Privacy Policy
Your privacy is important to us. To protect your privacy, we provide this notice explaining our information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.
Collection and Use of Personal Information
What is Personal Data?
Personal Data (also referred to in this policy as Personal Information) means any information relating to a natural person who can be identified by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification/account number, location data, an online identifier, or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity of that person.
Personal Information
We collect when you visit the USF Websites, there are four types of information you might provide to us: contact information you knowingly choose to disclose; contact information from applications for funding or donations, billing information when you donate, join, subscribe, or make a purchase; demographic or other information about you; and technical information collected by us as you interact with our websites.
Contact Information
In some areas of the USF Websites, we request that you provide personal information, such as your name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number. Donor and Purchaser Information In some areas of the USF Websites, we request that you provide your credit card number, contact information, and other billing information.
Demographic Information
In some areas of the USF Websites, we collect demographic information such as your age, career, preferences, gender, educational degrees, ethnic background, interests, and other information. Sometimes, we may collect a combination of information types. Examples of areas of the USF Websites where we may collect personal or combined personal and demographic data are pages where you can donate to the USF, sign up to be a member (professional or general), register for a program or event, or purchase a product.
Technical Information
We also may gather certain information about your use of our site, such as what areas you visit and what services you access. Moreover, there is information about your computer hardware and software that we may collect. This information can include, without limitation, your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times, and referring website addresses. Some of this information is collected through the use of cookies (described below).
Use of Personal Information
The information collected may be used by USF for the purpose of providing you with the content you request, operating and improving the USF Websites, providing a positive user experience, and delivering the products and services that we offer. We may also use the information we gather to inform you of other products or services available from the USF Websites or to contact you about your opinion of current products and services or potential new products and services that may be offered. We may use your contact information in order to send you e-mail, postal mail, or other communications regarding updates at the USF, such as newsletters, information, event and programmatic information, and additional listings which may be of interest to you. We may also use it to send you information about third-party products and services that match your interests and preferences, if you opt in for this communication. The nature and frequency of these messages will vary depending upon the information we have about you. In addition, at the time of registration for certain services, you have the option to elect to receive additional communications, information, newsletters, and promotions relating to topics that may be of special interest to you. If in the future we intend to process your Personal Data for a purpose other than that for which it was collected, we will provide you with information on that purpose and any other relevant information including the option to opt out. We do not provide your name and address or email to outside parties, except as described here. To learn more about our encryption policies, please review the section on "Protecting Personal Information" (below). For EU-based visitors and subscribers, the following table provides information required by the GDPR relating to our use of your personal information.
Personal Information
Legal Basis for Processing
Contact information, including name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number. Purchaser information, including credit card number, contact information, and billing information. Demographic information, including age, preferences, gender, educational degrees, ethnic background, interests, and specific information. Technical information, including your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times, and referring website addresses. Consent to provide you with the content you request, as necessary for the performance of a contract. Necessary to provide you with the content you request. Legitimate purpose of providing tailored content to you. Legitimate purpose of authenticating subscribers and optimizing website performance.
Retention of Personal Information
We retain indefinitely all the personal information we gather about visitors or subscribers as necessary to fulfill our contract with you. We retain indefinitely certain anonymized information we gather about visitors or subscribers for the legitimate purpose of performing website analytics and providing use of our website to all visitors in an efficient, practical, and relevant way. If there is no legal basis or other requirement for keeping your data AND after there has been no activity from you for seventy-two (72) months, your data that is no longer required will be purged.
Sharing of Personal Data
We do not share or disclose your personal information to third parties except as set forth below:
Personal Information Purpose for Sharing Technical information Technical information Contact information Contact information Contact information With USF business partners for the legitimate purpose of understanding usage patterns for USF Websites and those of our partners. With web hosting and other technical service providers for the legitimate purpose of hosting our web servers and ensuring information security for our networks. With consultants and vendors for the legitimate purpose of providing customer support and marketing assistance. With credit card processors for purposes of processing credit card transactions in connection with the donors and subscriber’s contract with the USF websites. With our business partners, with your consent, for the purposes of providing you with products or services tailored to your interests and preferences. In addition, we disclose personal information if legally required to do so, if requested to do so by a governmental entity, or if we believe in good faith that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process; (b) protect the rights or property of USF; (c) prevent a crime or protect national security; or (d) protect the personal safety of users or the public. In the event any one or all of the USF Websites become the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding, whether voluntary or involuntary, the USF or its trustee in bankruptcy may sell, license, or otherwise dispose of such information in a transaction approved by the bankruptcy court as is legally required. In the event the USF business is acquired in whole or part by a third party by way of merger, consolidation, or purchase, we will disclose and transfer such information to the third party. The USF may also share aggregated anonymous information about visitors to USF Websites with its clients, partners, and other third parties so that they may understand the kinds of visitors to the USF Websites and how those visitors use the site.
