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GroundSource Privacy Policy

Effective Date: February 10, 2015

1. INTRODUCTION

GroundSource, Inc. (“GroundSource” or “we”) aspires to be transparent in how we interact with all our users and the sources (“users” or “sources”) as they they communicate. This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy” or the “Policy”) lets you know how we collect, use and disclose information from and about users and sources.

To be specific, this Policy describes how we use information collected through websites, text messaging, phone calls, webforms, mobile sites and applications (“apps”) and other services (collectively, “GroundSource’s Services”).

When you use GroundSource’s Services, you agree to be bound by this Policy and its terms and conditions. This Policy applies to any information that GroundSource collects and/or uses, which includes yours and sources’ personal information (i.e. information that identifies a specific person) and non-personal information (i.e. browser and software information, demographics and service usage).

GroundSource’s Services are for a general audience, and are not targeted to children. GroundSource does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years of age.

From time to time, we may update this Privacy Policy. Any changes will become effective when we post the updated Policy and will be reflected by the Effective Date at the top of this document. By continuing to use this website or GroundSource’s Services on or after the revised Effective Date, you agree to the terms of the modified Privacy Policy.

2. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

GroundSource and our service providers collect two types of information from and about users and sources (collectively, “your information”):

(1) Information you voluntarily give to GroundSource, for example, by providing your email address, phone number, or by signing up to use our community messaging platform; and

(2) Information that is automatically gathered when you navigate our website as a visitor, or when you “like” or share our content through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ or other social media websites and services (“Social Media Services”). This automatically-gathered information may be collected directly by GroundSource or by third-party service providers on our behalf.

Any information that sources or users give to or is collected by Social Media Services is subject to their individual privacy policies and not covered by this Policy. We recommend you consult their privacy policies for more information or before using their services to interact with our site. Facebook’s privacy policy can be found here; Twitter’s privacy policy can be found here; LinkedIn’s privacy policy can be found here; Google’s privacy policy can be foundhere.[2]

IF YOU CREATE MESSAGES AND SURVEYS:

  • You own your survey and messaging data. We won’t sell information you gather on the site and won’t use messages shared between you and your sources for purposes unrelated to you or our services. We may from time to time use information you have gathered over the platform in the aggregate to inform marketing efforts or to improve the system. Any personal or contact information sources share with your organization is yours to export and do with as you will. If you would like to download your data, please contact us at info@groundsource.co.
  • We safeguard respondents' contact information. To make it easier to message people and ask them questions, you may upload lists of contacts and phone numbers. We act as a custodian of that data and won’t sell any contact information and will use them only as directed by you and in accordance with this policy.

IF YOU ANSWER SURVEYS OR MESSAGES:

  • Messages and surveys are administered by creators. We host messages and surveys on our websites and collect the responses that you submit to the creator of the message or survey. The organization that is conducting the messaging or surveys is solely responsible for the content of those messages or surveys, and may have their own privacy policy that guides how they uses responses.
  • We don't sell your information to third parties. GroundSource doesn't sell or share your survey responses with third party advertisers or marketers (although the message or survey creator might, so check with them). GroundSource merely acts as a custodian on behalf of users who controls sources’ data, except as further described in this privacy policy with regard to public surveys or messages.
  • If you think a survey or message violates our Terms of Use or may be engaging in illegal activity, click here to report it.

Information You Provide When Making a Payment

GroundSource is committed to protecting our customer’s personal information and will never sell or lease any customer information. GroundSource collects and uses the personal information from its customers that is given to us for internal use only.

From time to time, we might track information such as name, address, telephone number and e-mail address, credit card information, information on events attended, publications received and special requests for program information, and information provided by the customer in the form of comments and suggestions.

GroundSource uses customer information to create accurate budget projections and to update customers on our plans and activities that match their interests. GroundSource stores customer and donation information in a secure database for IRS purposes, and this information is shared confidentially with board members and authorized staff.

GroundSource may trade or share customer information with other entities when the customer has given her consent or it is required by law. customers have the choice to opt out of mailing lists and communications and can do so by contacting GroundSource at info@groundsource.co.

If you wish to make a payment, we may use an independent third party payment processor to process such payments (a “Processor”). If you make a donation through such Processor, you will be directed to the Processor’s website. We may also share your information with a Processor only as necessary for such Processor to perform its functions and to the extent permitted by law. Any information that you provide to a Processor will be subject to the applicable Processor’s privacy policy, rather than this Policy.

