Terms and Conditions of Use

PRIVACY POLICY FOR THE CULTURE COUNT™ WEBSITE

Welcome to the CultureCount™ ("We," "Us," "Our") website ("site"). This site is administered and operated by the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA, "We," "Us", "Our"), in partnership or affiliation with the state arts agencies of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. This Privacy Policy ("Policy") covers how We use and treat information collected and received through the use of this site by users ("You"). Upon reading this Policy, You will know this site's privacy practices, including:

1) What personally identifiable information is collected from You through Your use of this site and how this is done;
2) Who collects Your information;
3) How Your information will be used;
4) With whom the information may be shared or disseminated, under what circumstances this can occur, and what type of information is shared;
5) The type of security measures that are in place, if any, to protect against the loss, misuse, or unintentional destruction of Your information;
6) How You can access and correct any inaccuracies in the information provided by You, when appropriate; and
7) Who to contact if You have any questions regarding this Policy and Our practices regarding the collection and use of Your information.

1. General Privacy Considerations

Based upon this Policy, You can, in some instances, make an informed choice as to the information You wish to share with Us. As a general matter, We take reasonable precautions to protect Your privacy, when appropriate, depending upon the information to be protected. We cannot and do not, however, guarantee absolute privacy. As detailed in this Policy, certain information that You provide to Us, including "personally identifiable information" (as defined below), will be disclosed and displayed publicly in certain areas of the site for users and other third parties to use as they see fit. This disclosure, however, only relates to Your information as an artist, cultural organization, or member of the creative community. We do not make Your user account information public.

This Policy only applies to information that We collect from this site and does not apply to information that We may collect in any other forums or by other methods. Also, to the extent that Our site contains any content which conflicts with the terms of this Policy, this Policy shall control. Also, this Policy does not apply to the privacy practices of any state agency or other organization with which We are affiliated or from which We may receive funding, data, or other resources. We make no representations and are not responsible for the privacy, information collection, disclosure, and data aggregation practices of another entity or organization. This Policy also does not apply to any other websites or databases for which We or other users may provide links. Please consult the appropriate policy of that site or database if You have any questions about its privacy practices.

2. What Information We Collect and How We Do It

Information can generally be collected in two ways: (1) Information that is knowingly and voluntarily input and sent by You; and (2) information that is collected automatically. Mere use and viewing of this site does not require You to input any "personally identifiable information" in response to particular prompts or fields. If, however, You decide to use the functions and features on this site, You may be required to input certain "personally identifiable information" at various times. In addition, as described below, this site automatically collects some information from You when You use it.

We use the term "personally identifiable information" to mean any type of information that could be used to identify or be readily associated with You, the user of this site. Examples of personally identifiable information include, but are not limited to, Your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address, or any combination thereof. For example, depending upon what You want to use this site for and how You use it, You may be required to disclose Your e-mail address and other information about Yourself and/or Your organization. This would be a voluntary disclosure by You of personally identifiable information. While the e-mail address You choose may or may not potentially contain some of Your personally identifiable information (i.e. JohnDSmith@yahoo.com versus JDS123@yahoo.com) this information may be available to others from Your service provider in certain circumstances (which You likely provided when You first opened Your e-mail account). Thus, personally identifiable information could be disclosed to other users or third parties who use this site.

a. Information Provided Voluntarily

There are several ways that You can provide information voluntarily. For example, when You first use this site, You may be required to provide data in response to particular fields. This includes information such as: Your organization's name, street address, postal address, website address, e-mail address (for general inquiries), year founded, year terminated or dissolved (if applicable), a brief description of Your organization, and the director's or manager's name. This information disclosed by You will be publicly available to any user who uses the site to search the database. This is one of the main purposes of CultureCount™, i.e., to serve as a resource for others in the creative community by providing certain information about Your organization. We may also ask You for certain financial information about Your organization. This information will only be disclosed by Us to third parties in the aggregate (with the financial information from other organizations). In other words, any disclosure would not identify a specific organization.

We may also ask You for information such as Your non-public e-mail address and telephone number, for example. This information will not be publicly available or disseminated to other users through their use of the site, but will be accessible and available to Us (and Our third party service provider as described in Sections 3 and 8) for Our own use. However, regardless of whether Your information is publicly available to other users or not, it is still considered to be personally identifiable information that You are providing to Us voluntarily.

