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Privacy Policy

Last Modified: January 21, 2022.

The Weston Family Foundation (the “Foundation”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

This policy sets out how we collect, use, and disclose personal information and other information when you visit or use our websites and social media pages (individually and collectively the “Site”).  Please read the following carefully to understand our practices regarding your privacy.

INFORMATION WE MAY COLLECT FROM YOU

Information you give us on the Site

You can visit the Site without registering or giving us any personal information at all.

You may voluntarily give us personal information including your name, mailing address, email address, phone number, organization, affiliations, and other information about you when using the Site such as if you:

  • register as a user of our online grant management system;
  • use our online grant management system, such as to submit applications for grants, or to submit or update information or reports in connection with grants;
  • correspond with us through the contact information on the Site, such as by phone or email.  

If you provide us with personal information of anyone other than yourself, you are responsible to obtain all necessary consents from the individuals whose personal information you give us for the purposes described in this policy. 

Information automatically collected on the Site

IP Addresses and Click-Stream Data

We may automatically collect the following information when you visit the Site:

  • Technical information, including the internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the internet, your login information, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform; 
  • Information about your visit, including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) clickstream to, through and from the Site (including date and time); offerings you viewed or searched for; page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), and methods used to browse away from the page.

Please see also “SmartSimple Platform”, “Google Analytics”, and “Cookies” below.

COOKIES

The Site uses cookies.  A cookie is a small file containing a string of characters and numbers that is sent to your computer when you visit a website. When you visit that website again, the cookie allows that website to recognise your browser.  To learn more about cookies, and how they can affect your privacy, visit allaboutcookies.org.  For information on the cookies which may be used on the Site and the purposes for which we use them see our Cookie Policy.

You can prevent the storage of cookies by a corresponding setting of your browser software; however, please note that if you do this, you may not be able to use all the features of the Site to the fullest extent possible.

SMARTSIMPLE PLATFORM

The Site uses the SmartSimple platform (“SmartSimple Platform”), a third party service of SmartSimple Software Inc., 111 Peter St. Suite 606, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1 (“SmartSimple”).  The SmartSimple Platform provides the Site’s online grant management system.  The SmartSimple Platform processes the personal information you give us when using the Site’s online grant management system.  The SmartSimple Platform also automatically collects usage data provided in the course of your use of the SmartSimple Platform, such as the actions you take.  Finally, the SmartSimple Platform uses cookies that are required for the operation of the SmartSimple Platform (“strictly necessary cookies”), such as to verify user identity upon re-login.  

To learn more about how the SmartSimple Platform and SmartSimple collect, use, process, retain, safeguard, and disclose personal information and data, and about the SmartSimple Platform’s use of cookies, see: SmartSimple Platform Privacy Policy at: https://www.smartsimple.com/platform-privacy-policy.

GOOGLE ANALYTICS

The Site uses Google Analytics (“Google Analytics”), a third party web analysis service of Google, Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA, www.google.com (“Google”). Google Analytics employs cookies that are stored to your computer in order to facilitate an analysis of your use of the Site. The information generated by these cookies, such as time, place and frequency of your visits to the Site, including your IP address, is transmitted to Google’s location in the United States and stored there.

Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law or where such third parties process this data on Google’s behalf. Google states that it will never associate your IP address with other data held by Google. 

Google Analytics also uses electronic images known as web beacons (sometimes called single pixel gifs) and are used along with cookies to compile aggregated statistics to analyze how the Site is used.

In addition, the Site uses the Google Analytics feature UserID to track interaction data. This User ID will be additionally anonymized and encrypted and will not be linked with other data.

A full list of the information that we can track using Google Analytics on the Site is outlined at these links:

[GA4] Predefined user dimensions – Analytics Help (google.com) 

[GA4] Automatically collected events – Analytics Help (google.com) 

We will use this information to evaluate your use of the Site, compile reports on Site activity and to provide further services related to Site and internet use to us. 

To learn more about how Google Analytics collects and processes data, see: Google’s Privacy & Terms at https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites and Safeguarding your data at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245.  You can opt out of Google Analytics by using the Google Analytics opt out browser add on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.  

NESTA

Nesta, a third-party service provider, co-designed with the Foundation the Site for our Homegrown Innovation Challenge and may operate this Site for a time on our behalf.  Nesta will not collect any Personal Information from the Homegrown Innovation Challenge Site. 

