Thank you for visiting matthewsplace.com and our online store (collectively, the “Site”).  This Site is operated by the Matthew Shepard Foundation, a Wyoming non-profit corporation (“the Foundation”), located at 1580 Lincoln Street, Suite 1150, Denver, CO 80203.  Your access to and use of this Site is subject to the following Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) and all applicable laws.  The terms “the Foundation”, “we”, “us” and “our” when used in this Privacy Policy means the Matthew Shepard Foundation. The terms “you” and “your” when used in this Privacy Policy means any user of this Site.

 

We understand your concerns about privacy and we want to assure you that the Foundation takes privacy matters seriously.  Therefore, we are providing this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.  If you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy, you may direct them to info@matthewsplace.com.

 

By using our Site, you are agreeing to the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy.  If you do not consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information as described in this Privacy Policy, please exit this Site.  Do not send the Foundation any confidential or proprietary information other than as necessary to use the Site.

 

We sometimes collect information about you in an effort to make the services and information we provide more efficient and customized to you. You are free to browse the Site without revealing any personally identifiable information about yourself. However, once you give us your personally identifiable information (as further described below), you are not anonymous to us. We collect two types of information from visitors to the Site, “Automatic Anonymous Information,” or “AAI,” and “Personally Identifiable Information, or “PII.”  We treat AAI and PII differently and the following sections describe both AAI and PII, and address how each type of information is collected and used by the Foundation.

 

The Site may automatically track certain information based upon your behavior. This information does not identify you personally. We use this information to improve the content and functionality of this Site, and to better understand and serve you. This information may include what browser you are using, your IP address, or other information.

 

"Cookies" are small pieces of information that a website will send to and store on your computer’s hard drive.  Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can configure your browser to prevent the use of cookies. The Foundation may use cookies to make our services available or easier for you to use.  For instance, we may use cookies to store your preferences or create a customized MyMatthewsPlace display of the Site for you. We may also store PII in cookies to improve our services and facilitate your use of the Site. Acceptance of cookies is not a requirement to browse our Site, however certain features and services may require the use of cookies to work properly.

 

PII is individually identifiable information about you that could permit one to identify or contact you. At various places on the Site, we may request certain PII, such as your name, e-mail address, and billing or shipping information in the event you purchase products through the Site.  You may choose to provide PII in order to access or use certain features or services of the Site, such as making a purchase, registering on the Site, filling out a survey, or providing feedback.  Where possible, we indicate which fields of information are required and which fields are optional.  You can always choose not to provide information, but you may not be able to use a particular service or feature on the Site.

 

We use AII we collect from you for specific and limited purposes including improving our products and services, making your experience more efficient and relevant, and providing you with a personalized service. We may also use your AII internally to administer this Site.

 

If you provide us with your e-mail address as part of a purchase transaction on our Site, or if you opt-in to receive communications from the Foundation, we may periodically send you newsletters, e-mails featuring exclusive sales and promotions, and e-mails requesting your feedback on our products and services. In addition, if you make a purchase on our Site, we will send you order and shipping confirmation emails.  You can remove your e-mail from our e-mail list at any time by visiting the “Accessing and Updating Your Information” section below to change your preferences, or clicking on the “unsubscribe” link in every e-mail from the Foundation.

 

The Foundation may share your PII: (i) with third parties who are under obligations of confidentiality with the Foundation or with the Foundation’s affiliates or subsidiaries, (ii) if the Foundation is required by law to do so, (iii) in the event of a transfer of ownership of the Foundation, merger or other similar transaction, or (iv) as otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy. The following describes some of the ways that your PII may be disclosed to third parties:

 

We may employ other third parties to perform services or functions on our behalf in order to improve our Site, including marketing and promotional efforts, communications or other services. Those third parties may include authorized contractors, consultants and other companies working with us (collectively, "agents"). These parties only have access to PII needed to perform their functions, and they may not share any PII with others or use it for any other purpose than providing or improving the Foundation’s services and offerings.

 

We may work with third party advertising companies to serve and track our marketing. These third parties may serve other cookies. Our advertising partners may use the AII they collect from our Site, in the aggregate, to help us better market and serve visitors to our Site.

 

This Privacy Policy applies only to the Site and does not address the practices of third parties who may collect your PII. You may visit other websites, through links on our Site, which may collect, use and share your PII in accordance with their own privacy policies. The information practices of those websites linking from or to our Site are not covered by this Privacy Policy, and we encourage you to be very cautious before you disclose your PII to others. If you register with the Foundation on another website or use a website providing a service for the Foundation, that website may provide PII about you and your transactions back to the Foundation.

In order to provide you with the information or products or services which you have requested, we may share or transfer your PII with our affiliates.

 

The Foundation may be obligated to cooperate with various law enforcement inquiries. The Foundation reserves the right to share or transfer PII to comply with a legal requirement, disclose any activities or PII about you to law enforcement or other government officials as we, in our sole discretion, determine necessary or appropriate, in connection with an investigation of fraud, for the administration of justice, intellectual property infringements, or other activity that is illegal or may expose us or you to legal liability.

 

You always have the opportunity to review and change the information you provide to us by logging into the site and entering in the new information yourself. You can edit your name, contact information and preferences by logging into the “My Profile” section of the Site.

 

You may ask to have your account information removed from our active databases; however, because of the way our database is configured, we cannot completely delete information but can remove you from any mailings, emails, and records that we use for Foundation communications. Also, as a security measure we "back up" the data stored on our systems, and such prior information cannot be completely removed from our databases. Therefore, you should not expect that all of your PII will be completely removed from our databases in response to your requests.

 

We have taken reasonable precautions to ensure any PII that you provide will be protected from disclosures other than as described in this Privacy Policy.

 

You must be at least 13 years old to have our permission to use this Site, and at least 18 years old to make any purchases in our online store. We do not knowingly collect, use or disclose Personally Identifiable Information about visitors under 13 years of age.  If you are under the age of 13, you can use this service only in conjunction with your parent's or guardian's permission.

 

The Foundation reserves the right to change, modify, add or remove portions of this Privacy Policy at any time.  Any changes will be posted in this document and will become effective immediately upon being posted unless we tell you otherwise.

 

If you are visiting this Site from a country other than the countries in which our servers are located (currently the United States), the various communications will necessarily result in the transfer of information across international boundaries.  By visiting this Site and communicating electronically with us, you consent to the processing and transfer of your data as set out in this Privacy Policy.

 

This Privacy Policy forms part of our Site Terms of Use and as such will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Colorado in the United States of America without regard to conflicts of a law principles. You hereby consent and waive all objection to jurisdiction of the federal and state courts of  the state Colorado and to venue therein.

 

If you have further questions about this Privacy Policy, comments on how we can improve your Site experience, or if you need help, please do not hesitate to email us at info@matthewsplace.com.

 

You may also contact us at:

 

Privacy Manager

Matthew Shepard Foundation

1580 Lincoln Street, Suite 1150

Denver, CO 80203

(303) 830-7400

 

We always enjoy hearing from you.