The transmission of an e-mail or other communication voluntarily initiated by You to Us or to another user can also transmit personally identifiable information about You. For example, if You include Your name, telephone number, and other information somewhere in the body of the e-mail (or in an attachment), this information is personally identifiable. It is no different then sending a letter to someone which contains this information. You should not send personally identifiable information via unencrypted e-mail, particularly information which You deem to be sensitive or confidential. Furthermore, any information that You provide about Yourself in any posting intended to be viewed by others will result in the voluntary disclosure by You of Your personally identifiable information. Any such information voluntarily provided by You could also be disclosed and disseminated to others outside of Your intended recipient or audience.

b. Information Collected Automatically

The automatic collection of information refers to information collected from You that does not require You to intentionally provide information in response to particular prompts or fields. For example, a site can use "cookies." A cookie is a small text file placed automatically on Your computer's web browser that is used to recognize users who have previously visited the site. The information in the cookie is transmitted back to the web site's computer. In general, these cookies are either persistent, and may reside and be stored on Your computer after You last accessed the site (or until You delete or otherwise dispose of them), or temporary. A site may use temporary cookies called "session cookies," which are stored for a single user session with the site and are deleted as soon as the user's browser is shut down. Presently, We use persistent cookies on Our site to store Your identifying information when You choose to have the site remember Your log-in information. We also use cookies when You log in so You can access other portions of Our site. In many instances, You may not be aware that a cookie is being placed on Your computer. If You want to know when this occurs or prevent it from happening, You can adjust the settings on Your web browser. Please be aware, however, that blocking the use of cookies could affect Your ability to use this site.

We automatically collect Your "internet protocol" ("IP") address. An IP address is a unique series of numbers that identifies each computer connected to the internet. An IP address can be used to provide information such as the date and time of a user's visit, the availability of requested files, the popularity of various site functions, and the amount of information transmitted to each user from a site. Presently, We use Your IP address to address the frequency of Your visits to this site and to determine the frequency with which certain pages and functions of the site are accessed. This will allow Us to improve the site's functionality and to determine which features generate the most interest. If You use CultureCount™ and are not a registered user, only a particular computer is identified through its IP address, so Your usage of the site is anonymous and is not matched to any personally identifiable information. If, however, You become a registered user and log-in to use Your account, We are able to track and store what pages You visit. In this instance, We are able to match Your specific usage of the site with Your personally identifiable information.

We will not routinely attempt to match Your particular IP address to any personally identifiable information that You may provide to Us on Your own, except in certain situations. For example, in instances where We, in Our sole discretion, suspect or determine that the site is being used for any unacceptable, inappropriate, or illegal purposes, information relating to Your use of this site may be disclosed to other parties as We deem appropriate. Such information may also be disclosed pursuant to any authorized law enforcement investigation, regardless of whether it was initiated by Us or by another party, or through other authorized legal process or procedure initiated by a third party.

3. Who Collects Your Information

As noted above, We collect certain information from You. However, as noted in Section 8, We use a third party service provider, Community Logic, Inc. ("CLI"), to host and administer Our site. All information provided by You to Us is processed by CLI and stored, in large part, in its servers and on other media. While CLI does not solicit this information from You, it does passively collect Your information due to its hosting activities and may, in certain circumstances, disclose and make use of it. Please see Section 8 for more information.

4. How We Use and/or Disseminate Your Personally Identifiable Information

We may, in Our sole discretion, sell, license, or allow access to certain personally identifiable or other information We collect from You when using this site to third parties who may then use it for their own purposes. Also, once personally identifiable information is collected through Your use of this site, regardless of how often You use it, We will make certain uses of it for Our own internal and administrative purposes.

