Collective Media501(c)(3)
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Privacy Policy

Last updated: [EFFECTIVE_DATE]

Collective Media, Inc. ("Collective Media," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have regarding your information when you use the Collective Media platform (the "Platform").

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal information:

  • Account Information. Name, email address, and password (stored as a cryptographic hash) when you register for an account.
  • Payment Information. When you fund your wallet, you enter payment card details directly into Stripe's secure payment form. We do not receive or store your card number, CVV, or expiration date — only a Stripe-generated transaction ID and the amount of the transaction.
  • Project Submissions. If you are a Creator, we collect the content of your project submissions, including title, description, funding goal, genre, and any supporting materials you upload.
  • Fund Allocation History. Records of your wallet top-ups, fund allocations to projects, and any refunds — including amounts, dates, and associated project identifiers.
  • Tax Identification. For Creators who receive disbursements exceeding $600 in a calendar year, we are required by law to collect a Social Security Number (SSN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN) for IRS Form 1099 reporting. See Section 4.
  • Usage Data. Standard web server logs including IP address, browser type, pages visited, and timestamps. This data is used solely for platform security and performance monitoring.

2. How We Use Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

  • Process Donations. To initiate and record wallet top-ups and fund allocations to projects via Stripe.
  • Issue Tax Receipts. To generate and deliver annual charitable contribution acknowledgment letters required by the IRS for donations to a 501(c)(3) organization.
  • Communicate Platform Updates. To notify you of project status changes (funded, expired, refunded), platform announcements, and material changes to these policies.
  • IRS Reporting. To fulfill our obligations under federal tax law, including filing Form 1099-NEC for Creator disbursements exceeding $600 per calendar year.
  • Platform Security and Fraud Prevention. To detect and prevent fraudulent activity, unauthorized access, and abuse of the Platform.
  • Legal Compliance. To comply with applicable laws, regulations, court orders, and lawful requests from government authorities.

We do not use your personal information for targeted advertising, behavioral profiling, or sale to third parties.

3. Payment Processing

All payment card data is handled exclusively by Stripe, Inc., our third-party payment processor. Stripe is a PCI DSS Level 1 certified service provider. When you enter payment information on the Platform, that data is transmitted directly to Stripe's servers over an encrypted connection — it never passes through or is stored on Collective Media's servers.

Collective Media stores only the following Stripe-generated data:

  • Stripe Checkout Session ID (a unique identifier for each transaction)
  • Payment Intent ID
  • Transaction amount and currency
  • Stripe processing fees (as reported by Stripe)
  • Payment status (pending, completed, failed)

Stripe's handling of your payment data is governed by the Stripe Privacy Policy.

4. Tax Reporting

Collective Media is required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to report payments to Creators. Specifically:

  • Form 1099-NEC. If you receive disbursements of $600 or more in a single calendar year, Collective Media is required to file Form 1099-NEC with the IRS and provide you a copy.
  • Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). To fulfill this obligation, we collect your Social Security Number (SSN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN) only when your cumulative disbursements approach or exceed the $600 threshold. This information is collected via a secure form and stored in encrypted form.
  • Backup Withholding. If you fail to provide a valid TIN when required, we may be required by law to withhold a percentage of your disbursement for tax purposes.

Your SSN or EIN is used solely for IRS reporting and is never shared with any party other than the IRS and any legally required state tax authorities.

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

  • Stripe. Payment transaction data is shared with Stripe as necessary to process your wallet top-ups and Creator disbursements.
  • Legal Requirements. We may disclose your information when required by law, subpoena, court order, or other governmental or legal authority with jurisdiction over Collective Media.
  • Protection of Rights. We may disclose information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Collective Media, our users, or the public.
  • Organizational Transfers. In the event of a merger, acquisition, or transfer of substantially all assets of Collective Media, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to the same privacy protections described here.

6. Data Retention

  • Financial Records. All transaction records, disbursement records, and tax-related data are retained for a minimum of 7 years from the date of the transaction to comply with IRS recordkeeping requirements.
  • Account Data. If you request deletion of your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal account data (name, email, usage history) within 30 days of receiving your request, subject to the legal hold described below.
  • Legal Hold. Data subject to a legal hold (e.g., ongoing litigation, government investigation, or active IRS audit) will not be deleted until the legal hold is lifted. We will notify you of an applicable hold to the extent permitted by law.

7. Your Rights

Subject to applicable law and the retention requirements described above, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

  • Access. You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Correction. You may request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
  • Deletion. You may request deletion of your personal information, subject to our legal retention obligations.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@collectivemedia.org. We will respond to your request within 30 days. We may ask you to verify your identity before processing your request.

8. Cookies

Collective Media uses session cookies only — small text files placed in your browser to maintain your authenticated session. These cookies are:

  • Set as httpOnly and Secure, meaning they cannot be accessed by JavaScript and are transmitted only over HTTPS.
  • Used exclusively to maintain your authentication state (JWT refresh token).
  • Automatically deleted when you log out or when the session expires.

We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or any third-party analytics cookies. No data from your use of the Platform is shared with advertising networks or used for behavioral profiling.

9. Contact

Questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices should be directed to:

Collective Media, Inc.
Email: privacy@collectivemedia.org

This Privacy Policy applies to Collective Media's Platform only. It does not apply to third-party services linked from the Platform, such as Stripe. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you use.