Cookie Policy

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer, smartphone, tablet, or other device when you visit a website. They are widely used across the internet to make websites function properly, to improve the user experience, and to provide information to website operators about how visitors interact with their pages.

When you visit our educational platform at www.crowdfundingeducation.ca, our web server may send one or more cookies to your device. These cookies contain a string of characters that uniquely identifies your browser. When you return to our website, these cookies allow us to recognize your browser and remember certain preferences or settings you may have configured during a previous visit.

Cookies do not typically contain personal information that directly identifies you, such as your name or email address. However, the information stored in or accessed by cookies can be linked to personal data we collect through other means, such as when you register for a course or submit a contact form. Cookies cannot access other data stored on your device, install software, or deliver viruses.

Beyond cookies, we may also use similar tracking technologies such as web beacons (also known as pixel tags or clear GIFs), local storage objects, and embedded scripts. For the purposes of this policy, we refer to all such technologies collectively as "cookies" unless otherwise specified.

Maple Learning Inc. uses cookies on our educational website for several specific purposes. We are committed to using cookies only where they serve a genuine need and provide real value to either our visitors or to the operation and improvement of our educational services.

The primary reasons we use cookies include:

• Ensuring website functionality: Certain cookies are essential for the basic operation of our website. Without them, features such as page navigation, form submission, and secure access to course materials would not function correctly.
• Remembering your preferences: Cookies allow us to remember settings and choices you have made, such as your cookie consent preference, language settings, and whether you have dismissed informational banners.
• Understanding how visitors use our site: Analytics cookies help us understand which pages are visited most frequently, how long visitors spend on each page, and where visitors encounter difficulties. This data enables us to improve our course content and website design.
• Improving our educational offerings: By analyzing aggregate data from cookies, we can identify which course topics generate the most interest, how learners navigate through our curriculum pages, and which educational resources are accessed most often.
• Measuring the effectiveness of communications: If you arrive at our website through a marketing communication or external link, cookies help us understand which channels are most effective at connecting potential students with our educational resources.

We categorize the cookies used on our website into four groups based on their purpose. Below is an overview of each category, followed by detailed sections explaining the specific cookies within each group.

Essential cookies are strictly necessary for the operation of our website. They enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. Without these cookies, the website cannot function properly, and they are therefore placed on your device automatically when you access our site.

You cannot opt out of essential cookies through our cookie consent mechanism because disabling them would prevent you from using the site. However, you can configure your browser to block all cookies, which would also block essential cookies and may significantly impair your ability to use our website.

Analytics cookies collect information about how visitors use our website. All data gathered by analytics cookies is aggregated and therefore anonymous. We use this information to improve how our website works and to understand which educational content resonates most with our audience.

These cookies are only placed on your device if you accept analytics cookies through our cookie consent banner. If you reject these cookies, we will not collect analytics data from your visits, though this will not affect your ability to access our educational content.

We have configured Google Analytics to use IP anonymization, which means that your full IP address is never stored. Additionally, we have disabled data sharing with Google for advertising purposes. The analytics data we collect is used solely to improve our educational website and is not shared with any third parties for marketing or commercial purposes beyond the analytics service itself.

Functional cookies enable our website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have integrated into our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, some or all of these services may not function properly, though the core educational content will still be accessible.

Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display advertisements and communications that are relevant and engaging for each individual user. We use a limited number of marketing cookies exclusively to measure the effectiveness of our educational outreach campaigns and to help potential students find relevant course information.

These cookies are only activated if you provide explicit consent through our cookie consent banner. You may withdraw your consent at any time by clearing your cookies or by using the cookie management options described in the "Managing Your Cookies" section of this policy.

We want to emphasize that our use of marketing cookies is limited to promoting educational content. We do not use these cookies to promote financial products, investment services, or any form of crowdfunding activity. All advertisements served using data from these cookies direct users to our educational course information.

In addition to cookies set directly by Maple Learning Inc. (referred to as "first-party cookies"), certain cookies are placed on your device by third-party services that we have integrated into our website. These third-party providers operate their own cookie policies, which we encourage you to review.

