Introduction

Austin Area Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Austin, Minnesota. We operate the Historic Paramount Theatre (125 4th Ave NE), the Austin ArtWorks Center (300 N Main St), and the Austin ArtWorks Festival. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect information when you visit our website, purchase tickets or merchandise, register for classes or membership, sign up for our newsletter, subscribe to text message communications, or otherwise interact with us.

Information We Collect

We collect personal information in several ways through our website and operations:

Newsletter Signup

When you sign up for our bi-weekly email newsletter, we collect your email address. As stated on our website, we promise not to sell or share your personal information.

Purchases, Registrations, and Donations

When you purchase tickets to Paramount Theatre events, register for classes (including Kids Studio and adult classes) or memberships, buy items from our online store, or make a donation, we collect your name, email address, billing and shipping address, and payment information. Payment processing is handled by our third-party platform (Squarespace Commerce), and we do not store full credit card or financial account details on our own servers.

Volunteer Inquiry Form

When you submit a volunteer inquiry through our website, we collect your first and last name, email address, and any message you provide.

Text Message (SMS) Communications

When you opt in to receive text messages from Austin Area Arts, we collect your mobile phone number. We may use your phone number to send you information about upcoming events, performances, classes, promotions, and organizational updates. Message frequency may vary. Message and data rates may apply. You may opt out at any time by replying STOP to any message. For help, reply HELP or contact us at (507) 434-0934 or info@austinareaarts.org.

Direct Communications

When you contact us directly via email or phone, we retain that correspondence to respond to your inquiry and for record-keeping purposes.

Automatically Collected Information

Our website is hosted on Squarespace, which may automatically collect technical data such as your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and general usage patterns through cookies and similar technologies.

Third-Party Ticketing

Our Paramount Theatre ticketing system is operated by a third-party vendor (VBO Tickets), which collects name, contact, and payment information needed to process ticket purchases. That vendor's own privacy practices govern data collected through their platform.

User Accounts

Our website offers account creation through Squarespace. If you create an account, we collect the information you provide during registration, such as your name and email address.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to process ticket purchases, merchandise sales, class registrations, donations, and memberships; to communicate with you about events, programs, and updates via email newsletter and/or text message; to recognize you in our publications as a member, if applicable; to respond to your inquiries and volunteer requests; and to fulfill our obligations as a nonprofit, including documenting public support for grant reporting purposes.

We do not sell or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

Cookies and Website Analytics

Our website, built on Squarespace, uses cookies and analytics tools to help us understand how visitors use the site. These are used for functional and analytical purposes. Our site also uses the Google Translate widget to provide language translation options. You may adjust cookie settings through your browser, though some features of our site may not function properly if cookies are disabled.

Third-Party Services

We use several third-party platforms to deliver our services, including Squarespace (website hosting, commerce, and forms), VBO Tickets (Paramount Theatre ticketing), our SMS/text messaging service provider, and social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Each of these services has its own privacy policy governing how they handle your data, and we encourage you to review those policies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external services.

Data Security

We take reasonable precautions to protect your personal information. Our website is served over HTTPS, and payment information is handled by our third-party processors, which use industry-standard security measures. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, or as required for legal, accounting, or grant compliance obligations. If you opt out of our text messaging service, we will remove your phone number from our active messaging list, though we may retain records of your consent and opt-out for compliance purposes.

Your Choices

You may opt out of our email newsletter at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link included in every email. You may opt out of text messages at any time by replying STOP to any message you receive from us. To request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information we hold about you, please contact us directly at the address, phone number, or email below. We will do our best to respond to reasonable requests in a timely manner.

Children's Privacy

We offer programming for children (including Kids Studio classes) but our website and text messaging service are not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us and we will promptly address it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us: