The Folded Leaf Foundation — Privacy Policy
Effective date: November 10, 2026
We will never sell your information, and we only collect what we need to serve you well.
The Folded Leaf Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Traverse City, Michigan. We run Northern Michigan's first nonprofit new and used bookstore, and we offer free reading, writing, publishing, and mentoring programs for K–12 students in Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Benzie, Antrim, and Kalkaska counties.
We're a third space where people of all ages can read, learn, create, rest, and connect. Trust is part of that. This policy explains, in plain language, what information we collect through our website, our store, and our programs, and how we take care of it.
Information we collect
We collect information you choose to give us, plus a small amount of technical information when you visit our website.
Information you give us
Contact details like your name, email, phone number, and mailing address when you sign up for our newsletter, contact us, volunteer, or register for an event.
Program registration details for students, such as the student's name, grade, school, county, and a parent or guardian's contact information. We may also ask about reading interests, accessibility needs, or anything that helps us welcome a young person well.
Mentor and volunteer details, which may include background check information where required for working with youth.
Donation and purchase details, such as your name, contact information, and the amount and date of your gift or purchase.
Anything you share with us in messages, forms, surveys, or writing submitted through our programs.
Information collected automatically
When you visit our website, our website platform may collect basic technical details. These include your browser type, device, general location (city or region), pages visited, and how you arrived at our site.
How we use your information
We use your information only to run our programs, serve our community, and keep the Foundation going.
Enroll students and match them with mentors and programs
Communicate with families, volunteers, mentors, and partners
Process donations and purchases, and send tax receipts
Send our newsletter and event updates, if you've signed up
Keep everyone safe, especially young people
Understand how our programs are working, using counts and trends rather than individual details, so we can improve them and report to funders
Meet our legal and accounting obligations as a nonprofit
Children and young people in our programs
A parent or guardian registers any student under 13, and we use a young person's information only to run their program.
Parents and guardians register younger students. We ask that students under 13 not submit personal information on our website themselves. If we learn that a child under 13 has, without a parent or guardian's consent, we will delete it.
We collect only what we need. We ask for what helps us place a student, keep them safe, and stay in touch with their family.
We never sell or advertise to students. Student information is never used for marketing and is never shared with advertisers.
Student writing belongs to the student. We will not publish a student's writing, name, or photo without written permission from the student and their parent or guardian.
School partners. When we work with a school, we share only what is needed to run the program together. We follow the school's own privacy rules for any student records it shares with us.
Parents and guardians stay in control. You may ask to see, correct, or delete your child's information at any time by contacting us.
How we share your information
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information, ever.
We share information only in these situations:
Trusted service providers who help us run the Foundation and are expected to protect your information. These include our website and newsletter platform (Squarespace), our point-of-sale and scheduling system (Square), our email, calendar, and file storage (Google Workspace), and our accounting software (QuickBooks).
Program partners, like schools and community organizations, when needed to run a program you or your child are part of.
Grant funders and supporters, but only as combined numbers and stories that don't identify anyone, unless you've given us permission.
When the law requires it, or when we believe sharing is needed to protect someone's safety, especially a young person's.
Donations and payments
We never see or store your full card number.
Payments and donations are processed securely by our payment providers, such as Square and Squarespace. They handle your card details under their own privacy policies. We keep a record of your name, contact information, and gift amount so we can thank you, send tax receipts, and keep accurate nonprofit records.
We do not share or sell donor lists. If you'd like to give anonymously, just let us know and we won't name you in any public list of supporters.
Cookies and website analytics
Our website uses cookies to work properly and to help us understand how people use it.
Cookies are small files stored by your browser. Our website platform, Squarespace, uses them to keep the site running, remember your preferences, and give us simple visitor statistics. We do not use these statistics to identify you personally.
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Most of our site will still work, though some features may not.
Our newsletter
You can unsubscribe from our emails at any time.
We only send our newsletter to people who sign up for it. Every email includes an unsubscribe link at the bottom, or you can email us and we'll take you off the list. Even if you unsubscribe, we may still send messages about a program, event, or donation you're part of.
Photos and stories
We ask before we share your photo or story.
We sometimes take photos at events and programs to share the joy of what happens here. We will not post identifiable photos of students without a signed release from a parent or guardian. Adults can tell us at any time that they'd rather not be photographed, or ask us to take down a photo we've posted, and we'll honor that.
Keeping your information safe
We protect your information with password-protected accounts, limited access, and secure, reputable service providers. Only the people who need information to do their work, like program staff or a student's assigned mentor, can see it. No system is perfectly secure, but we take care and will tell you promptly if a breach ever affects your information.
How long we keep it
We keep information only as long as we need it for our programs or as required by law, such as financial records for tax purposes. When we no longer need it, we delete it or remove details that identify you.
Your choices
You can ask us at any time to:
See the information we have about you or your child
Correct anything that's wrong
Delete your information, unless we need to keep it for legal or financial records
Stop sending you emails
Just contact us and we'll respond as quickly as we can.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as our programs grow. When we do, we'll post the new version here with a new effective date. If the changes are significant, we'll let you know by email or on our website.
Contact us
We're always happy to answer questions about your privacy.
The Folded Leaf Foundation 414 E. Eighth St., Unit 103, Traverse City, Michigan
rachel@thefoldedleafnomi.com