Privacy & Policy

PRIVACY NOTICE EFFECTIVE JUNE 24, 2024

The Arc of the Central Chesapeake Region and its subsidiaries, Chesapeake Neighbors LLC, Chesapeake Community Development, Easton Crossing LLC, and Silo Square LLC, value your privacy whether you are a visitor, a participant, family member, or a donor. This Privacy Notice (“Notice”), describes how The Arc and its subsidiaries collect, use, and disclose information obtained through our websites ________ and related sites linking this Notice (individually and collectively, The “Sites”), the services available through our Site (collectively, the “Services”), and how we use and disclose that information.

By visiting The Sites or using any of our Services, you agree that your personal information will be handled as described in this Notice. Your use of our Sites or Services, and any dispute over privacy, is subject to this Notice and our Terms of Service, including its applicable limitations on damages and the resolution of disputes. The Terms of Service are incorporated by reference into this Notice.

None of the information obtained through The Arc or its subsidiaries Sites will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Information is shared only when necessary. If legal consent is required to share or disseminate that information, it is expressly given at the time the information is submitted by you.

WHAT INFORMATION IS COLLECTED?

We may collect information about you directly from you and from third parties, as well as automatically through your use of our Sites or Services.

Information We Collect Directly From You. When you sign up to receive updates from The Arc and its subsidiaries or to donate to same, we ask you to fill out a form that requests your name, address and e-mail address, and telephone, as well as some demographic information such as gender, age, and depending on the context some information about your family. We also may collect additional optional information from you, including but not limited to for example payment details from donors.

Information We Collect Automatically. When you visit our Sites we automatically log your IP address, your browser type and your access times. We utilize this information to conduct Site performance evaluations, to see where visitors are coming from and to keep track of click stream data (the screens our users visit on our Sites). This data helps us to determine what content our website visitors find most appealing so that we can maximize your usage of the Site. To opt out of the collection of this demographic information from Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting, you can use the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

We may also automatically collect the following information about your use of our Sites or Services through cookies, web beacons, and other technologies: your domain name; your browser type and operating system; web pages you view; links you click; your IP address; the length of time you visit our Sites and or use our Services; and the referring URL, or the webpage that led you to our Sites. We may combine this information with other information that we have collected about you, including, where applicable, your username, name, and other personal information. Please see the section “Cookies and Other Tracking Mechanisms” below for more
information.

OUR USE OF COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING MECHANISMS

We and our third-party service providers use cookies and other tracking mechanisms to track information about your use of our Sites or Services. We may combine this information with other personal information we collect from you (and our third-party service providers may do so on our behalf).

Currently, our systems do not recognize browser “do-not-track” requests. You may, however, disable certain tracking as discussed in this section (e.g., by disabling cookies); you also may opt-out of targeted advertising by following the instructions in the Third-Party Ad Network section. Cookies. Cookies are alphanumeric identifiers that we transfer to your computer’s hard drive through your web browser for record-keeping purposes. Some cookies allow us to make it easier for you to navigate our Sites and Services, while others are used to enable a faster log-in process or to allow us to track your activities at our Site and Service. The ability to select or download information on our Site is not cookie-driven. There are two types of cookies: session and persistent cookies.

Persistent Cookies. Persistent cookies remain on your computer after you have closed your browser or turned off your computer. We use persistent cookies to track aggregate and statistical information about user activity, and to display advertising both on our Site and on third-party sites.

Disabling Cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but if you prefer, you can edit your browser options to block them in the future. The Help portion of the toolbar on most browsers will tell you how to prevent your computer from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies altogether. Visitors to our Sites who disable cookies will be able to browse certain areas of the Sites, but some features may not function.
Clear GIFs, pixel tags and other technologies. Clear GIFs are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies. In contrast to cookies, which are stored on your computer’s hard drive, clear GIFs are embedded invisibly on web pages. We may use clear GIFs (a.k.a. web beacons, web bugs or pixel tags), in connection with our Sites to, among other things, track the activities of Site visitors, help us manage content, and compile statistics about Site usage. We and our third-party service providers also use clear GIFs in HTML e-mails to our customers, to help us track e-mail response rates, identify when our e-mails are viewed, and track whether our e-mails are forwarded.
Third Party Analytics. We use automated devices and applications, such as Google Analytics, to evaluate usage of our Sites and, to the extent permitted, our Application. We also may use other analytic means to evaluate our Services. We use these tools to help us improve our Services, performance and user experiences. These entities may use cookies and other tracking technologies to perform their services. We do not share your personal information with these third parties. To opt out of the collection of this demographic information from Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting, you can use the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
We use your information, including your personal information, for the following purposes:

To provide our Services to you, to communicate with you about your use of our Services, to respond to your inquiries or requests for a referral, and to process your donations.

To tailor the content and information that we may send or display to you, to offer location customization, and personalized help and instructions, and to otherwise personalize your experiences while using the Sites or our Services.

