PRIVACY NOTICE

Approved by FHGSM Board of Directors: October 18, 2026

Welcome to the Family History & Genealogy Society of Marin County (referred to as the “Society”, “we”, “our” or “us”).  Founded in 1978, as the Marin County Genealogy Society, the Society serves genealogists of all experience levels—from beginners exploring their family history for the first time to advanced researchers conducting in-depth studies. As a 501(c)(3) California nonprofit, we are committed to preserving historical records, encouraging ethical research practices, and fostering a collaborative community.

Protecting your privacy is important to us. We only use your information where we have a legal basis to do so. This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) applies to https://fhgsm.org/ (the “Site”) and governs data collection and usage. This Privacy Policy will help you understand what information we collect, how we use it, and what choices you have in connection with the Site and any of our offerings or services (collectively with the Site, the “Services”).

By using our Services, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use the Services. We reserve the right to modify or amend the terms of this Privacy Policy from time to time. Your continued use of our Services following the posting of changes to this Privacy Policy will mean you accept those changes. If we intend to apply the modifications or amendments to this Privacy Policy retroactively or to personal information already in our possession, we will provide you with notice of the modifications or amendments.

Please be advised that the practices described in this Privacy Policy apply only to information gathered by us through our Services. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any information you provide to third-party platforms used to access the Services or otherwise. Please review their privacy policies carefully to understand what information they may collect, process, and use from you.

1. The information we collect about you

This Privacy Policy covers our use of any information that can or could be used to identify you (“Personal Data”).

We may collect and use the following categories of Personal Data to provide the Services to you:

• Information from Third-Party Platforms. We may provide third-party interfaces or links on the Services to facilitate your use of the Services. When you use these third-party platforms, such as to pay for a membership or make a donation, the third-party platform may or may not provide us with information about you. For example, when you make a payment through a payment processor, the processor may share limited information with us related to your transaction, such as your name, email address, and postal code, but does not share your full payment card number or financial account information with us. We are not responsible for the terms, policies, disclosures, or actions of any third-party platforms.

• Information You Provide Voluntarily. You also give us Personal Data when you communicate with us or undertake similar voluntary actions. For example, this might include using the contact form on our Site, sending us an email, sending us feedback via our feedback forms, signing up for one of our events or interest groups, or posting content in public areas of the Services. Providing this information is completely voluntary on your part; however, it may be required to use or access some of our Services. For example, if you choose to contact us, we may retain your name, email address, and any other information you provide in your message.

• Membership Application Information. You also give us Personal Data when you submit a membership application online. When you submit a membership application, we collect the following information:
  • Your contact information – name, spouse’s name, address, telephone, and email address
  • Payment method selection – your selected payment method for membership dues and donations (note: your full payment card number and financial account information are collected and processed directly by our payment processor and are not received or retained by us)
  • Membership information – the type of membership you have selected (new or renewal), the date you first joined the Society, and your dues amount

• Automatically Collected Information. When you access or use the Site, we or our service providers may automatically collect certain information about your device and your use of the Services, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, pages viewed, and the dates and times of your visits. This information is used for website analytics, security, and to improve the Services.

2. How we use the information we collect about you

We may use your Personal Data as follows:

• to provide you with our Services;
• to process and manage memberships, renewals, registrations, donations, and payments;
• to communicate with you about your membership, Society activities, events, programs, and other matters related to the Society;
• to respond to questions, requests, or other communications;
• to provide technical and customer support to you;
• for internal administrative, recordkeeping, and operational purposes;
• for other purposes disclosed to you when you provide the information; and
• for other purposes provided for in our Terms of Use (“Terms”) and to enforce our Terms.

Third Parties. We may engage vendors, agents, service providers, and affiliated entities to provide services to us. In providing their services, they may access, receive, maintain, or otherwise process data on our behalf.

Legal Matters; Safety. We may, in extreme cases, disclose information that we may have about you as may be permitted or required by law or to prevent or investigate suspected fraud or activity that appears to us to be illegal or may expose us to legal liability, or for emergencies involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person or property.

3. Who we share information with.

We will not share any Personal Data that we have collected from or regarding you except as described below:

Information Shared with Our Service Providers. We engage external service providers to work with us to administer and provide the Services. These service providers may include, without limitation, providers of website hosting, membership management, event registration, online meeting platforms, email communications, website analytics, payment processing, and technical support. The service providers we use may help us to:

• maintain our website and Services;
• administer memberships and member communications;
• manage event registrations and online meetings;
• send email communications;
• provide website analytics;
• process membership dues, donations, and other payments; and
• provide technical support.

