Privacy Policy

PRIVACY NOTICE
 
Last updated April 20, 2022
 
 
 
This privacy notice for Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture (“Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our“), describes how and why we might collect, store, use, and/or share (“process“) your information when you use our services (“Services“), such as when you:
  • Visit our website at https://bsec.org, or any website of ours that links to this privacy notice
 
  • Engage with us in other related ways, including any sales, marketing, or events
Questions or concerns? Reading this privacy notice will help you understand your privacy rights and choices. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our Services. If you still have any questions or concerns, please contact us at outreach@bsec.org.
 
 
SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS
 
This summary provides key points from our privacy notice, but you can find out more details about any of these topics by clicking the link following each key point or by using our table of contents below to find the section you are looking for. 
 
What personal information do we process? When you visit, use, or navigate our Services, we may process personal information depending on how you interact with Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture and the Services, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. 
 
Do we process any sensitive personal information? We do not process sensitive personal information.
 
Do you receive any information from third parties? We do not receive any information from third parties.
 
How do you process my information? We process your information to provide, improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your consent. We process your information only when we have a valid legal reason to do so. 
 
In what situations and with which parties do we share personal information? We may share information in specific situations and with specific third parties. 
 
How do we keep your information safe? We have organizational and technical processes and procedures in place to protect your personal information. However, no electronic transmission over the internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. 
 
What are your rights? Depending on where you are located geographically, the applicable privacy law may mean you have certain rights regarding your personal information. 
 
How do I exercise my rights? The easiest way to exercise your rights is by filling out our data subject request form available here, or by contacting us. We will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
 

Want to learn more about what Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture does with any information we collect? Click here to review the notice in full.

 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
2. HOW DO WE PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?
3. WHEN AND WITH WHOM DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
4. DO WE USE COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES?
5. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?
6. HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?
7. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?
8. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?
9. CONTROLS FOR DO-NOT-TRACK FEATURES
10. DO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?
11. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE?
12. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?

13. HOW CAN YOU REVIEW, UPDATE, OR DELETE THE DATA WE COLLECT FROM YOU?

 
1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
 
Personal information you disclose to us
 
In Short: We collect personal information that you provide to us.
 
We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you express an interest in obtaining information about us or our products and Services, when you participate in activities on the Services, or otherwise when you contact us.
 
 
Personal Information Provided by You. The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the Services, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. The personal information we collect may include the following:
  • names
 
  • email addresses
 
Sensitive Information. We do not process sensitive information.
 
 
Payment Data. We may collect data necessary to process your payment if you make purchases, such as your payment instrument number (such as a credit card number), and the security code associated with your payment instrument. All payment data is stored by Paypal. You may find their privacy notice link(s) here: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full.
 
 
All personal information that you provide to us must be true, complete, and accurate, and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information.
 
 
Information automatically collected
 
In Short: Some information — such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address and/or browser and device characteristics — is collected automatically when you visit our Services.
 
We automatically collect certain information when you visit, use, or navigate the Services. This information does not reveal your specific identity (like your name or contact information) but may include device and usage information, such as your IP address, browser and device characteristics, operating system, language preferences, referring URLs, device name, country, location, information about how and when you use our Services, and other technical information. This information is primarily needed to maintain the security and operation of our Services, and for our internal analytics and reporting purposes.
 
 
Like many businesses, we also collect information through cookies and similar technologies.
 
 

The information we collect includes:

 
  • Location Data. We collect location data such as information about your device’s location, which can be either precise or imprecise. How much information we collect depends on the type and settings of the device you use to access the Services. For example, we may use GPS and other technologies to collect geolocation data that tells us your current location (based on your IP address). You can opt out of allowing us to collect this information either by refusing access to the information or by disabling your Location setting on your device. However, if you choose to opt out, you may not be able to use certain aspects of the Services.
 
2. HOW DO WE PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?
 
In Short: We process your information to provide, improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your consent.
 

We process your personal information for a variety of reasons, depending on how you interact with our Services, including:

 
  • To determine the effectiveness of our marketing and promotional campaigns. We may process your information to better understand how to provide marketing and promotional campaigns that are most relevant to you.
 
 
3. WHEN AND WITH WHOM DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
 
In Short: We may share information in specific situations described in this section and/or with the following third parties.
 
 
We may need to share your personal information in the following situations:
  • Business Transfers. We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
 
 
4. DO WE USE COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES?
 
In Short: We may use cookies and other tracking technologies to collect and store your information.
 

We may use cookies and similar tracking technologies (like web beacons and pixels) to access or store information. Specific information about how we use such technologies and how you can refuse certain cookies is set out in our Cookie Notice.

 
5. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?
 
