Your privacy is important.

As part of our commitment to ethical business practices, we want to honor your patronage of our website and organization by promising to do our best to:

  • keep information about you private;
  • keep information about you secure;
  • be open about the type of information we collect and how we collect it; and
  • use the data we collect only for the business purposes for which it was intended.

Through the Conservancy website, we collect and can collect anonymous and personal information, respectively. This information is stored both on our private servers and third-party servers/The Cloud (e.g. Google Drive, EventBrite, etc.). Every attempt has been made to store this information safely and in accordance to applicable laws and regulations. As discussed below, anonymous information is obtained without any practical connection to your identity, and personal information can only be collected when offered by you, the user, on a voluntary basis. Therefore you can visit and navigate the Conservancy website without revealing any identifiable details unless you choose to do so.

What information is being collected?

Anonymous

Description: Behaviour of each user’s visit is being logged by Google Analytics. This information helps us determine usage patterns of our website and what areas may need improvement. Although Google Analytics temporarily records your computer’s IP address to identify you as a unique or repeat visitor, no personal information is collected. IP addresses are not stored.

Method: Automatic collection/cookies

Data:

  • IP Address (temporary)
  • Pages visited
  • Time on pages
  • Browser information
  • Domain type

Personal

Description: Personal information is collected through various forms located throughout our website, including the newsletter subscription form, store check-out process and online donation form. Personal information can also be provided by you in the comments section of our blog and digital RSVPs to events.

Method: Offered voluntarily by user

Data:

  • Name
  • Mailing address
  • Email address
  • Telephone number
  • Credit card number
  • Credit card type
  • Personal website

Both types of data are retained in perpetuity at our discretion unless we are notified by you to remove personal information from our archive. In such a case, we would remove all traces of data except when prevented by law, for example, for tax reporting purposes.

Email

The Conservancy manages a number of email lists through MailChimp to facilitate the distribution of our monthly newsletter and periodic notices. Conservancy patrons can subscribe to the newsletter to keep informed on news and events in the organization and Shoal Creek watershed. These email lists are protected by spambots and mechanisms employed on the MailChimp platform. If you are currently registered to receive a newsletter from the Conservancy but wish to terminate your subscription for any reason, you can unsubscribe here.

Email addresses are also collected through general email correspondence and donations. Unless otherwise directed by you, these email addresses are not added to our general email distribution lists but are stored in our email platform software and other databases. These storage areas are also protected by proprietary defense mechanisms.

Who can access this information?

In order to maintain our Privacy Promise, the personal information we collect through our website is only accessible by membership, communications, IT and direct managerial staff and contractors. Anonymous data may be compiled and distributed for use throughout the Conservancy, including to other staff, contractors, and the Board of Directors.

Will this information be shared with external parties?

The Conservancy does not sell, trade, rent or distribute to external parties the personal information we collect. Additionally, we do not sell, trade or rent anonymous data; however, we may distribute information such as website usage statistics to third parties for consideration for sponsorship and/or funding.

How is this information protected?

  • The information we collect is protected by a number of safeguards:
  • Website-level security
  • Website server protection/encryption
  • Data encryption for credit card numbers using SSL
  • Restriction of staff/contractor access to personal information and databases

Although these and other safeguards have been implemented to achieve industry standard approaches to data security, no data is 100% secure in perpetuity. If you do not feel comfortable providing personal information through our website, please contact us directly and we would be happy to arrange one of several alternatives.

Changes to the Privacy Promise

The Conservancy reserves the right to modify and/or update this Privacy Promise at any time. Should any material changes be made to the ways in which we use personally identifiable information, we will pursue all reasonable measures to inform you 30 days in advance of their institution:

  • We will post a notice prominently to our website
  • We will send an email to all subscribers of our newsletter(s)
  • As directed by applicable law, we will seek to obtain consent for continued use of data under a new Privacy Promise from all users if necessary.

Disclaimer

We may be forced to disclose personal information to legal and governmental authorities when compelled by law. Wherever possible, notification of this disclosure will be advertised. Please note, our website contains links to websites which are not governed by the Conservancy or our Privacy Promise. We encourage you to review their privacy statements to ensure compliance with your standards before continuing to browse those properties. By visiting our website you acknowledge and accept the terms of this Privacy Promise.

Contact us

If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding how the Conservancy collects, stores or uses information, please contact our communications staff; we are happy to chat.