Privacy Policy

The North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church, Southeastern Jurisdiction (“The Conference”) manages constituent databases, operates several websites (including nccumc.org and nccumc.fm), operates the “NC Conference of The UMC” app, and manages email lists and user accounts. It is The Conference’s policy to protect your privacy in accordance with this Privacy Policy regarding any personally identifying or potentially personally identifying information (collectively, “personal information”) that we collect from or about you in connection with our operation and management of such databases, websites, apps, email lists, and user accounts.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact us at communications@nccumc.org.

Protection of Certain Personally-Identifying Information

As discussed in more detail in the section captioned “Data Sharing and Disclosure,” below, The Conference discloses personal information only to those of its employees, contractors, and affiliated organizations that (i) need to know that information to process it on The Conference’s behalf, provide services available at The Conference’s websites, or are a related-by-faith organization within The United Methodist Church, and (ii) have agreed to abide by contractual privacy and security protections with respect to your personal information that are substantially similar to the protections described in this Privacy Policy. Some of those employees, contractors, and affiliated organizations may be located outside of your home country; by using The Conference’s websites, apps, or other communication channels, you consent to the transfer of such information to them.

The Conference takes reasonable measures that are designed to protect against unauthorized access, use, alteration, or destruction of your personal information. However, no website, mobile application, or online service is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to, through, using, or in connection with our websites, apps, and other communication channels. You should carefully decide what personal information you send to us via such communication channels. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk.

The safety and security of your personal information also depends on you. You are responsible for taking steps to protect your personal information against unauthorized use, disclosure, and access.

Data Sharing and Disclosure

The Conference may share your personal information only as necessary to carry out its ministries, programs, and administrative functions, and only with individuals or organizations that have agreed to maintain appropriate confidentiality and data protection standards.

The Conference may disclose your personal information under the following circumstances:

Affiliated United Methodist Entities
The Conference may share your name, church affiliation, and contact information with affiliated or related-by-faith organizations within The United Methodist Church. This includes, but is not limited to, Conference boards, agencies, committees, district offices, local churches, United Methodist Foundations, and those entities that participate in the Board of Institutions. Such sharing is limited to information necessary to support the ministries, stewardship, and administrative work of the Church.

Contractors and Service Providers
The Conference may share your personal information with employees, contractors, or vendors that (i) need access to the information to process it on The Conference’s behalf or to provide services available through The Conference’s websites, applications, or databases, and (ii) have agreed to abide by contractual privacy and security protections with respect to your personal information that are substantially similar to the protections described in this Privacy Policy. These parties are contractually required to handle all personal information in accordance with The Conference’s privacy standards.

Legal or Safety Obligations
The Conference may disclose your personal information in response to a subpoena, court order, or other governmental request, or when The Conference believes in good faith that disclosure is reasonably necessary to protect the property or rights of The Conference, third parties, or the public at large.

Aggregated or Non-Identifying Information
The Conference may compile and share aggregated statistical information (e.g., the number of visitors to a website or app) for reporting or informational purposes. Such information does not include personal information.

The Conference does not rent or sell personal information to any third party for commercial purposes. All disclosures are made solely in accordance with this Privacy Policy and in support of the mission and ministry of The United Methodist Church.

Email/User Accounts

When you sign up for an Email/User Account, or The Conference creates or assigns you an account, you are responsible for all content associated with the account. This account will be added to our constituent database.

Using our constituent database, The Conference may occasionally send you an email or notification to inform you about new features, solicit your feedback, or keep you up to date on the latest developments with The Conference and our various ministries and initiatives. The database may be divided into lists as appropriate (e.g., commissioned pastors may be separated from retired pastors).

The Communications Office compiles and maintains the lists and determines the appropriate uses of the database.

NC Conference App

The Conference’s mobile application, NC Conference of The UMC (the “app), is designed to help users stay connected with the work and ministries of the North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church. This section outlines the specific privacy practices associated with the app.

User Accounts
To access certain features, users may create an account within the app. During account registration, The Conference may collect personal information such as your name, email address, and optional profile details. We use this information solely to provide app functionality and improve the user experience.

Notifications
With your permission, the app may send push notifications, including updates about events, announcements, and other relevant content. Users can manage their Notification preferences in their devices’ settings or from within the app.

Messaging
The app features a messaging function that enables users to send and receive messages. Message content is stored securely and is only accessible to the intended recipients. The Conference does not monitor the content of user messages unless required by law or in cases of policy violation.

Your Choices

Users may update or delete their account information at any time within the app. You may also request account deletion by contacting us at support@nccumc.org.

Website Visitors

Like most website operators, The Conference collects non-personally identifying information that web browsers and servers typically make available, such as the browser type, language preference, referring site, and the date and time of each visitor request. The purpose of collecting this information is to gain a better understanding of how visitors use The Conference’s websites.

The Conference also collects personal information, such as Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, for logged-in users and visitors to the sites. The Conference only discloses logged-in users’ and commenters’ IP addresses under the same circumstances that it uses and discloses personally identifying information as described in this document, except that website commenters’ IP addresses are visible and disclosed to the administrators of the site where their comments were posted.

Gathering of Personally-Identifying Information

Certain visitors to The Conference’s websites choose to interact with The Conference in ways that require The Conference to gather personally identifying information. The amount and type of information gathered depend on the nature of the interaction. Those who engage in transactions with The Conference – by making an online donation, for example – are asked to provide additional information, including, as necessary, the personal and financial information required to process those transactions. In each case, The Conference collects such information only to the extent necessary or appropriate to fulfill the purpose of the visitor’s interaction. Visitors can always refuse to supply personal information, with the caveat that it may prevent them from engaging in certain website-related activities.

Aggregated Statistics

The Conference may collect statistics about the behavior of visitors to its websites (e.g., monitoring the most popular pages on nccumc.org). The Conference may display this aggregated, de-identified information publicly or provide it to others.

Cookies

A cookie is a string of information that a website stores on a visitor’s computer and that the visitor’s browser provides to the website each time the visitor returns. The Conference uses cookies to help identify and track visitors, their usage of The Conference websites, and their access preferences. Visitors who do not wish to have cookies placed on their computers should set their browsers to refuse cookies before using The Conference’s websites, with the drawback that certain website features may not function correctly without them.

Children’s and Minors’ Data

Our websites, apps, and other communications channels are not intended for, and we do not knowingly collect any personal data from, children under the age of 18, without parental/guardian consent. If we learn we have collected or received personal data from a child under 18 years old without verification of parental/guardian consent, we will delete that information.

Privacy Policy Changes

Although most changes are likely to be minor, The Conference reserves the right to change its Privacy Policy from time to time at its sole discretion. The Conference encourages visitors to check this page regularly for updates. Your continued use of The Conference’s websites, apps, and other communication channels after any change in this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of such change.

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