In Short: We keep your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy notice unless otherwise required by law.
 
We will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy notice, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting, or other legal requirements). No purpose in this notice will require us keeping your personal information for longer than 1 year.
 

When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize such information, or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

 
6. HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?
 
In Short: We aim to protect your personal information through a system of organizational and technical security measures.
 

We have implemented appropriate and reasonable technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. However, despite our safeguards and efforts to secure your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, transmission of personal information to and from our Services is at your own risk. You should only access the Services within a secure environment.

 
7. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?
 
In Short: We do not knowingly collect data from or market to children under 18 years of age.
 

We do not knowingly solicit data from or market to children under 18 years of age. By using the Services, you represent that you are at least 18 or that you are the parent or guardian of such a minor and consent to such minor dependent’s use of the Services. If we learn that personal information from users less than 18 years of age has been collected, we will deactivate the account and take reasonable measures to promptly delete such data from our records. If you become aware of any data we may have collected from children under age 18, please contact us at privacy@bsec.org.

 
8. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?
 
In Short:  You may review, change, or terminate your account at any time.
 
If you are located in the EEA or UK and you believe we are unlawfully processing your personal information, you also have the right to complain to your local data protection supervisory authority. You can find their contact details here: https://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/authorities/index_en.htm.
 
If you are located in Switzerland, the contact details for the data protection authorities are available here: https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/en/home.html.
 
Withdrawing your consent: If we are relying on your consent to process your personal information, which may be express and/or implied consent depending on the applicable law, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us by using the contact details provided below.
 

However, please note that this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before its withdrawal, nor when applicable law allows, will it affect the processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.

 

Opting out of marketing and promotional communications: You can unsubscribe from our marketing and promotional communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the emails that we send, or by contacting us using the details provided below. You will then be removed from the marketing lists. However, we may still communicate with you — for example, to send you service-related messages that are necessary for the administration and use of your account, to respond to service requests, or for other non-marketing purposes.

 
Cookies and similar technologies: Most Web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove cookies and to reject cookies. If you choose to remove cookies or reject cookies, this could affect certain features or services of our Services. To opt out of interest-based advertising by advertisers on our Services visit http://www.aboutads.info/choices/.
 

If you have questions or comments about your privacy rights, you may email us at privacy@bsec.org.

 
9. CONTROLS FOR DO-NOT-TRACK FEATURES
 

Most web browsers and some mobile operating systems and mobile applications include a Do-Not-Track (“DNT”) feature or setting you can activate to signal your privacy preference not to have data about your online browsing activities monitored and collected. At this stage no uniform technology standard for recognizing and implementing DNT signals has been finalized. As such, we do not currently respond to DNT browser signals or any other mechanism that automatically communicates your choice not to be tracked online. If a standard for online tracking is adopted that we must follow in the future, we will inform you about that practice in a revised version of this privacy notice.

 
10. DO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?
 
In Short: Yes, if you are a resident of California, you are granted specific rights regarding access to your personal information.
 
California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the “Shine The Light” law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to us using the contact information provided below.
 
If you are under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have a registered account with Services, you have the right to request removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the Services. To request removal of such data, please contact us using the contact information provided below and include the email address associated with your account and a statement that you reside in California. We will make sure the data is not publicly displayed on the Services, but please be aware that the data may not be completely or comprehensively removed from all our systems (e.g., backups, etc.).
 
CCPA Privacy Notice
 
The California Code of Regulations defines a “resident” as:
 
(1) every individual who is in the State of California for other than a temporary or transitory purpose and
(2) every individual who is domiciled in the State of California who is outside the State of California for a temporary or transitory purpose
 
All other individuals are defined as “non-residents.”
 
If this definition of “resident” applies to you, we must adhere to certain rights and obligations regarding your personal information.
 
What categories of personal information do we collect?
 
We have collected the following categories of personal information in the past twelve (12) months:
 
Category Examples Collected
A. Identifiers
Contact details, such as real name, alias, postal address, telephone or mobile contact number, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, and account name
 
YES
 
B. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute
Name, contact information, education, employment, employment history, and financial information
 
YES
 
C. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law
Gender and date of birth
 
NO
 
D. Commercial information
Transaction information, purchase history, financial details, and payment information
 
NO
 
E. Biometric information
Fingerprints and voiceprints
 
NO
 
F. Internet or other similar network activity
Browsing history, search history, online behavior, interest data, and interactions with our and other websites, applications, systems, and advertisements
 
NO
 
G. Geolocation data
Device location
 
YES
 
H. Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information
Images and audio, video or call recordings created in connection with our business activities
 
NO
 
I. Professional or employment-related information
Business contact details in order to provide you our services at a business level or job title, work history, and professional qualifications if you apply for a job with us
 
NO
 
J. Education Information
Student records and directory information
 
NO
 
K. Inferences drawn from other personal information
Inferences drawn from any of the collected personal information listed above to create a profile or summary about, for example, an individual’s preferences and characteristics
 
NO
 
 
 
We may also collect other personal information outside of these categories instances where you interact with us in person, online, or by phone or mail in the context of:
  • Receiving help through our customer support channels;
 
  • Participation in customer surveys or contests; and
 
  • Facilitation in the delivery of our Services and to respond to your inquiries.
How do we use and share your personal information?
 
