Privacy Policy

Operator. fAIr Advantage Ohio is operated by New Era Systems LLC, Columbus, Ohio. Questions or privacy requests should be sent to contact@fairadvantageohio.org or submitted through the contact form.

Scope

This policy applies to fairadvantageohio.org, the contact form, grant application form, related email communications, and the administrative CMS used to manage applications and site content. It does not apply to third-party websites, AI tools, vendors, or services linked from the site.

Information We Collect

• Contact form information: name, email address, organization, topic, message, submission time, IP address, user agent, and spam-prevention signals.
• Grant application information: applicant contact details, business information, phone number, website, mailing address, long-form application answers, general comments, attached files or presentations, submission time, IP address, user agent, and spam-prevention signals.
• Communications: messages you send to us and messages we send about questions, sessions, applications, awards, waitlists, receipts, and administration.
• Local browser data: the public site may use local storage for preferences such as theme selection and whether the grant application was submitted from that browser.
• Administrative data: CMS administrator account and session information used by authorized New Era Systems personnel to manage the site and applications.

How We Use Information

• To respond to questions and program inquiries.
• To receive, review, score, approve, decline, waitlist, and administer grant applications.
• To send applicants confirmation emails and application-related updates.
• To operate monthly education sessions, maintain program records, and manage awards or reimbursements.
• To protect the website, CMS, forms, attachments, and email systems from spam, abuse, fraud, malware, and unauthorized access.
• To comply with legal, accounting, tax, security, and recordkeeping obligations.
• To improve the program using aggregate or de-identified information where practical.

Grant Attachments

Grant application attachments are stored on the same server as the website and are made available only inside the CMS backend to authorized administrators. Attachments are not included in applicant or administrator confirmation emails. The confirmation emails include the written contents of the form, excluding attachments.

How We Share Information

We do not sell personal information, share it for targeted advertising, or give partner organizations control over applications. New Era Systems administers the program.

We may share information with service providers and advisors when needed to operate the program, including website hosting on the same server, Google Workspace email delivery, IT/security support, accountants, lawyers, tax professionals, or government authorities when legally required. We may share aggregate or de-identified program information publicly or with partners and sponsors. We will not publish an applicant’s name, story, application, or attachments without permission, unless required by law.

Retention

• Contact messages are retained for up to 2 years.
• Declined grant applications and attachments are retained for up to 3 years after the decision.
• Funded or waitlisted applications, award records, receipts, reimbursement records, and related attachments are retained for up to 7 years after the final award, payment, or applicable tax year.
• Server and security logs are retained for up to 90 days unless needed longer for security, legal, or operational reasons.
• Administrator account records are retained while the account is active and for a reasonable period afterward for security and audit purposes.

Backups may retain deleted information until they are overwritten in the ordinary course. We may keep information longer when required for legal, tax, accounting, security, dispute, or fraud-prevention reasons.

Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate for a small program, including restricted CMS access, server-side attachment storage, spam-prevention fields, and email practices that avoid attaching grant files to routine notifications. No website, email system, or server can be guaranteed perfectly secure.

Children and Minors

The site is not directed to children under 13. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and authorized to submit information for the business. If a minor-owned or youth-led business wants to apply, a parent, guardian, or other authorized adult must submit the application on the minor’s behalf.

Your Choices

You may request access, correction, deletion, or withdrawal of information by contacting contact@fairadvantageohio.org or using the contact form. We will respond reasonably and may need to keep certain records for legal, tax, accounting, security, award-administration, or fraud-prevention reasons. You may opt out of non-essential program emails, but active applicants and awardees may still receive administrative messages related to their application or award.

Incident Notice

If a security incident creates a legal duty to notify affected people, New Era Systems will provide notice as required by applicable law. For Ohio residents, state law may require notice as quickly as possible and generally no later than 45 days after discovery, subject to legal exceptions.

Changes

We may update this policy as the program, forms, services, or legal requirements change. The effective date above shows when this version was last updated.

Contact

Privacy questions and requests should be sent to contact@fairadvantageohio.org or submitted through the contact form.