The third-party services whose cookies may appear on our website include:

• Google LLC (Google Analytics, Google Ads): Provides website analytics and advertising measurement services. Google processes data in accordance with its privacy policy, which is available at policies.google.com/privacy. Google is a participant in the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.
• Meta Platforms, Inc.: Provides advertising measurement through the Meta Pixel. Meta processes data in accordance with its data policy, available at facebook.com/privacy/policy. Meta is a participant in the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.
• YouTube (Google LLC): We embed educational video content from YouTube on certain course pages. YouTube may set cookies on your device when you view these embedded videos, even if you do not interact with the video player.
• Cloudflare, Inc.: Provides content delivery, performance optimization, and security services for our website. Cloudflare may place cookies to identify trusted traffic and protect against automated threats.

We do not control the cookies set by these third parties. Each third-party provider operates under its own privacy and cookie policies, and we recommend reviewing those policies directly if you have concerns about how they process your data.

Cookies placed on your device have varying durations depending on their type and purpose. They fall into two broad categories based on how long they persist:

The maximum duration for any cookie we set directly is 13 months, in line with privacy best practices and the recommendations of data protection authorities. Third-party cookies may have different expiry periods as determined by the third-party provider. You can view the specific duration of each cookie in the tables provided throughout this policy.

You have full control over which cookies are placed on your device. There are several ways to manage or delete cookies:

Our Cookie Consent Banner

When you first visit our website, a cookie consent banner appears in the bottom-right corner of the screen. You can choose to Accept or Reject non-essential cookies. Your choice is saved in the cookie-consent cookie so that the banner does not reappear on subsequent visits. To change your preference, you can clear the cookie-consent item from your browser's local storage, which will cause the banner to reappear on your next visit.

Browser Settings

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically find these options in the "Privacy" or "Security" section of your browser's preferences. Common actions include:

• • Viewing all cookies stored on your device
• • Deleting individual cookies or all cookies at once
• • Blocking cookies from specific websites or all websites
• • Configuring your browser to notify you when a cookie is being placed
• • Setting your browser to automatically delete cookies when you close it

Browser-Specific Instructions

Each browser has its own method for managing cookies. Below are general directions for the most common browsers:

Opt-Out Tools

For Google Analytics specifically, you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, which prevents Google Analytics from collecting data about your visits to any website. This add-on is available for all major browsers.

For advertising cookies, you may also visit the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (DAAC) at youradchoices.ca to opt out of targeted advertising from participating companies.

When you first visit our website, we present a cookie consent banner that gives you the option to accept or reject non-essential cookies. Essential cookies, which are required for the basic operation of the site, are placed regardless of your consent choice because they do not collect personal data for tracking or marketing purposes.

By clicking "Accept" on the cookie consent banner, you consent to our use of analytics, functional, and marketing cookies as described in this policy. By clicking "Reject," you indicate that you do not consent to non-essential cookies, and only essential cookies will be placed on your device.

Your consent is voluntary and can be withdrawn at any time. To withdraw consent, you may:

• Clear the "cookie-consent" entry from your browser's local storage, which will trigger the consent banner to appear again on your next visit
• Delete all cookies from our website through your browser settings
• Contact us at [email protected] and request that we assist you with managing your cookie preferences

Under Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy legislation, you have the right to control how your personal information is collected and used. Our cookie consent mechanism is designed to comply with these requirements by ensuring that non-essential data collection only occurs with your informed, affirmative consent.

For visitors accessing our website from the European Economic Area (EEA), our consent mechanism also complies with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ePrivacy Directive, which mandate prior consent before placing non-essential cookies.

We may update this Cookie Policy periodically to reflect changes in the cookies we use, changes in our data processing practices, or changes in applicable privacy legislation. When we make material changes to this policy, we will take reasonable steps to notify you, which may include:

• Updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
• Displaying a notice on our website homepage for a reasonable period after the changes take effect
• Resetting your cookie consent preferences so that the cookie consent banner reappears, giving you the opportunity to review and accept or reject the updated cookie categories
• Sending an email notification to registered students who have opted into communications

We recommend reviewing this Cookie Policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies. If you continue to use our website after changes have been made, your continued use will be considered acceptance of the updated policy, subject to your cookie consent preferences as expressed through the consent banner.

Previous versions of this policy are available upon request by contacting us at the address provided below.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Cookie Policy or our use of cookies on our educational website, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are committed to addressing any privacy-related inquiries promptly and transparently.

If you are not satisfied with our response to any cookie-related concern, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) at priv.gc.ca, or with the applicable provincial privacy commissioner in your province of residence.