sending you information to keep you informed about various issues, events, promotions, products, and resources;
• to connect you with other supporters, and to solicit volunteers, donations and support for Friends of Mera K. Corlett issues and organizations that we support;
• to connect you with other supporters of Friends of Mera K. Corlett;
• to solicit volunteers, donations, and other support for Friends of Mera K. Corlett;
• to notify and contact participants in promotions on the Sites;
• to request feedback and to otherwise contact you about your use of the Sites;
• to respond to your emails, submissions, questions, comments, and requests and to provide customer service;
• to monitor and analyze site usage and trends, and to personalize and improve the Sites and our users’ experiences on the Sites, such as providing content, or features that match your profiles or interests, and to increase the Sites’ functionality and user friendliness;
• to serve ads, on this Site or other websites or media, based on the information you provide and the actions you take; and
• for any other purpose for which the information was collected.

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE SHARE WITH THIRD PARTIES?

It is our policy not to share the personal information we collect from you through our Sites with third parties, except as described in this Policy or as otherwise disclosed on the Sites. For example, we may share personal information as follows:

• with vendors, consultants, and other service providers or volunteers who are engaged by or working with us and who need access to such information to carry out their work for us;
• with organizations, groups, or causes that we believe have similar viewpoints, principles, or objectives;
• when you give us your consent to do so, including if we notify you on the Sites, that the information you provide will be shared in a particular manner and you provide such information;
• when you contribute money to Friends of Mera K. Corlett, federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect your name, address, occupation, employer, and amount contributed to facilitate the filing of public disclosure reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission;
• when we believe in good faith that we are lawfully authorized or required to do so or that doing so is reasonably necessary or appropriate to comply with the law or legal processes or respond to lawful subpoenas, warrants, or court orders;
• when we believe in good faith that doing so is reasonably necessary or appropriate to respond to claims or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Friends of Mera K. Corlett, our users, our employees, our volunteers, copyright owners, third parties or the public, including without limitation to protect such parties from fraudulent, abusive, inappropriate, or unlawful activity or use of our Site;
• to enforce or apply this Policy, our Terms of Service, or our other policies or agreements.

We are not responsible for the actions of any service providers or other third parties, nor are we responsible for any additional information you provide directly to any third parties, and we encourage you to become familiar with their privacy practices before disclosing information directly to any such parties. Nothing herein restricts the sharing of aggregated or anonymized information, which may be shared with third parties without your consent.

INTERACTIVE FEATURES

You understand that when you use the Sites, information you post in profiles, blogs, forums, petitions, and other interactive areas of the Sites, as well as any information you share with individuals through the Sites or share through social network sites, will be available to other users and, in some instances, may be publicly available. We recommend that you be cautious about giving out personal information to others.

We are not responsible for the actions of any third parties with whom you share personal information. We suggest you take time to familiarize yourself with any privacy settings available on the Sites or other social network sites.

LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES

Our Sites may contain links to other websites. Any personal information you provide on the linked pages is provided directly to that third party and is subject to that third party’s privacy policy. This Policy does not apply to such linked sites, and we are not responsible for the content or privacy and security practices and policies of these websites or any other sites that are linked to from our Sites. We encourage you to learn about their privacy and security practices and policies before providing them with personal information.

CREDIT CARD DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

What user information does this website retain when a payment is processed?

By default, we retain:

• What products or event tickets a user ordered or the amount of a donation
• When the transaction occurred
• Name, e-mail address, and phone number provided by the user
• Billing (and optionally, shipping) address entered by the user
• Optionally, a note about the order or user’s payment method as entered by the user
• Occupation and Employer information provided by the user, as mandated by election law

Can I get a copy of my personal data?

Sure thing, just contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

How does the site collect users’ payment information?

We allow users to make donations or pay for orders via secure Stripe payment gateways. This automatic payment gateway is an application that securely requests information from users and relays it directly to Stripe for processing.

Does the site retain payment method (‘credit card’) data?

No way, absolutely not. By design, your credit card number and security code are never stored on our website’s servers. The payment gateway gives this sensitive information directly to the payment processor, so credit card data never enters or passes through our database.

But what if i choose to save my credit card to my account on your website for future transactions, or if i set up recurring payments? You must store credit card data for that, right?

Still, nope. You certainly have the option to “save” credit card information while logged into your account, but that is made possible by a secure method called tokenization. Tokenized payment methods can be used for recurring payments, pre-orders, or for convenience in future payments made by a logged-in user. Credit card tokens include the last four digits of a card, the card brand/type, and its expiration date, mostly so the user can identify the card in their account.

How secure is tokenization?

Extremely secure. With tokenization, users’ actual credit card information is only stored on the servers of the payment processor.

The only data saved on our site is in the form of a string of characters called a token. These tokens are designed to be useless outside the precise context they’re created for. Imagine if, when you exchanged your money for chips at a casino or ride tickets at a fair, those chips or tickets not only couldn’t be spent on anything outside the casino or fair but couldn’t be spent by anyone but you.

Tokens are super-specific — specific to the user, specific to this website, specific to the payment gateway’s payment processor, and specific to our merchant account with that processor. If any of those factors aren’t precise, the token won’t work as a placeholder for a user’s credit card information.

Also, the payment gateway only allows tokenization if our website meets certain higher security standards, so you can be confident in the security of using and saving your credit card information to process payments on our website.

GOOGLE MAPS, GEOLOCATION, AND GEOCODING DATA

The Sites utilize Google Maps, Geolocation, and Geocoding APIs to provide users and authorized admins with location-based services and features. Our use of these APIs is subject to Google’s Privacy Policy and the Google Maps Platform Terms of Service.

GEOLOCATION

Collection and Use of Location Data: The Sites may collect and process geolocation data through the Google Maps API to deliver relevant location-based information and map services. This data may include IP address, location settings, and device-based information for identifying your location, as provided by your browser or device permissions.

The Sites will not collect or store your location data by default. Requests to the Geolocation API are only made after your browser asks permission to use location services, which is triggered by an action you take, such as clicking a ‘Show My Location’ button on the map. Even after you grant permission to allow location services, your location data is only used to display your current location on the map for your own use and is not retained by the Sites beyond its immediate use, ensuring that any location data retrieved by Google’s API remains private.

Purpose of Data Collection: Geolocation data is collected to improve your experience on our website, such as displaying nearby events or relevant geographical information. We do not store this data long-term, nor do we share it outside the context of these specific services.

Opting Out: You can disable location services through your browser or device settings. However, this may limit some functionalities of the Sites, including map-based services and location-based event information.

ADDRESS GEOCODING

Purpose of Use: When you submit an address on the Site, we may use Google’s Geocoding API to convert the address into geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) to generate maps and enhance location-based features on the Site, primarily for internal purposes. This Geocoding functionality enables us to provide relevant location information and mapping tools that support the Campaign’s operations. In some instances, geocoded address data may be used to display a map solely for the specific user who submitted the address.

Internal Use and Access: Maps generated with aggregated geocoded user address data are for internal purposes only and are not publicly available; access is limited to authorized Campaign personnel only to ensure user privacy is protected.

Data Retention: Geocoded coordinates for addresses are processed as needed and stored as metadata with the relevant entry, along with other associated personal information provided by users, such as name, email address, and other contact details. As such, geocoded location data is managed according to the same policies and procedures outlined above for personal information, ensuring consistency in data handling and privacy protection.

THIRD-PARTY DISCLOSURE

Location data may be shared with Google for the purposes of enabling Google Maps functionality. By using geolocation and geocoding services, you consent to Google’s collection and processing of location data according to Google’s Privacy Policy.