Minnesota Wildflowers Privacy Policy

This privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their 'Personally Identifiable Information' (PII) is being used online. PII, as described in US privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read our privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with our website.

In a nutshell:

  1. We do not track visitors on our website. We only utilize standard server statistics to aggregate records of visitor patterns, but collect no personally identifying information.
  2. Any personal information you provide via a contact or comment form, or via email, remains confidential, never given to a third party without your express permission unless required to do so by law.
  3. If you make a donation online, your information is collected by the payment processor on their secure server. If it is not an anonymous donation, we subsequently receive your name, email and mailing address but no credit card information. We use this information to send “thank you” messages and tax receipts to donors, either by email or snail mail.
  4. We do not automatically subscribe email addresses to any mailing list.
  5. Cookies are used to suppress the “Make a Donation” pop-up for those who do make a donation to the project. The blog system and online shopping cart (both in WordPress) use cookies to process user-entered data.
  6. We no longer make use of select third-party services to provide sharing and social media services, since we could not guarantee their own privacy policies comply with the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDRP). We appreciate any feedback you may have about such services.
  7. Our mobile app is operated by MN Flora Group LLC, who receives no personally identifying information about individuals who purchase the app. The app itself does not track users or pass any information to third parties.

That's it. Read on if you would like more information.

What personal information do we collect from the people that visit our website or blog?

We may collect names and email addresses, when explicitly provided by the visitor. We collect no other personally identifying information.

When do we collect information?

We only collect information from you when you fill out a form or enter information on our site, or email us directly.

How do we use your information?

We may use the information we collect from you in the following ways:

  • To engage other users making comments by displaying the names of other commenters.
  • To follow up with you via email or snail mail correspondence

How do we protect your information?

We only provide articles and information. We never ask for credit card numbers.

Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems, are required to keep the information confidential, and use strong passwords. In addition, all information you supply is encrypted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.

We implement a variety of security measures when a user enters or submits their information to maintain the safety of your personal information.

Any monetary transactions, such as donations, are processed through a gateway provider and are not stored or processed on our servers. Should you choose to use one of these services (PayPal.com, GiveMN.org, etc.) you will be subject to their own privacy policies.

Do we use 'cookies'?

Sometimes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer's hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the site's or service provider's systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information.

We only use cookies:

  1. Following a donation when the visitor returns to our website from the link provided at PayPal. The purpose of the cookie is to “remember” the donor and suppress the donation pop-up window on the home page when using the same device and browser.
  2. When submitting a comment on the blog portion of the website or order in our online shop, required by the blog system (WordPress) as a spam deterrent. Submitting a comment on other portions of the website does not use cookies.

There is no other use of cookies at this site.

You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser settings; some browsers also have extensions that provide better fine-tuning of cookie management. Since each browser is a little different, look at your browser's Help Menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies.

If users disable cookies in their browser:

The home page donation pop-up will not be suppressed following a donation, and comments cannot be submitted on the blog portion of the website, and you will not be able to do any ordering in our online shop. There is no other change to the user experience.

Third-party disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your Personally Identifiable Information.

Third-party links

At our discretion, we may include or offer third-party products or services on our website. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

As of May 20, 2018 we have disabled all social media and sharing services to comply with the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDRP). We may add an alternative sharing feature in the future.

PayPal

All PayPal transactions are subject to the PayPal Privacy Policy. Sorry.

Google

We have not enabled Google AdSense or Google Analytics on our site and have no plans to do so, or use any other third-party feeds in the future.

We do not track visitors to the website.

Mobile app

The Minnesota Wildflowers mobile app, available for Android and iPhone, that displays our logo is managed by MN Flora Group LLC. Neither the app nor MN Flora Group LLC track users or receive any personally identifying information.

Fair Information Practices

The Fair Information Practices Principles form the backbone of privacy law in the United States and the concepts they include have played a significant role in the development of data protection laws around the globe. Understanding the Fair Information Practice Principles and how they should be implemented is critical to comply with the various privacy laws that protect personal information.

In order to be in line with Fair Information Practices we will take the following responsive action, should a data breach occur:

  • We will notify the users via in-site notification within 7 business days

We also agree to the Individual Redress Principle which requires that individuals have the right to legally pursue enforceable rights against data collectors and processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or government agencies to investigate and/or prosecute non-compliance by data processors.

CAN SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have emails stopped from being sent to them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.

We collect your email address in order to:

  • Respond to inquiries and comments, and/or other requests or questions

We do not bulk mail advertising or other solicitations, though we may provide a newsletter in the future.

To be in accordance with CAN-SPAM, we agree to the following:

  • Not use false or misleading subjects or email addresses.
  • If the message can be considered an advertisement, identify it as such in some reasonable way.
  • Include the physical address of our business or site headquarters.
  • Monitor third-party email marketing services for compliance, if one is used.
  • Honor opt-out/unsubscribe requests quickly.
  • Allow users to unsubscribe by using the link at the bottom of each email.

If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails:

  • Follow the instructions at the bottom of each email.
    and we will promptly remove you from ALL correspondence.

Contacting Us

If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy, you may contact us using the information below.

Minnesota Wildflowers Information
1590 Long Lake Rd
New Brighton, MN 55112

https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info
info@minnesotawildflowers.info