As stated in more detail in the Terms and Conditions of Use ("TCU"), it is Your responsibility to ensure that You use this site responsibly and in accordance with Our Unacceptable Use and Content Policy ("Use and Content Policy") in the TCU. If We receive a complaint from another user or other third party, or otherwise learn that You are using the site inappropriately or posting content in violation of the Use and Content Policy, whether intentionally or not, We may access Your personally identifiable and other information to determine, in Our sole discretion, the validity and substance of such a complaint. If We, in Our sole discretion, deem the complaint to have merit or if it requires further investigation, personally identifiable information relating to Your use of this site may be disclosed to other parties as We deem appropriate. Such information may also be disclosed pursuant to any authorized law enforcement investigation or other legal process, regardless of whether it was initiated by Us or another party. For example, if We receive a subpoena or court order, We may be required to disclose the information.

We may also take other remedial actions with respect to Your use or content, as described in the TCU. We may also access Your information if You contact Us and give Us permission to do so. In addition, if You provide Us with personally identifiable information, We may match and/or aggregate this with other information and data about You that We already have in Our possession. Furthermore, We may also have certain disclosure obligations to the federal government due to Our involvement with the National Endowment for the Arts or to the state governments with whom We partner or affiliate, as described above.

We have given certain third parties the right to disseminate surveys to the users of the CultureCount™ site. You are not required to participate in these surveys and may "opt out" at the time You receive any such survey. If You choose to participate, You may have the option to include Your name and/or other personally identifiable information to the third party, but are not required to do so. If You disclose personally identifiable information, Your responses on the survey can be matched to You. If You do not, Your responses will be aggregated with all of the other responses that are received from other users.

If You contact Us via e-mail or letter regarding the site and We are not the appropriate party regarding the subject of Your inquiry, We may, in Our sole discretion, forward and disclose Your communication to the appropriate party for the matters referred to therein. This could include Our service provider, a vendor, a funding organization, or a state arts agency, for example. For instance, if You contact Us and have specific questions about Our funding or the grant process, We may forward Your communication to another party for consideration.

5. Web Site Security

We do not use encryption in any area of this site. Certain areas of this site, however, are only accessible by password and are not available to the general public. You are responsible for selecting and maintaining the confidentiality of Your password and account information. Sharing of Your password and account information is at Your own risk. In addition, CLI, Our service provider, will be making back-up copies of the site at regular intervals.

6. Accessing and Correcting Your Information

If You provide personally identifiable information to Us, We will, in most instances, provide access to You to correct any information that You deem to be inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date (collectively "outdated information"), as long as Your account remains active. Also, even if You correct, update, or replace Your personally identifiable information, Your outdated information may still exist indefinitely in other forums or on other websites as they may archive Your information for an indeterminate period of time. This may also occur even if You no longer use Our site and or if You delete Your personally identifiable information in its entirety.

7. Children's Information

We do not actively market, target, or direct Our efforts to, or knowingly collect personally identifiable information from, children under the age of thirteen (13) years. The content and use of this site is intended for adults only.

8. Third Party Service Providers

As stated in Section 3, NEFA contracts with a third party service provider, CLI, to host this site. We provide third party service providers with Our information so that it may perform its services according to the terms of Our agreement with them. We do not purposely or knowingly disclose Your personally identifiable information to third party service providers unless We are required to do so. CLI, however, may also have access to Your personally identifiable information and may disclose it to third parties in certain circumstances. We do not control and are not responsible for CLI's conduct and for any disclosures that it may make. If You have any questions about CLI's privacy practices, You may contact the company at: info@clinc.us. Please note that by visiting the CLI website, a persistent or temporary cookie may be placed on Your web browser which could be used to analyze Your usage of that particular site.

9. Policy Revisions

You will be notified via e-mail by Us if this Policy is amended or modified. Any use of the site after the date of notification shall be deemed acceptance of the amended or modified Policy and all terms and conditions therein, whether it relates to Your personally identifiable information or not. No modification made by You shall be binding upon Us unless it is made in writing and signed by Us.

10. Links to Other Websites

CultureCount™ may contain hypertext links to other websites. We are not responsible or liable for the content, transmissions, or privacy practices of these other sites. Any questions that You may have regarding another site’s content, transmissions, or privacy practices must be directed to the appropriate party at that site. If the link is provided by a user or other third party, You may also direct Your questions to the party that provided the link, if possible.

11. Contact Information

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or Our information collection and dissemination practices, please contact NEFA via mail at: New England Foundation for the Arts, 145 Tremont Street, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02111; or via e-mail at: Research@NEFA.org.