Privacy Policy
Effective date: September 4, 2026
1. Who we are
Southside Blooms is a social enterprise of Chicago Eco House, a nonprofit organization. Our website is https://www.southsideblooms.com.
Mailing address: 6250 S Morgan Street, Chicago, IL 60621, United States
Email: info@southsideblooms.com
Phone: 1-833-236-1977
This policy explains what personal information we collect through our website, why we collect it, how long we keep it, how we protect it, and the choices you have.
2. Information we collect
Orders and checkout. When you place an order we collect your name, email address, phone number, billing and shipping addresses, and the contents of your order. Payment card details are entered directly with our payment processor, Stripe, and never touch our servers (see Section 6).
Accounts. If you create an account we store your name, email address, order history, and saved addresses.
Contact form. When you use our contact form we collect your name, email address, phone number, subject, message, and any attachments you choose to include.
Newsletter. If you sign up for our mailing list (through the site footer or a signup popup) we collect your email address and manage it through Mailchimp.
Fundraising program. If you participate in our flower fundraiser program we collect the information needed to run your fundraiser: your name, contact details, organization information, and, for payouts, bank account details collected and held by Stripe (we do not store bank account numbers on our servers).
Automatically collected. Like most websites, our servers and security services record IP addresses, browser type, and pages visited, used for security, spam prevention, and site performance.
3. How we use your information
- To fulfill and deliver your orders, send order confirmations, and provide customer service.
- To respond to inquiries sent through our contact form.
- To send our newsletter and occasional promotions to people who opted in. Every email includes an unsubscribe link.
- To run the fundraiser program, including paying out funds raised.
- To keep the site secure, prevent fraud and spam, and understand how the site is used so we can improve it.
- To meet legal, tax, and accounting obligations.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own advertising.
4. Who we share data with
We share personal information only with service providers who help us operate, and only what each needs:
- Stripe processes payments and fundraiser payouts (Stripe privacy policy).
- Mailchimp (Intuit) stores our mailing list and sends our newsletter (Intuit privacy statement).
- Cloudflare provides content delivery and security in front of our website.
- Hosting providers store our website and database on secure servers in the United States.
- Google reCAPTCHA protects our forms from automated abuse (Google privacy policy).
- Delivery services receive the recipient name, address, and phone number needed to deliver your order.
We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect our rights, our customers, or the public.
5. How long we keep your data
| Data | Retention | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Order and payment records | 7 years | Tax and accounting requirements |
| Account information | Until you ask us to delete your account | So you can reorder and view history |
| Contact form inquiries | 24 months | Customer service follow-up |
| Newsletter subscription | Until you unsubscribe | We keep a minimal suppression record so we don’t email you again |
| Fundraiser records | 7 years after the fundraiser ends | Financial and nonprofit reporting |
| Server and security logs | 90 days | Security investigation |
6. How we protect your data
- All traffic to and from our website is encrypted with TLS (HTTPS).
- Payment card details are collected and processed by Stripe, a PCI DSS Level 1 certified processor. Card numbers are never stored on our systems.
- Bank details for fundraiser payouts are collected and held by Stripe, not on our servers.
- Our site sits behind Cloudflare’s firewall and DDoS protection.
- Administrative access to our systems is limited to staff who need it, protected by strong authentication, and reviewed periodically.
- We keep regular backups so data can be restored, and we apply security updates to our platform.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information using measures appropriate to the sensitivity of the data.
7. Cookies
We use cookies and similar technologies to keep your cart and login working, remember preferences, protect forms from spam (reCAPTCHA), and measure site performance. You can control cookies through your browser settings; blocking all cookies may prevent checkout from working.
8. Your rights and choices
- Access and export. You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Correction. You can update account details yourself, or ask us to correct anything else.
- Deletion. You can ask us to delete your personal data. We will honor the request except for records we must keep for legal, tax, or security reasons (for example, completed order records).
- Marketing opt-out. Use the unsubscribe link in any newsletter, or contact us.
To exercise any of these rights, email info@southsideblooms.com. We will respond within 30 days. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act or the EU General Data Protection Regulation; we honor valid requests under applicable law. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined in the CCPA.
9. Children
Our website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
10. Changes to this policy
When we make material changes to this policy we will update the date at the top of this page. Significant changes affecting how we use data already collected will be communicated by email where we have one for you.
11. Contact us
Questions about this policy or your data: info@southsideblooms.com, or write to Southside Blooms, 6250 S Morgan Street, Chicago, IL 60621.