For marketing, issue awareness and fund raising purposes. For example, we may use your information, such as your email address, to send you news and newsletters, to solicit your support, or to otherwise contact you about products or information we think may interest you. From time to time we may send out email messages
soliciting your support, prompting a call to action, or alerting you of what’s new at The Arc and its subsidiaries. In addition, you may receive communications from us if you have contacted us for a particular reason, and/or to receive the information or service you have requested.

To better understand how you access and use our Sites and Services, both on an aggregated and individualized basis, in order to improve our Sites and Services and respond to your desires and preferences, and for other research and analytical purposes.

Your name and address information is used solely to process your donation, newsletter sign-up, or request for information and referral.
Your demographic information (gender, age, etc.) is used for several purposes: Demographic information may be provided back to our corporate partners (companies that provide member benefit opportunities) in an aggregated way. For example, we may tell a partner that 25% of you are male, while 75% are female. We never release individual demographics to any party. The Arc and its subsidiaries also uses demographic information in aggregate terms for reporting purposes – annual reports, funding sources, charity-watch agencies.

HOW WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION
Your personal information will never be sold, given, rented or traded to others. We may share your information, including personal information, as follows:

Affiliates. We may disclose the information we collect from you to our affiliates or subsidiaries; however, if we do so, their use and disclosure of your personally identifiable information will be subject to this Notice.

Service Providers. We may disclose the information we collect from you to third party vendors, service providers, contractors or agents who perform functions on our behalf. The Arc utilizes the services of intermediaries – United Parcel Service (UPS), FedEx, and various direct mail firms to process and/or send out solicitations, newsletters or updates regarding Services. To our knowledge, these intermediaries do not store, retain or use the information in any way. These parties are contractually obligated with The Arc or its subsidiaries to use your information only for the purpose of communicating these opportunities.

Business Transfers. If we are acquired by or merged with another organization, if substantially all of our assets are transferred to another organization, or as part of a bankruptcy proceeding, we may transfer the information we have collected from you to the other organization.

In Response to Legal Process. We also may disclose the information we collect from you in order to comply with the law, a judicial proceeding, court order, or other legal process, such as in response to a court order or a subpoena.

To Protect Us and Others. We also may disclose the information we collect from you where we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person, violations of our Terms of Use or this Notice, or as evidence in
litigation in which The Arc or its subsidiaries is involved.

Aggregate and De-Identified Information. We may share demographic information in aggregate terms for reporting purposes (such as annual reports, funding sources, charity-watch agencies), research, or similar purposes.

THIRD-PARTY LINKS

Our Site and Services may contain links to third-party websites. Any access to and use of such linked websites is not governed by this Notice, but instead is governed by the privacy policies of those third-party websites. We are not responsible for the information practices or data collection and  requests of such third-party websites. Any party accessing a third-party site is encouraged to review that sites privacy notices, terms and conditions.

SECURITY OF INFORMATION

We have implemented commercially reasonable precautions to protect the information we collect from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Our Sites security is reviewed regularly. Please be aware that despite our efforts, no data security measures can guarantee 100% security.

When you make a financial or in-kind donation, you provide your name and contact information. Financial donors provide standard payment information, which may include credit card information to a third-party. When working with other companies to process credit card transactions, those companies also use encryption and other appropriate security measures. We do not guarantee the safety of financial data submitted through third-party vendors.

RIGHTS REGARDING PERSONAL INFORMATION SUBMITTED

If you do not want your personal information collected or stored, please do not submit it to us. If you have already submitted personal information and would like us to correct or remove your information from our records, please contact us at info@thearcccr.org.

We may send periodic solicitations or informational emails to you should you subscribe to any of our newsletters. You may unsubscribe to such communications by following unsubscribe link contained in the e-mail. Please note that it may take up to 10 business days for us to process unsubscribe requests. If unsubscribe from receiving emails, we may still send you e-mails about Services you have requested or received from us.

CHILDREN’S ONLINE PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT

The Sites individually and collectively are not directed at and should not be used by children under the age of 13. The Arc and its subsidiaries supports and complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The Arc and its subsidiaries do not solicit or collect personal information from children under the age of 13. By using The Sites you represent and warrant that you are over 13 years of age.

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

This Notice is current as of the Effective Date set forth above. We may change this Notice from time to time. If any material changes are made to our privacy practices or in how we use your personal Information, we will post a notice on our Sites prior to implementation of the change.

CONTACT US

If you have questions about the privacy aspects of our Services, would prefer not to receive updates or requests for donations, or would like to make a complaint about this Notice, please contact us:

By Phone: 410-269-1883

By Email: info@thearcccr.org

By Regular Mail:

The Arc of the Central Chesapeake Region Inc.

999 Corporate Blvd.

Suite 300

Linthicum, MD 21090