More information about our data collection and sharing practices can be found in this privacy notice.
 
You may contact us by email at privacy@bsec.org, or by referring to the contact details at the bottom of this document.
 

If you are using an authorized agent to exercise your right to opt out we may deny a request if the authorized agent does not submit proof that they have been validly authorized to act on your behalf.

 
Will your information be shared with anyone else?
 
We may disclose your personal information with our service providers pursuant to a written contract between us and each service provider. Each service provider is a for-profit entity that processes the information on our behalf.
 
We may use your personal information for our own business purposes, such as for undertaking internal research for technological development and demonstration. This is not considered to be “selling” of your personal information.
 

Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture has not disclosed or sold any personal information to third parties for a business or commercial purpose in the preceding twelve (12) months. Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture will not sell personal information in the future belonging to website visitors, users, and other consumers.

 
Your rights with respect to your personal data
 
Right to request deletion of the data — Request to delete
 
You can ask for the deletion of your personal information. If you ask us to delete your personal information, we will respect your request and delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions provided by law, such as (but not limited to) the exercise by another consumer of his or her right to free speech, our compliance requirements resulting from a legal obligation, or any processing that may be required to protect against illegal activities.
 
Right to be informed — Request to know
 
Depending on the circumstances, you have a right to know:
  • whether we collect and use your personal information;
 
  • the categories of personal information that we collect;
 
  • the purposes for which the collected personal information is used;
 
  • whether we sell your personal information to third parties;
 
  • the categories of personal information that we sold or disclosed for a business purpose;
 
  • the categories of third parties to whom the personal information was sold or disclosed for a business purpose; and
 
  • the business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling personal information.
In accordance with applicable law, we are not obligated to provide or delete consumer information that is de-identified in response to a consumer request or to re-identify individual data to verify a consumer request.
 
Right to Non-Discrimination for the Exercise of a Consumer’s Privacy Rights
 
We will not discriminate against you if you exercise your privacy rights.
 
Verification process
 
Upon receiving your request, we will need to verify your identity to determine you are the same person about whom we have the information in our system. These verification efforts require us to ask you to provide information so that we can match it with information you have previously provided us. For instance, depending on the type of request you submit, we may ask you to provide certain information so that we can match the information you provide with the information we already have on file, or we may contact you through a communication method (e.g., phone or email) that you have previously provided to us. We may also use other verification methods as the circumstances dictate.
 
We will only use personal information provided in your request to verify your identity or authority to make the request. To the extent possible, we will avoid requesting additional information from you for the purposes of verification. However, if we cannot verify your identity from the information already maintained by us, we may request that you provide additional information for the purposes of verifying your identity and for security or fraud-prevention purposes. We will delete such additionally provided information as soon as we finish verifying you.
 
Other privacy rights
 
  • You may object to the processing of your personal information.
 
  • You may request correction of your personal data if it is incorrect or no longer relevant, or ask to restrict the processing of the information.
 
  • You can designate an authorized agent to make a request under the CCPA on your behalf. We may deny a request from an authorized agent that does not submit proof that they have been validly authorized to act on your behalf in accordance with the CCPA.
 
  • You may request to opt out from future selling of your personal information to third parties. Upon receiving an opt-out request, we will act upon the request as soon as feasibly possible, but no later than fifteen (15) days from the date of the request submission.

To exercise these rights, you can contact us by email at privacy@bsec.org, or by referring to the contact details at the bottom of this document. If you have a complaint about how we handle your data, we would like to hear from you.

 
11. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE?
 
In Short: Yes, we will update this notice as necessary to stay compliant with relevant laws.
 

We may update this privacy notice from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated “Revised” date and the updated version will be effective as soon as it is accessible. If we make material changes to this privacy notice, we may notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to review this privacy notice frequently to be informed of how we are protecting your information.

 
12. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?
 
