Privacy Policy

Thank you for visiting the Matthew Shepard Foundation’s website, including our interactive online community,  Matthew’s Place, 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 1530 Blake Street, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80202.

We understand that privacy is a unique and sensitive concern for members of our community, and we work to make our Site a resource that you can trust to respect your privacy, protect the confidentiality of your contact information, and honor your wish to remain anonymous if you so desire.  Any information you choose to share with us is voluntary.  We also ask that members of our community respect the privacy of others, and not request or divulge any identifiable information on any other person or community member. Your access to and use of this Site is subject to acceptance of this Privacy Policy, and our Terms of Use  , and all applicable laws.

This notice explains 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 media@matthewshepard.org. 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 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 personal information about yourself.  However, once you give us your personal information (as further described below), you are not anonymous to us.  We collect two types of information from visitors to the Site: Technical Information and Personal Information.  We treat Technical Information and Personal Information differently and the following sections describe both Technical and Personal Information, and address how each type of information is collected and used by the Foundation.

Technical Information.  The Site may automatically track certain Technical Information based upon your behavior.  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 technical 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 MyMatthewShepard.org display of the Site for you.  We may also store Personal Information 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.

Personal Information.  Personal Information 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 Personal Information, such as your name, e-mail address, and billing or shipping information in the event you purchase products or make a donation through the Site.  You may choose to provide Personal Information 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 Technical Information we collect to improve our Site, make your experience more efficient and relevant, and provide you with a more customized experience.  We may also use Technical Information internally to administer this Site.

When you provide Personal Information, we will use that information to provide you with the information you request and to maintain contact with you.  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 Personal Information: (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) if we become aware you are a danger to yourself or others, or as otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy.  The following describes some of the ways that your Personal Information 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 Personal Information needed to perform their functions, and they may not share any Personal Information 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 Technical Information they collect from our Site, in the aggregate, to help us better market and serve visitors to our Site.

We do not share personal information for third parties to use in their own marketing efforts.

The Foundation may be obligated to cooperate with various law enforcement inquiries. The Foundation reserves the right to share or transfer Personal Information to comply with a legal requirement, disclose any activities or Personal Information 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.  We will also comply with any requests through legal process to reveal your identity in connection with a dispute against you based on your violation of our Community Standards or Terms of Use.

If we become aware that you are a danger to yourself, MSF, or others, we may use or share the information you have provided to protect ourselves or others, to help you get the help you need, to put you in contact with appropriate resources, or to take any action we deem necessary to protect members of our community, including MSF.

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 Personal Information will be completely removed from our databases in response to your requests.

We have taken reasonable physical, electronic and administrative precautions to ensure any Personal Information 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 Personal Information about visitors under 13 years of age.

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 in the United States subject to the laws of the United States.  Please do not use the Site if it is illegal to do so in your country.

Our website contains links or references to other Web sites maintained by third parties over whom we have no control and to which this Privacy Policy does not extend.  These links are provided merely as a convenience.  Similarly, our Web site may be accessed from third party links over whom we have no control.  This Privacy Policy applies only to the Site and does not address the practices of third parties who may collect your Personal Information. You may visit other websites, through links on our Site, which may collect, use and share your Personal Information 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 Personal Information 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 Personal Information about you and your transactions back to the Foundation.

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 Wyoming 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 of Wyoming and/or Colorado, and to exclusive 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 media@matthewshepard.org.

You may also contact us at:
Privacy Manager
Matthew Shepard Foundation
1530 Blake Street, Suite 200
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 830-7400

We always enjoy hearing from you.