Some external service providers may also collect information directly from you (for example, a payment processor may request your billing and financial information) as a Third-Party Service in accordance with their own privacy policy. Such external service providers do not share your full payment card number or financial account information with us, but may share limited information with us related to your transaction, such as your name, email address, and postal code.

Information Shared with Other Users. When you use the Services, certain information about you may be shared with or visible to other users and may therefore become publicly available, including without limitation: your name, contact information you choose to share, content you submit or make available in public areas of the Services, and public messages.

Information Disclosed for Our Protection and the Protection of Others. We cooperate with government and law enforcement officials or private parties to enforce and comply with the law. We only share information about you to government or law enforcement officials or private parties when we reasonably believe necessary or appropriate: (a) to respond to claims, legal process (including subpoenas and warrants); (b) to protect our property, rights, and safety and the property, rights, and safety of a third party or the public in general; and (c) to investigate and stop any activity that we consider illegal, unethical, or legally actionable.

Information Disclosed in Connection with Business Transactions. Information that we collect from our users, including Personal Data, is an asset of the Society. If the Society is involved in a transaction such as a merger, reorganization, dissolution, or transfer of assets to a successor nonprofit organization, some or all of our assets, including your Personal Data, may be shared or transferred to the applicable third party in connection with that transaction.

4. How we keep your Personal Data safe

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent your Personal Data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorized way, improperly altered or disclosed. We also limit access to your Personal Data to authorized officers, volunteers, contractors, and service providers who have a business need to know.

5. How long we will keep your Personal Data

We keep your Personal Data for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, and retention periods may vary depending on that purpose.

6. Your rights and choices

If for any reason you are concerned that any information you provided to us is not correct and you wish to change or delete it, you have the ability to review and update your personal information to the extent we have it. If you would like to do so, please contact us as set forth below. You may also contact us to request access to, transfer of, or erasure of your personal information to the extent we have any. Before we process any request to access, transfer, or erase your personal information, you must provide sufficient information for us to verify your identity and help protect against fraudulent requests. Specify the nature of your request and the information that is subject to your request.

7. Legal Grounds

We rely on the following legal grounds to use your data:

• Where it is needed to provide you with our Services.
• Where it is in our legitimate interests to do so, such as: managing our products and Services, and providing our Services to you.
• To comply with our legal obligations.
• With your consent or explicit consent, where applicable.
• For a public interest.

8. Your Rights Under Data Protection Laws

Here is a list of the rights that individuals have under data protection laws. They don’t apply in all circumstances. If you wish to use any of them, we’ll explain at that time if they are engaged or not.

• The right to be informed about the processing of your personal information.
• The right to have your personal information corrected if it is inaccurate and to have incomplete personal information completed.
• The right to object to processing of your personal information.
• The right to restrict processing of your personal information.
• The right to have your personal information erased (the “right to be forgotten”).
• The right to request access to your personal information and to obtain information about how we process it.
• The right to move, copy or transfer your personal information (“data portability”).
• Rights in relation to automated decision making which has a legal effect or otherwise significantly affects you.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding these rights please contact us via the contact information below.

9. Children

Unless stated otherwise for a particular Service, children are not allowed to use the Services or Site, and we do not collect Personal Data from them. We define “children” as anyone under 18 years old. If a parent has any further questions or concerns about his or her child’s use of the Services, we encourage the parent to contact us via the contact information below.

10. Changes to this Privacy Policy

Any Personal Data that we collect is covered by the Privacy Policy in effect at the time such information is collected. We may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make changes, we will post the updated Privacy Policy on our website and revise the “Last Updated” date.

11. Third Parties

In using our Services, you may access services that are owned or operated by third parties (each, a “Third-Party Service”). Third-Party Services may include, without limitation, payment processors, online meeting platforms, email service providers, and website analytics providers. Any information that you provide on or to a Third-Party Service or that is collected by a Third-Party Service is provided directly to the owner or operator of the Third-Party Service and is subject to the owner’s or operator’s privacy policy. We are not responsible for the content, privacy, or security practices and policies of any Third-Party Service. To protect your information, we recommend that you carefully review the privacy policies of all Third-Party Services that you access.

12. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality, understand how visitors use our Site, and improve our Services. We use a cookie consent tool that allows visitors to manage their preferences for non-essential cookies. Some cookies may be necessary for features such as member login, transactions, or other website functionality and cannot be disabled through the consent tool.

13. Contact Information

Please contact us via the contact page on our Site (https://fhgsm.org/contact-us/), or via mail or email at:

Family History & Genealogy Society of Marin County
PO Box 1511
Novato, CA 94948-1511

info@fhgsm.org