Information We Get Automatically

In addition to information you voluntarily give to GroundSource, we also may get some of your information automatically as you navigate through our website or other of GroundSource’s Services. For example, in order for you to connect to GroundSource’s Services, our servers receive and record information about your computer, device, and browser, potentially including your IP address, browser type, and other software or hardware information. If you access GroundSource’s Services from a mobile or other device, we may collect a unique device identifier assigned to that device, geolocation data, or other transactional information for that device. We also obtain the following information automatically:

  • Cookies. GroundSource uses cookies in order to improve our website. Cookies and other tracking technologies (such as browser cookies, pixels, beacons, and Adobe Flash technology including cookies) are comprised of small bits of data that often include a unique identifier that does not identify you personally. Websites, apps and other services send this data to your browser when you first request a web page and then store the data on your computer so the website can access information when you make subsequent requests for pages from that service. In other words, cookies help websites “remember” that you visited the website before. These technologies may be used to collect and store information about your usage of GroundSource’s Services, such as pages you have visited, and content you have viewed. In particular, we use “session ID” cookies, which expire when you close your browser as well as persistent cookies, which recognize your browser when you come back to our site. You can modify your cookie settings through your browser settings. However, if you do not accept cookies from our site, you may experience reduced functionality. Third party providers of web analytics services, such as Google Analytics and Chartbeat, may also use cookies and web beacons to gather this sort of information on our behalf. [To learn more about Google Analytics, click here[A1] . To install a browser add-on (available for most standard browsers) that communicates with Google Analytics to indicate that information about your website visit should not be sent to Google Analytics, click here.
  • IP Address. We use IP addresses to learn how often site users visit parts of our website. We might combine that information with personally identifiable information that we have collected to improve our website and communications.
  • Web beacons and other technologies. These technologies help us track where users visited on the site and other user behaviors.

The information we collect automatically may be combined with information that is personally identifiable and information from other sources, such as publicly available information from Social Media Services and commercially available sources a so that we may improve our site.

3. USE AND DISCLOSURE

GroundSource might use information about you for the following purposes:

  • to maintain your account, deliver services or products that you requested, and to improve your experience on our website;
  • to communicate with you about the website, GroundSource’s community based journalism network, or other products or services that you might be interested in;
  • to respond to your questions and comments;
  • to perform analysis to improve the quality of our organization, the website, and the products we offer; or
  • for other purposes when you have given your consent.

GroundSource also takes serious precautions to guard your information and will never lease, sell or trade your information without your explicit permission. We may, however, share or use your information for the following additional purposes:

To allow service providers to assist us in providing and managing GroundSource’s Services. We may make your information available to certain third party service providers, such as contractors, agents or sponsors, who help us manage or provide GroundSource’s Services, for example, website maintenance and support, payment processing, email distribution and promotions management. These service providers may not use personal information for any purpose other than in connection with the specific service they are providing to you and GroundSource or as required by law. Use of your personal information by these third party vendors is governed by their own privacy policies and procedures and not by this Policy.

To contact you. We may periodically send you notifications related to GroundSource’s Services. You may not opt out of certain technical updates or policy-related notifications, but you may always opt out of any promotional materials.

To protect the rights of GroundSource and others. There may be instances when we may disclose your information, including situations where we has a good faith belief that such disclosure is necessary in order to: (i) protect, enforce, or defend the legal rights, privacy, safety, or property of GroundSource; (ii) protect the safety, privacy, and security of users of GroundSource’s Services or members of the public including in urgent circumstances; (iii) protect against fraud or for risk management purposes; (iv) comply with the law or legal process; or (v) respond to requests from public and government authorities.

4. SECURITY

GroundSource uses commercially reasonable administrative, technical, personnel and physical measures to safeguard information in its possession against loss, theft and unauthorized use, disclosure or modification. However, because no physical or electronic security system is impenetrable, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of our servers or databases, those of third party service providers or Social Media Services.

5. OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Location of Data. GroundSource’s Services are hosted by third party hosting services that supply the servers, data storage, software, and databases for us to run GroundSource’s technology (“Hosting Providers”). Because we do not control these Hosting Providers, we cannot guarantee where your data will be located at all times. If you are a user located outside the United States, you understand and consent to having any personal information potentially processed by our Hosting Providers in the United States. United States data protection and other relevant laws may not be the same as those in your jurisdiction. This includes the use of cookies and other tracking technologies as described above. As a result, please read this Policy with care. Use of your personal information by our Hosting Providers is governed by their own privacy policies and procedures and not by this Policy.

Data Retention. We will retain your information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required or allowed by law. Remember that copies of your registration information or other personal information may remain viewable in some circumstances where, for example, you have shared such information with social media services or other third parties. Because of the nature of caching technology, your registration information or other personal information may not be instantly inaccessible to others, and we cannot be responsible for retention of such information by third parties who have had access to such information. We may also retain backup information related to your account on our servers for some time after cancellation for fraud detection or to comply with applicable law or our internal security policies. Due to technical constraints, contractual, financial or legal requirements, it is not always possible to completely remove or delete all of your personal information.

California Residents. Residents of the State of California may request a list of all third parties to which this website has disclosed certain information during the preceding year for such third parties' direct marketing purposes. If you are a California resident and want such a list, please contact us at: info@groundsource.co. For all requests, you must put the statement "Your California Privacy Rights" in the body of your request, as well as your name, street address, city, state, and zip code. Please note that we will not accept requests via the telephone, mail, or by facsimile, and we are not responsible for notices that are not labeled or sent properly, or that do not have complete information.

6. CONTACT US

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
Email: info@groundsource.co
Mail: 1483 Oglethorpe St, Macon, Georgia 31201