PRIVACY POLICY

Our organization respects the privacy of our clients and members. It is for this reason we feel it is important to be able to assure our service users that any personal information we collect online or otherwise will be held in strict confidentiality under our regulated privacy procedures.

Personal information is any information about an identifiable individual which is not inclusive of business contact information such as job title, business telephone number, business mailing address, etc.

NLOWE has adopted the 10 privacy principles outlined by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Privacy Model. As a service user, your personal information will be collected, used and disclosed in accordance with this policy statement as well as the principles of the CSA Privacy Model.

NLOWE will collect your personal information only when YOU give consent to do so and your personal information will be used ONLY for the purposes that are stated to you. Each web page that requires submission of personal information will identify the purpose of collection. This privacy statement pertains only to privacy practices of information collected via our website and further information concerning NLOWE’s privacy policy beyond the web can be obtained by contacting our Office Manager, Judy Raske, at jraske@nlowe.org.

The Ten Privacy Principles

Accountability

NLOWE is accountable for all personal client/member information.

Questions and concerns regarding NLOWE’s privacy policies can be addressed to the Office Manager, Judy Raske, at jraske@nlowe.org.

The Purpose of Personal Collection

NLOWE requires a limited amount of information for the following purposes:

• Administering membership and providing member services

• Registration for events

• Membership Directory and Membership Database

• Client services

• Statistical purposes

• To answer your questions, address your concerns and to provide you with information about the services and programs we offer

Consent

NLOWE will not collect, use or disclose your personal information without your consent. By submitting your personal information through our website you are giving your consent for us to collect, use or disclose your personal information for the purposes identified to you.

Limiting Collection

NLOWE only requests the minimal amount of information necessary to provide the best possible services. When you register for a membership with NLOWE, you will be assigned a username and password which will allow you access to the Members Only section of the NLOWE web site. Registration requires a controlled amount of personal information and can be done on the web or by contacting our Office Manager, Judy Raske, at jraske@nlowe.org.

If you choose to make credit card payments on-line for any reason, please be aware that we have taken every precaution to keep your credit card information safe and secure. Once the transaction has been completed, your credit card information will be destroyed and no longer in our possession.

When you visit our website, you are assigned a temporary text file called a cookie through your web browser. It is placed on your computer for programming purposes only and enhances your use of the site by providing a unique identifier as you move from page to page. We may use cookies to identify if you have previously visited our site and to remember any preferences that you may have set while visiting our site. Cookies cannot retrieve any other data from your hard drive or obtain your email address. You, the user, have the ability to modify most browsers to either accept all cookies, notify the user when a cookie is sent, or reject all cookies.

Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention

The personal information that you provide via our website will be treated as confidential and will not be disclosed to a third party without your consent. We do not sell, rent or trade our mailing lists. As a member you will be granted access to our membership directory which provides full business contact information of all NLOWE members who wish to be included in the directory. It gives members an opportunity to network and promote their business on-line through NLOWE.

Personal information provided to NLOWE via the web or otherwise will be stored in secure databases for as long as the file is active and for the purposes it was collected and/or membership renewal. After the file is inactive for 1 yr, the contents will be destroyed through secure methods. (i.e. shredding hard copies and deleting information from our databases). If you would like your information removed from our systems and destroyed at any time, we ask that you contact us and we will be happy to accommodate you unless otherwise required by law.

Accuracy

In order to keep your information up to date and accurate, we ask that you contact us with any changes to your personal information. Please be advised that our representatives may contact you periodically in order to verify the accuracy of your information.

Safeguards

We promise our service users that all personal information collected via our website or otherwise will remain protected and secure at all times. Any information provided when registering for memberships or events on-line or accessing the Members Only section of our website, is collected within a secure page and encrypted while being transmitted to the NLOWE internet server.

Openness

We invite our members and clients to review our policies and procedures as it pertains to them. We offer informative literature which outline our policies and practices regarding client/member personal information handling. For further information contact us.

Individual Access

We believe that our service users are entitled to know what personal information we have on file, the purpose for use and retention and to whom the file is accessible. If you would like to learn the contents of your personal file, please contact our Office Manager or the appropriate service representative. For example, access to member information can be obtained through the member services coordinator. We do reserve the right to withhold information in special circumstances. For example, when disclosure of information interferes with a legal investigation or infringes upon the privacy of another client.

Challenging Compliance

If you have any inquiries or concerns regarding this privacy statement and our compliance with its principles, please contact our Office Manager, Judy Raske, at jraske@nlowe.org.

Any complaints surrounding our organization’s policies and information handling practices can be addressed to the Chief Executive Officer at jbessell@nlowe.org.

Note: the contents of our privacy policies and privacy statement are subject to change. Any amendments will be posted and we encourage members and clients to check our website regularly for updates.