HOW WE USE THE INFORMATION

Information you give us on the Site

We use personal information you give us to do the following:

  • Administer your user account with our online grant management system if you register for one;
  • Administer and evaluate any applications you may make for grants available from the Foundation and carry-out any grant or other agreements entered into between you and us;
  • Respond to inquiries you may make to us;
  • Manage our relationship with you;
  • Send you any newsletters if you subscribe to them;
  • Comply with legal and regulatory requirements;
  • To the extent permitted under applicable laws, send commercial electronic messages (such as by email or text) to you providing information about grant opportunities or news from the Foundation.  If you no longer want to receive commercial electronic messages from us, you may opt-out by unsubscribing as noted in the messages.  Please note that if you opt-out of receiving commercial electronic messages from us, we may still send you administrative messages that are required to provide you with our services and we nonetheless reserve the right to contact you (including by e-mail or text) where we are legally required or permitted to do so;
  • To the extent permitted under applicable laws, send you administrative messages (such as by email or text) that are required to provide you with our services;
  • As otherwise may be required or permitted by applicable laws.

Information automatically collected on the Site

Information automatically collected on the Site is used as follows:

  • As referred to above under “SmartSimple Platform” and “Google Analytics”;
  • To operate, administer and improve the Site, and to keep the Site safe and secure;
  • As otherwise may be required or permitted by applicable laws.

DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION

Information about our grantees, including personal information, may be posted on the Site for viewing and searching when providing information on our grants.

We may share your personal information and information automatically collected through the Site with selected third parties including:

  • For purposes of administering, evaluating, and performing grant applications and grant agreements; 
  • As described in our application forms or grant agreements;
  • To our service providers who provide certain services to us such as our online grant management system and data hosting.  We will use contractual arrangements to protect personal information transferred to these service providers;
  • To our analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimization of the Site.

We may also disclose your personal information and information automatically collected through the Site to third parties:

  • If we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal information in order to comply with any legal obligation, or as we believe in good faith may be reasonably necessary to comply with any law, regulation, rule, court order, or other lawful requests from governmental, regulatory or administrative agencies or law enforcement authorities (including in response to law enforcement or national security requirements), or in order to enforce or apply our Site’s Terms of Use, and other agreements; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Foundation or others; 
  • As otherwise may be required or permitted by applicable law.

WHERE WE STORE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

The Foundation is based in Ontario, Canada and the information (including any personal information) we collect is transferred, maintained, stored, and processed in Canada and other countries outside Canada where our or our service providers’ facilities may be located, including the United States and the United Kingdom. You understand and agree that we may store and process this information in Canada and other countries as described. The data protection and privacy laws in those countries may offer a lower level of protection than the data protection and privacy laws of Canada.  Also, this information may be subject to access requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement in Canada and foreign countries according to their laws.

CONSENT FOR COLLECTION, USE AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

By visiting, browsing or using the Site you voluntarily consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information and other information as specified in this policy.  Without limiting the foregoing, we may on occasion ask you to consent when we collect, use, or disclose your personal information in specific circumstances, in which case we may ask for your consent in writing (including by electronic means) although in some circumstances we may accept your oral consent.  Your consent may be implied through your conduct with us if the purpose of the collection, use or disclosure is obvious and you voluntarily provide the information. 

In addition, we may collect, use, and disclose personal information without your consent when we are required or permitted by applicable law to do so.

IS MY PERSONAL INFORMATION SECURE?

All information (including personal information) that we collect from you, or that you provide to us, is stored on secure servers.  Where you have a password which enables you to access our online grant management system or other areas on the Site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will use commercially reasonable efforts to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your information transmitted to the Site.

RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Personal information will be retained in accordance with this policy for as long as may be necessary or relevant for the purpose of collection, or as may be required or permitted by applicable law, after which time it may be made anonymous or destroyed unless you further consent to its continued retention.

THIRD PARTY LINKS

The Site may, from time to time, contain links to and from third party websites.  If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies.  Please check these policies before you submit any personal information to these websites.

YOUR RIGHTS

Access to and correction of personal information

You have a right to request access to your personal information and to request a correction to it if you believe it is inaccurate. If you have submitted personal information to us and would like to have access to it, or if you would like to have it corrected, you may use the Site’s online grant management system to review and edit your profile, or else please contact us using the contact information provided below. We will use reasonable efforts to comply with your request; however, in some cases we may not be able to allow you to access certain personal information in certain circumstances, for example if it contains personal information of other persons, or for legal reasons. We may require you to verify your identity before you access your personal information.

Withdrawal of consent

Individuals have the right to withdraw their consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you withdraw consent we nonetheless reserve the right to retain, collect, use and disclose personal information without your consent where we are required or permitted by applicable law to do so.

CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

Any changes we may make to our policy in the future will be posted on this page. The date this policy was last revised is identified on the first page of this policy.  Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our policy.

CONTACT US

Questions, comments and requests regarding this policy, including our use of affiliates or third-party service providers outside Canada to process personal information, should be addressed to:

Weston Family Foundation

22 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 1900

Toronto, Ontario

Canada, M4T2S3

info@westonfoundation.ca