This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by Cherokee Makerspace.

What information do we collect?

We collect information from you when you register on our site and gather data when you participate in the forum by reading, writing, and evaluating the content shared here.

When registering on our site, you will be asked to enter your name and e-mail address. You may, however, visit our site without registering. Your e-mail address will be verified by an email containing a unique link. If that link is visited, we know that you control the e-mail address.

When a user registers and posts, we record the IP address from which the post originated. We may also retain server logs, which include the IP address of every request to our server.

When you sign up as a member, we collect the following personal information as part of our application process:

  • full name
  • home address
  • birthday
  • phone number
  • e-mail address
  • credit card number (via Fabman / Stripe)

What do we use your information for?

Any of the information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:

  • To personalize your experience — your information helps us to better respond to your individual needs.
  • To improve our site — we continually strive to improve our site offerings based on the information and feedback we receive from you.
  • To improve customer service — your information helps us to more effectively respond to your customer service requests and support needs.
  • To send periodic emails — The email address you provide may be used to send you information, notifications that you request about changes to topics or in response to your user name, respond to inquiries, and/or other requests or questions.

Information Collection and Sharing

  • We only have access to/collect the information you voluntarily give us via email or direct contact. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone.
  • We will not share your information with any third party outside our organization except for the services we use to keep the makerspace running.
  • Your personal information is also used to create an account in the following portals:
    • Slack - member communications system.
    • Givebutter - donation and fundraising management system.
    • Fabman - makerspace management system.
  • Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email to tell you about recent news, events, and changes to our operating procedure, terms and conditions, and this privacy policy.

Your Access to and Control Over Information

  • You can see the data we have about you by logging in to our website and going to the profile page.
  • You may opt out of any future contacts from us at any time by canceling your membership.
  • Unless requested in writing, We do not automatically delete your information so that your membership history is preserved if you wish to join again.

Security

  • We take precautions to protect your information. We use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online.
  • Credit card information is stored only in Fabman, and that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and for “https” at the beginning of the Web page’s address.
  • Only volunteers who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information.
  • If you feel we are not abiding by this privacy policy, you should contact us immediately via email.

Do we use cookies?

Yes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow). These cookies enable the site to recognize your browser and, if you have a registered account, associate it with your registered account.

We use cookies to understand and save your preferences for future visits, and to compile aggregate data about site traffic and interactions so we can offer better site experiences and tools. We may contract with third-party service providers to assist us in better understanding our site visitors. These service providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to help us conduct and improve our business.

Do we disclose any information to outside parties?

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties that assist us in operating our site, conducting our business, or serving you, provided those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe it is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect our rights, property, or safety, or the rights, property, or safety of others. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be shared with third parties for marketing, advertising, or other purposes.

Third party links

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third-party products or services on our site. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance

Our site, products and services are all directed to people who are at least 13 years old or older. If this server is in the USA, and you are under the age of 13, per the requirements of COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act), do not use this site without parental consent.

Your Consent

By using our site, you consent to our privacy policy.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page. This document is CC-BY-SA. It was last updated 3-19-26.