Brooklyn Botanic Garden Website Privacy Policy
Commitment to Your Privacy and Security
Because we gather certain types of information about our users, we feel you should fully understand the terms and conditions surrounding the capture and use of that information. The following policy is intended to explain how your personal information will be treated as you make use of our site. Personal information includes your name, street, and e-mail addresses, billing information, click-through activity, and any other information you may provide here. This policy may change from time to time, so please check back periodically. By using the Brooklyn Botanic Garden website, you consent to the data practices described in this statement.
Information BBG Gathers and Tracks
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Online Gift Shop
The BBG online gift shop secure server software uses industry-standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology, which is among the best software available to safeguard online transactions. As it travels over the Internet, your personal information, including credit card number, name, and address, is encoded by SSL so that all transactions are secure. If you prefer, you may also place your order by phone at 718-623-7280.
When you order a product from the Garden Gift Shop online, we need to know your name, billing and shipping addresses, telephone number, e-mail address, and credit card information to process your order. Your credit card information will be used only as needed to process your transaction. So that we can track your order, we will retain your order information for our records. BBG does not sell, rent, or otherwise exploit in any way the customer information collected in this process.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Online Membership Purchases and Donations
BBG processes online membership purchases, membership renewals, and donations using technology provided by Blackbaud, Inc. The latest encryption technologies are employed, and Blackbaud will not disclose, sell, trade, rent, or otherwise reveal your personal information to any entity other than BBG. Blackbaud is committed to protecting your privacy. To view their privacy policy, use the following link: Blackbaud, Inc. Privacy Policy.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden occasionally shares its mailing addresses with like-minded nonprofit organizations. BBG does not share phone numbers, fax numbers, or e-mail addresses. In accordance with standard practices in the nonprofit world, any list that BBG shares with other organizations is done on a one-time basis only. In other words, an organization to which we provide your address for a mailing will have the use of it only for that mailing and will not be authorized to keep your address, nor provide it to third parties unless you subsequently establish contact with that organization. The same organization might, at BBG's discretion, share portions of our list at a future time but would not have access to your name or address during any point in between.
If you do not want your information shared, there are several ways to let us know. All BBG membership forms—for both renewals and first-time members—state, "If you do not want us to share your address, check here" and have a checkbox. Simply check the box and your information will never be shared. You may also e-mail membership@bbg.org or call the Membership Department at 718-623-7210 to place yourself on the "no-share" list.
Cookies
A cookie is a small piece of information that a server can place in a browser to later identify the browser. The primary purpose of a cookie is to save you time. When used with an online shopping system, a cookie allows the server to identify the user and keep track of what has been ordered. This is the only instance in which BBG uses cookies. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you and can only be read by a Web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you. A cookie is simply a line of text in a file.
BBG E-News
We offer a free electronic newsletter to users. BBG gathers the e-mail addresses of users who voluntarily subscribe. Users may remove themselves from this mailing list by following the link provided in every newsletter that points users to the subscription management page. The information collected here is used solely for the purpose of the newsletter. BBG does not sell, rent, or otherwise exploit in any way the e-mail addresses of e-News subscribers and recipients.
BBG Membership E-mails
Periodically, BBG's Membership Department sends out information regarding membership renewals, benefits, public events, and important Garden news or information. Members' e-mail addresses are collected through forms that are filled out by the members. Users may remove themselves from this mailing list by following the instructions at the bottom of every e-mail dispatch.
BBG E-Cards
BBG offers its online visitors the opportunity to send e-cards featuring photographs of the Garden. This service is administered by BBG, and the user information that is input in this process is not captured or used for any purpose other than sending and receiving the e-cards.
Feedback Forms
There are several places on the BBG website where users can send questions or comments to BBG. The information supplied in these instances is used solely for the purpose of the inquiry, and this data is not stored or used elsewhere.
Traffic Logs
BBG tracks user traffic patterns throughout the site. However, we do not correlate this information with data about individual users. BBG does break down overall usage statistics according to a user's domain name, browser type, and MIME (data) type by reading this information from the browser string (information contained in every user's browser).
BBG sometimes tracks and catalogs the search terms that users enter in our Search function, but this tracking is never associated with individual users. We use tracking information to determine which areas of our sites users like and don't like, based on traffic in those areas. We do not track what individual users read, but rather how well each page performs overall. This helps us continue to build a better service for you.
BBG does not use cookies to track user traffic patterns.
Children
Consistent with the Federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), we will never knowingly request personal information from anyone under the age of 13 without requesting parental consent.
Revisions to Our Privacy Policy
Please note that BBG may revise its privacy policy at any time. Such revisions may arise in response to changes in the law, policy, our site, or other factors. We encourage you to periodically visit this page to review our most current policy.
Contact BBG
If you have any further questions or concerns about BBG's privacy policies and use of personal information, please send them to the Website Manager.