Shaker Collective – Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 14 July 2025

1. Introduction

Welcome to Shaker Collective! We are a vibrant digital community for hospitality professionals, dedicated to connecting, supporting, and empowering our members globally. This Privacy Policy describes how Shaker Collective ("we," "us," or "our"), as the host and controller of this network, collects, uses, and shares your personal information when you use our platform (the "Service").

We host our community platform using Mighty Networks, a service provided by Mighty Software, Inc. While Mighty Networks provides the underlying software and infrastructure, Shaker Collective is responsible for managing our community, content, and the data you share within our specific network. This policy outlines our practices; please also refer to the Mighty Networks Privacy Policy for details on their data handling as our service provider.

Clarified roles: Mighty Networks processes platform‑level data; Shaker Collective controls community‑specific data.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information to operate our community, enable your participation, and continuously improve your experience.

A. Information You Provide Directly to Shaker Collective:

• Account & Profile Information: When you register, you provide your name, email address, password, and professional details (e.g., role, company, experience, interests). You may also add a profile picture, short bio, and choose topics to follow.
• Community Interactions: Information you post, share, or send within our community (e.g., discussion posts, comments, direct messages to other members, event RSVPs, poll responses). This includes any Personal Data you choose to include in your content.
• Communications with Us: If you contact us for support or feedback, we collect the content of your communication.
• Special Categories of Personal Data: Our platform allows you to add various types of information to your profile or posts. You may choose to provide Special Categories of Personal Data (e.g., racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, health information) if relevant to your professional identity or discussions, but this is entirely voluntary.
• Voluntary professional demographic fields that may include sensitive data, shared at the member’s discretion.

Mighty Networks automatically collects device, usage, and log data.

B. Information Collected Automatically (via Mighty Networks as our service provider):

• Usage Information: Mighty Networks, as our platform provider, collects data on how you interact with the Service, including the features you use, content you view, and the time, frequency, and duration of your activities. This information helps us understand overall community engagement.
• Device & Log Data: Mighty Networks collects information about your device (IP address, operating system, browser type) and standard log data (date, time of visit, pages visited) to ensure the platform functions correctly.
• Cookies & Tracking Technologies: Mighty Networks uses cookies and other technologies to collect data about your visits to the platform. This helps ensure your personalized experience and to measure overall platform usage. Please refer to Mighty Networks' privacy policy for full details on their use of cookies.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information, as the host of the Shaker Collective network, to provide, maintain, and improve our community, and to facilitate meaningful connections and growth.

• To Operate Our Community: To provide access to our platform, manage your account, and enable your full participation in discussions, events, and networking.
• To Facilitate Member Interaction: To allow you to connect with other members, share content, and engage in discussions within the Shaker Collective.
• To Personalize Your Experience: To tailor your feed and content within our community to be more relevant to your interests and professional profile.
• For Community Improvement: For internal analytics and research to understand how our community is used, identify trends, and enhance the value of Shaker Collective for all members.
• To Communicate with You: To send you service-related announcements, security alerts, administrative messages, and important information about the Shaker Collective community. You may also receive communications about products or services from us or our partners that we believe are relevant to the hospitality industry and your professional growth.
• To Ensure Safety and Security: To detect and prevent fraudulent or unauthorized activity and ensure compliance with our Community Guidelines.

We do not sell your personal data. Ever. We may share anonymised or aggregated data that cannot be used to identify you.

4. How We Share Your Information

We share your information to enable the functions of our community and to provide you with valuable services.

A. Within the Shaker Collective Community:

Your profile information (e.g., name, professional role, profile picture, shared interests) and the content you post are visible to other members of the Shaker Collective community, according to your privacy settings within the platform.

B. With Hosted Brands and Partner Communities:

When you choose to join a specific space hosted by a brand or partner community (e.g., a "Woodford Reserve" space or the "Raise the Bar" mentorship community) on Shaker Collective, relevant profile information and your activity within that specific space may be accessible to that brand or partner community and their authorized administrators/managers. This enables them to manage their members, facilitate their programs, and provide targeted content or opportunities relevant to that specific space. Partner communities only receive access to data relevant to their specific space and cannot view your activity outside of it.

C. With Mighty Networks (Our Service Provider):

As our platform provider, Mighty Networks has access to the data we collect from you, as necessary for them to provide their software and hosting services to us. Mighty Networks processes this data according to their own Privacy Policy and their agreements with us.

D. With Other Third-Party Service Providers:

We may use other third-party vendors (e.g., for email communications, analytics tools beyond Mighty Networks' standard offerings) who assist us in operating and improving Shaker Collective. These providers are contractually bound to protect your data and only use it for the specific services they provide to us.

E. For Legal Reasons:

We may disclose your information if required by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with legal obligations, respond to valid requests by public authorities, protect and defend our rights or property, or ensure the safety of our members or the public.

F. Business Transfers:

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of Shaker Collective's assets, your information may be part of the transferred assets.

G. Research & Insights:

We may analyse aggregated, anonymised, or de-identified data to better understand community engagement, hospitality industry trends, and to create reports or insights. Any research outputs will not identify you personally unless we obtain your explicit consent.

H. Industry Reports & Partner Insights:

We may share anonymised or aggregated insights with brand partners or industry stakeholders. These insights do not include personal data and cannot be used to identify individual members.

5. Your Choices and Rights

You have control over your personal information:

• Profile Management: You can review, update, or delete information in your profile settings at any time within your Shaker Collective account.
• Content Control: You can delete your posts and comments within the community.
• Communication Preferences: You can manage notification settings and opt-out of non-essential communications from Shaker Collective via your account settings.
• Data Access and Deletion: You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you and to request its deletion. Please contact us to exercise these rights.
• Opt-out of Marketing: We provide an opt-out link in any marketing emails you receive from us.

6. Data Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Please note that Mighty Networks, as our platform provider, also employs its own security measures for the underlying infrastructure and software. While we strive to protect your data, no internet transmission or electronic storage is entirely secure.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services and to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

8. Third‑Party Links

Our Service may contain links to other websites or services not operated or controlled by Shaker Collective. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party services. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you visit.

9. Legal Drinking Age

Our Service is not intended for individuals under the legal drinking age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from those under the legal drinking age. If we become aware of such data, we will take steps to delete it.

10. International Data Transfers

As Shaker Collective is based in the UK and Mighty Networks is a U.S.-based service provider, your data may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States and other countries where Mighty Networks or its sub-processors operate. We and Mighty Networks rely on appropriate safeguards for such transfers, including standard contractual clauses where applicable.

11. Your Regional Privacy Rights (e.g., California, EU/EEA/UK Residents)

Residents of certain regions, such as California, the EU/EEA, and the UK, have specific legal rights regarding their personal data. We endeavor to comply with these applicable laws. For more detailed information on these rights and how to exercise them, you may refer to Mighty Networks' specific California Privacy Notice and EU/EEA/UK Privacy Notice, as they are the direct provider of the platform. However, you can always contact us directly to exercise your rights concerning the data we control.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new policy on our platform and updating the "Effective Date." We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at: hello@shakercollective.com