If you have questions or comments about this notice, you may email us at privacy@bsec.org or by post to:
 
Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture
53 Prospect Park West
Brooklyn, NY 11215

United States

 
13. HOW CAN YOU REVIEW, UPDATE, OR DELETE THE DATA WE COLLECT FROM YOU?
 
Based on the applicable laws of your country, you may have the right to request access to the personal information we collect from you, change that information, or delete it in some circumstances. To request to review, update, or delete your personal information, please submit a request form by clicking here.
 

BSEC Media

We are always excited about welcoming speakers to our platforms. They enrich our programs, broaden our understanding of complex topics and bring new perspectives to our discussions. To learn more about our platforms and how to join us, please visit our calendar on our home page or click HERE.
Please note: The opinions of the speakers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BSEC.  BSEC takes no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions in the content, including any copyright infringement.

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Our Winter Solstice Celebration 2016

BSEC Winter Solstice 2016

In times of darkness, we celebrate the Winter Solstice together to welcome the return of the light. Our inter-generational event focused on ancient South American civilizations and how they honored the sun. DuPree led the musical part of the event and the children answered questions about the seasons and helped distribute evergreens and welcoming the sun. The solstice the time to send wishes of peace and light into the world, particularly in times of great need, like now.
Big thanks to all who helped make this event such a success, and to all who brought food, came early and left late to help set up and break down at the end of the day.
Below you will find some pictures of the event:

A Letter to Members and Friends of the Brooklyn Society

November 20, 2016

Dear Members and Friends of the Brooklyn Society:

We find ourselves in front of a computer trying to write a letter to our members and friends while feeling challenged, because words can seem so insignificant at this time. We write this today, following our Wampanoag Platform where we were able to cherish the ritual as it was gifted by an indigenous leader over 27 years ago and shared by Remi Gay. We gathered to give deepened attention to our thanks and our giving, in dance, in ritual and in song.

“Ethical Culture Grace”

For the fruits of field and forest, farm and garden, river and ocean;

For our people who give their lives to rearing and cultivating our food and to transporting it on the highways and waterways of the earth;

For shelter and for raiment;  

For comradeship in work;

For fellowship in leisure, and for healthy recreation;

For the beauty of nature and art;

And for all the blessings of democracy and freedom;

We lift up our thankful hearts.

Now more than ever we need community engagement. While we each move in the world in a wide range of ways, we carry with us common values and care for community that strengthens our collective capacity to show up for good. Remembering Eddie Ellis, (who visited our society four years ago, before his passing), there are three elements required to build for and achieve sustainable change: personal transformation, community engagement and institutional accountability. (That platform can be found here.  Eddie Ellis at BSEC 2012 )

The practice of acting and living ethically is in the details of how we do it. Recent BSEC collective acts include: organizing to divest from fossil fuels, supporting Black Lives Matter with a celebration, banner and statement to declare it, convening community conversations until we agree to a concept for accessibility and an approach to how we will pay for it, helping our eldest, Annemarie Mogil to resettle in her new home following displacement, gardening along permaculture principles and marching in support of the native peoples at Standing Rock who are protecting the water in North Dakota from the oil pipeline. This is what living and acting ethically looks like.

We come to BSEC for both ourselves and others; to have a place where we can purposefully act, learn and connect. By example, sharing milestones is more than a personal sharing as it serves to build community and weave our own web of connection, while we also act outside and beyond our walls.

The Sunday after the presidential election we had a full house. The need for and the power of community sang proud as we collectively pledged to stand for justice and solidarity. The results of this election have thrown us off balance, but it challenges us to fully live our values. We see how fear, hatred and anger are being communicated loud and clear. It makes our message of sustaining a community based on the opposite of those things— love, compassion and care— all the more needed. Our community serves as a vehicle and a source of connection as we move through these times. “Sunday at 11:00” means we have a place to be, and a community from which to act. Through our own committees and any other work you may do in your life, we gather and know we are part of something much larger than ourselves, connecting and enhancing our practice.

We want to acknowledge a recent shift in leadership taken on by several members. Vandra Thorburn is back on the board after many years active at the committee level. And Muriel Tillinghast has taken the position of Committee Chair for the Ethical Action Committee.  Each time a member or friend steps up to give service and demonstrate responsibility and leadership, we all benefit.  Keep in mind, next June we will have three open slots on the board!

Our Winter Member Meeting is now planned for Sunday, January 29th after platform. We hope you will save the date and come as we practice our democracy, exchange information and discuss issues that concern us from the three different levels of engagement.  All are welcome, members and friends. If you are considering membership, please speak to a board member, Jone or Taty and we will welcome you and help you find ways to contribute to our society.

We want to thank all of you for making our work as President and Vice President of the Society a true labor of love. We are glad to have you in our orbit at BSEC.

In peace and solidarity,

Rebecca Lurie, Board President
Janice Novet, Board Vice-President