This Privacy Policy was last revised in July 2024.

Introduction

 

This Privacy Policy describes The General Council on Finance and Administration of the United Methodist Church’s (“GCFA,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) use and sharing of (1) personally identifiable information (“PII”) that users (“users” or “you”) voluntarily provide to GCFA when using the website and services delivered through the domain gcfa.org (the “Site”) and (2) certain information about you (described in more detail below) that is automatically collected when you access the Site. By using, accessing, visiting, or registering with the Site, or by submitting your PII through it or to us by other means of communication, such as email or other electronic means, you consent to this Privacy Policy and to GCFA’s collection and sharing of your PII in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy or Terms of Use, do not use the Site.

We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, effective upon the date we post the new Privacy Policy to the Site. Your continued use of the Site constitutes your binding acceptance of the Privacy Policy, including any changes or modifications that we may make, and to GCFA’s collection and sharing of your PII and in accordance with the terms of the then current Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review the Privacy Policy whenever you use the Site.

 

Children Under the Age of 13

 

We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. This Site is not intended or designed to attract children under the age of 13. We do not collect personally identifiable information from any person who we know is a child under the age of 13. If you are under 13, please immediately stop using this Site. If you are aware that we have inadvertently collected or may be processing PII for children under 13, please contact us immediately.

 

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Information We Collect and How We Collect It

 

We collect PII you share through the Site. The Categories of PII that we may collect from you include:

• Your contact information, including your name, email address, mailing address, or telephone number.

• Your date of birth, gender, ethnicity, language, and family status.

• Your role within our organization.

• Your job and education history.

• Login information, including username and password.

• Financial information necessary to process any orders or subscriptions, such as credit card information.

• Any other information you provide directly to us through the Site. 

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Our Site automatically collects and stores the following information about you:

 

• the date and time of your visit; where you go in our sites;

• the type of operating system and browser you use;

• the search engine and key words used that brought you to one of our sites; and the location of a visitor’s machine.

 

How We Use Your Information

 

We use your PII in the following ways.

 

• To communicate with you regarding your registration, account, subscriptions, or donations.

• To respond to any request from you.

• To improve the content of the site. For example, by tracking the number of “hits” or visits to our sites, the most popular times of day and sections visited, and the range of computers and browsers most commonly used to view it.

• To customize your experience with the Site and services.

• To contact you for marketing purposes, such as emailing you about events or programs that may be of interest to you.

• For any other legal purpose.

 

 

GCFA does not sell or transmit any of your PII to other parties or organizations.

Cookie Policy

 

We may use “cookies,” which are small files stored on your computer’s hard drive that are used to store and track information about the Sites users. Cookies are used to remind us of who you are in order to deliver you better service to our Site. You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, giving you the chance to decide whether or not to accept it. By not accepting cookies, some Site pages may not display properly or you may not be permitted to access certain information.

GCFA may also collect Internet protocol addresses (“IP Address) (the Internet address of a computer) to track a user’s session on the Site while the user remains anonymous. We analyze this data for certain trends in statistics, such as which parts of our Site users are visiting and how long they spend there.

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Email Communication

 

When you send email or other communications to GCFA, we may retain those communications in order to process your inquiries, respond to your requests and improve our services. We may use your email address to communicate with you about our services. We may use your email address to send periodic emails if you decide to opt-in to our mailing list. If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, you may unsubscribe at the bottom of each email. You acknowledge that it may take up to ten days for us to process any opt-out request.

What Information is Shared and With Whom

 

We do not rent or sell your PII to outside marketers. GCFA may share your PII with its affiliates, subsidiaries, or divisions and with their respective officers, directors, employees, accountants, attorneys, and agents. In certain circumstances, we may share your PII with service providers that need access to your PII to provide operational or other support services.

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We also may provide your PII to regulatory authorities and law enforcement officials in accordance with applicable law or when we otherwise believe in good faith that the law requires it. There may be instances when we may access or disclose your PII in order to protect or defend the legal rights or property of GCFA and its affiliated companies or their employees and agents, to protect the safety and security of users, and to protect against fraud. We may also access or disclose your PII to comply with a court order or other legal process, enforce our Terms of Service, or respond to claims that any posting or other content violates the rights of third-parties. GCFA may sell, transfer or otherwise share some or all of its assets in connection with a merger, reorganization or sale of assets, or in the event of bankruptcy. In such an event, PII may be one of the assets transferred.

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International Transfers of PII

 

If you are located outside of the United States, please be aware that PII we collect is being collected by us in the United States. By using the Site, our services, or providing us with any PII, you fully understand and consent to the transfer, processing, and storage of your PII in the United States, a jurisdiction in which the privacy laws may not be as comprehensive as those in the country where you reside and/or are a citizen.

 

Your Rights

 

If you are a resident of certain jurisdictions, the law may provide you with certain rights regarding your PII. To exercise such rights, please contact us using the contact information provided below.

Third Party Websites

 

This privacy policy is applicable only to GCFA’s website and does not apply to any third-party websites or to other companies or persons. The Site may contain links to, and media and other content from, other sites. In addition, such third-party media and content may also contain external links. Because of the dynamic media capabilities of the Site, it may not be clear to you which links are embedded in the Site and which are embedded in third-party media and/or content. GCFA cannot and does not guarantee the privacy policies and practices of any third party. GCFA does not control, operate, or endorse any information, products, or services of any third-party websites that may be reached through links from the Site. The use of any PII provided by you to such a third party will be governed by that party’s privacy policy. If you are unsure whether a web site is controlled, affiliated, or managed by GCFA, you should review the privacy policy at each linked web site to determine how that site treats your PII.

Data Security and Retention

 

We only retain your information for as long as it is needed to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected or required by law.

 

We take reasonable precautions to protect the security of the PII that you share with us. Unfortunately, however, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your PII, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any PII you transmit to or from our Site, and you do so at your own risk.

Contact Information

 

To ask questions or comment about this Privacy Policy and the Company's privacy practices,
contact us at GCFA@gcfa.org.