Privacy Policy

Last updated April 26, 2026.

The Flamecrest Foundation (“we,” “us,” or “our”) runs this website at flamecrest.org to share what we do and to make it easy for people to support our work. We try to collect as little personal information as possible, and we never sell, rent, or trade it. This page explains, in plain English, what we collect, why, and what your choices are.

If you have any questions about this policy or about your information, email us at scott@flamecrest.org.

What this policy covers

This policy covers the website at flamecrest.org. It does not cover:

The Vrable Scholarship website, which is operated by The Flamecrest Foundation but lives at a separate domain and has its own privacy practices.
Zeffy, the third-party platform that processes donations for us. When you donate, Zeffy collects and handles your payment information directly — see Zeffy’s privacy policy for details.
Google Analytics, which we use to understand how the site is being used (more on that below). Google’s privacy practices are governed by Google’s privacy policy.

What we collect

We collect two kinds of information: things you give us, and a small amount of technical information collected automatically.

Information you give us

You only share information with us if you choose to. The places that happens are:

Contact form. When you send us a message, we collect whatever you put in the form — typically your name, email address, and the contents of your message.
Spark Grants application form. When you apply for a Spark Grant, we collect what you enter on the application — your name, email, school, project details, and any other information you provide.
Email. If you email us directly, we have a copy of that email and your email address.
Donations. If you donate, your payment information goes directly to Zeffy, our donation processor. We do not see or store your card number, bank details, or billing address. We do receive your name, email, and donation amount from Zeffy so we can send you a thank-you and (where required) a tax receipt.

Information collected automatically

When you visit the site, our hosting provider (Netlify) keeps standard server logs that record things like your IP address, browser type, and which pages you requested. This is normal for any website and is used to keep the site running and secure.

If you accept analytics cookies on the consent banner, we also use Google Analytics 4 to measure things like visit counts, popular pages, and how people get to the site. Analytics data is off by default and only turns on if you explicitly opt in. We have configured Google Analytics with IP anonymization, and we do not share analytics data with anyone for advertising.

We do not use any advertising trackers, social-media pixels, or fingerprinting tools.

Cookies and similar technologies

The site uses a small number of cookies and similar storage:

Strictly necessary. A cookie or localStorage entry that remembers your cookie-banner choice and your light/dark theme preference. These are not personal information and cannot be turned off without breaking site features.
Analytics (opt-in). If you accept analytics on the consent banner, Google Analytics sets cookies (typically _ga and _ga_*). These are used only to measure traffic. You can decline them at any time by clicking “Decline” on the banner, clearing site data in your browser, or installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

We do not use advertising or marketing cookies of any kind.

How we use this information

We use the information we collect for a small number of clearly-defined purposes:

To respond to your messages and questions when you contact us.
To review and administer Spark Grant applications, including following up with applicants and award recipients.
To acknowledge donations and send tax receipts where required.
To understand how the site is being used so we can improve it (only if you opt in to analytics).
To keep the site running and secure, including investigating abuse or spam.
To comply with the law if we are legally required to disclose information (for example, in response to a valid subpoena).

We do not use your information for advertising, profiling, or any kind of automated decision-making.

We are a small nonprofit and we keep our list of vendors short. The third parties that may receive your information are:

Netlify — hosts the site and stores form submissions. Their privacy practices are described in Netlify’s privacy policy.
Google (Google Analytics) — only if you accept analytics on the consent banner.
Zeffy — handles donations directly; see Zeffy’s privacy policy.

We do not sell, rent, trade, or share your personal information with anyone else for their own marketing or commercial purposes.

We may disclose information if we are required to by law, or if we need to in order to protect the rights, safety, or property of the Foundation, our volunteers, or the public.

How long we keep it

Contact form messages and emails: kept while we still need them to follow up with you, then deleted on a periodic clean-up. There is no fixed retention period because some inquiries lead to ongoing relationships (donors, applicants, partners).
Spark Grants applications: kept for the duration of the grant cycle and for a reasonable period afterwards for our records, then deleted.
Donation records: kept for as long as necessary to comply with our tax and accounting obligations as a 501(c)(3) (typically at least seven years).
Analytics data: retained by Google Analytics under our account settings (currently the GA4 default of 14 months) and not stored separately by us.
Server logs: retained by Netlify under their default retention.

Your choices and rights

You have the following choices regardless of where you live:

Decline analytics. Click “Decline” on the consent banner, or clear your saved choice in your browser to be re-prompted.
Stop sending us information. You can stop using the contact form, email, or Spark Grants form at any time.
Ask to see, correct, or delete what we have. Email scott@flamecrest.org and we will help you. We may need to verify your identity before making changes, and there are some narrow cases (for example, completed donation records we are required to keep for tax purposes) where we cannot delete data.

State-specific rights

If you live in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, or Virginia, you have additional rights under your state’s privacy law. These typically include the right to know what personal information we have about you, the right to correct it, the right to delete it, the right to a copy of it, and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights.

To exercise any of these rights, email scott@flamecrest.org. We will respond within the time period required by your state’s law.

We do not sell or “share” personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising under any of these laws.

Do Not Track

Most web browsers offer a “Do Not Track” (DNT) signal. There is no agreed industry standard for honoring DNT, so most sites — including this one — do not respond to it. If you want to disable analytics on this site, use the “Decline” button on the consent banner instead.

Children’s privacy

This site is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13.

We do, however, run programs that involve teenagers — most notably the Spark Grants application, which is open to Greensburg Salem students. If a minor submits a Spark Grants application, we treat their information with the same care described in this policy and we encourage parents or guardians to be involved in the application process. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has submitted personal information you would like removed, email scott@flamecrest.org and we will delete it.

How we keep your information safe

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the information we collect. The site is served over HTTPS, form submissions are transmitted securely, and our vendors (Netlify, Google, Zeffy) maintain their own industry-standard security practices.

That said, no system is perfectly secure. We cannot guarantee that your information will never be intercepted, lost, or accessed by an unauthorized party — but we will tell you promptly, in accordance with applicable law, if we become aware of a security incident that affects your information.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, especially if we change the tools we use or how we use them. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to check back occasionally.

How to contact us

If you have any questions about this policy or want to exercise any of the rights described above, please contact us:

Email: scott@flamecrest.org

Mail:
The Flamecrest Foundation
1549 Buena Vista Ave
Alameda, CA 94501
United States

The Flamecrest Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. EIN: 39-3341536.