Privacy Policy – Lakeshore Arts Approved by the Board of Lakeshore Arts on May 10, 2004. The Board of Directors will review this policy annually. Our Commitment Lakeshore Arts is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of its members, board of directors, employees, web-users and other stakeholders. Lakeshore Arts does not sell, trade or give out its membership mailing lists. During the course of our various programs, services and projects, Lakeshore Arts frequently gathers and uses personal information. Anyone from whom we collect such information should expect that it will be carefully protected and that any use of or other dealing with this information is subject to consent. Lakeshore Art’s privacy practices are designed to achieve this. Defining Personal Information Personal information is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual. This information can include an individual's opinions or beliefs, as well as facts about, or related to, the individual. Exceptions: business contact information and certain publicly available information, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers as published in telephone directories, are not considered personal information. Privacy Practices Personal information gathered by Lakeshore Arts is kept in confidence. Only authorized Lakeshore Arts personnel and volunteers have access to this information. Safeguards are in place to ensure that the information is not disclosed or shared more widely than is necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was gathered. Information collected through membership applications/renewals and fundraising campaigns are used to make the services and programs of Lakeshore Arts possible. Lakeshore Arts does not sell, trade, or rent personal information to other organizations or individuals. If ever we provide your information with an outside organization (such as the mailing house that sends out our newsletter), we have a contract binding them to the same strict privacy controls that we use ourselves. Use of Information Lakeshore Arts uses personal information to better serve its members and to expand our community. Primarily, this includes: a) mailing (by mail or electronic) and phone calls to provide information about programming, ticket sales, memberships and donations b) mailings(by mail or electronic) and phone calls to thank supporters and issue tax receipts c) mailings (by mail and electronic) and phone calls to invite members and supporters to special events d) mailings (by mail and electronic)and phone calls to sell subscriptions, ticktets and solicit donations Lakeshore Arts is committed to using personal information in a respectful and useful way. Members, patrons and supporters will receive information that we belief will be in their interest. The organization will also commit itself to making sure members, patrons and supporters do not receive more than a reasonable number of letters or phone calls. If an individual requests that their personal information not be used for one of these purposes as noted above, or for any other purpose, that request will be honoured. The individual’s account will be updated accordingly. Membership When members join Lakeshore Arts, we require their name, organization (if applicable), mailing address, phone number(s) and email address. The mailing address is where we send the members’ membership mailings, including our newsletter. If a donation is made, the mailing address is required on the tax receipt by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA). Website Lakeshore Arts employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. This software receives and records the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer that has contacted our website, the date and time of the visit and the pages visited. We make no attempt to link these addresses with the identity of individuals visiting our site unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected. Lakeshore Arts does not normally use "cookies" to track how our visitors use this site or to determine sites previously visited. The system will notify you before any cookies are used so that you may refuse them. (A "cookie" is a file that may be placed on your hard drive without your knowledge by a website to allow it to monitor your use of the site.) Our site may include links to other websites whose privacy policies we don't control. Once you leave our servers (you can check where you are by looking at the URL in the location bar on your browser), use of any information you provide is governed by the privacy policy of the operator of the site you are visiting. That policy may differ from ours. If you can't find the privacy policy of any of these sites via a link from the site's homepage, you should contact the site directly for more information. Lakeshore Arts is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites. Electronic Communication It is best to think of e-mail much like you do a postcard—it is not sealed, and can be read by anyone determined to do so. This is important to remember whenever you divulge information that you consider private. Lakeshore Arts advises against emailing private financial information, such as credit card numbers. Brochure/Newsletter Requests When you request a brochure regarding Lakeshore Arts membership, programming, workshops/seminars, we will add your contact information to a mailing list. This list is exclusively for the purposes of distributing this information. Financial Information Lakeshore Arts will protect all personal financial information that you share with us. For reasons of security, we do not store credit card information in our membership database. We do retain order information for our records, but this information is never shared with third parties. Contact Information Questions or comments regarding this policy, or the administration of the Privacy Act at Lakeshore Arts may be directed to our Membership Coordinator by e-mail to lakeshorearts@bellnet.ca or by calling 416-201-7093 or writing to our Membership and Volunteer Coordinator, Lakeshore Arts, 2733 Lake Shore Blvd. W., Suite 214, Toronto ON M8V 1G9.