Your Rights under the GDPR with regard to your Personal Data
Under the GDPR, EU-based visitors and subscribers have the rights to request from us access to Personal Data we store about you, to amend (or rectify) this data, to restrict our processing of the Personal Data, to erase the data, and to receive a copy of the data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-reUSFble format (data portability). If you wish to invoke a right under the GDPR, you may contact us at info@unitedsommeliersfoundation.com. Please use the subject line “GDPR Request” in the subject line. Your e-mail should include a sufficiently detailed description of the GDPR right with which you seek assistance along with appropriate contact information. We may need to contact you for further information. USF will notify you if your request has been granted or declined, or if exemptions apply. If you have provided consent for the processing and storing of your data, you have the right (in certain circumstances) to withdraw that consent at any time, which will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before your consent was withdrawn. You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe that we have not complied with the requirements of the GDPR with regard to your Personal Data.
Information You Post
If you post any personal information in public and/or social network areas of the USF Websites, e.g., in online community forums or chat rooms, the information disclosed may be displayed to other users of these services and may be collected and used by others over whom we have no control. USF is not responsible for the use made by third parties of information you post or otherwise make available in public areas of the USF Websites and communities. If you remove information that you have made public on USF Websites and communities, copies may remain viewable in cached and archived pages of the USF Websites or if others have copied or saved that information.
Opt-In and Opt-Out
Choices The registration forms and other sections of the USF Websites where we collect your information provide you with relevant opt-in and opt-out choices regarding promotional activity and other communications with you.
E-mail to Donors and Participants: Donors to USF and Participants of USF events and programs may opt in for first- or third-party informational e-mails or opt out of all e-mail communication, except transactional emails, such as donation receipts and event/program specific information registered.
E-mail to Subscribers: Paid subscribers to USF publications may also opt in for first- or third-party informational e-mails or opt out of all e-mail communication (with the exception of subscription renewal information) by contacting USF at info@theunitedsommeliersfoundation.com. Where permitted by law, users who do not wish to receive e-mail related to these activities or newsletters may cancel such services by following the unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of any e-mail message from USF or go to the Constituent Center and update preferences. Users who do not wish to receive e-mail may follow the unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of any e-mail message from USF or go to the Constituent Center and update preferences. The above are examples of opt-in/opt-out options and are not intended to describe every option on the USF websites.
Links to Other Sites
The USF Websites may provide links to other World Wide Web sites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that the The United Sommeliers Foundation has no control over such sites and resources and is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any Materials, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources or those sites’ data collection or privacy policies. You further acknowledge and agree that the The United Sommeliers Foundation shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such Materials or goods available on or through any such site or resource or those sites data collection or privacy policies.
Monitoring of Information and Cookies
We monitor customer traffic patterns and site usage to help us develop the design and layout of the The United Sommeliers Foundation website. We may also use the information we collect to occasionally notify you about important changes to the websites, new services or features offered by the The United Sommeliers Foundation, and special offers and information we think you will find valuable. If you would rather not receive this information, please contact us through one of the channels identified in "How to Correct or Update Information" (below). Google Analytics is used to analyze traffic to this website. Google Analytics does not maintain individual profiles for visitors, nor does Google Analytics collect data that might identify the individual visitor. Google Analytics only collects aggregate data. Click here for more information about the Google Analytics privacy policy. We collect standard information, by way of a cookie, to help us evaluate how our sites are being used. A cookie is a small uniquely identifiable text file that is stored on your machine. A cookie collects information that is used for statistical purposes and does not identify you in any way. Our sites use cookies to keep track of your shopping cart and to make sure you don't see the same content repeatedly. We use cookies to deliver information specific to your interests and to save your password so you don't have to re-enter it each time you visit our site. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can change your browser settings to prevent that. Even without accepting cookies, you can still use most of the features throughout the The United Sommeliers Foundation websites.
Protecting Personal Information
We are concerned with protecting your privacy and data. When you make a donation, register for an event or program, place orders, access your account information or request information, we use a secure server. This secure server software, SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), encrypts all information you input before it is sent to us. Furthermore, all customer transactional data we collect is protected against unauthorized access with the use of digital certificates. We provide reasonable technical, administrative, and physical controls to secure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of personal information. If you have any questions about security on the USF Websites, you may contact us at info@theunitedsommeliersfoundation.com
Payment Processing
All credit transactions occur in a secure area of our site to protect you from any loss, misuse, or alteration of information collected and are done in the collaboration of our partner, Paypal.
Our Commitment to Children's Privacy
Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important. We adhere to the 1998 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). For more information, visit the Federal Trade Commission's COPPA site.
Notification Guidelines
The Association does not send unsolicited commercial communications to individuals with whom they do not have consent/permission or a pre-existing or current business relationship. The Association provides all notified recipients with a clear, easy and effective method to unsubscribe to any and all online communications.
Changes to Privacy Statement
If we change our Privacy Statement for the USF Websites, we will post those changes here so that you will always know what information we gather, how we might use that information, and to whom we will disclose it. We welcome your comments concerning this Privacy Statement. Members who believe that we have not adhered to this statement may contact us by e-mailing us at info@unitedsommeliersfoundation.com. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem. Thank you for using the USF Websites.
Legal Requests
USF reserves the right to share your information to respond to duly authorized information requests of governmental authorities or where required by law.
California
Under California Civil Code Section 1798.83 (also known as S.B. 27), if you are a California resident and your business relationship with USF is primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, you may request certain data regarding our disclosure, if any, of personal information to third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an e-mail to info@unitedsommeliersfoundation.com with “Request for California Privacy Information” in the subject line. You may make such a request up to once per calendar year. If applicable, we will provide you, by e-mail, a list of the categories of personal information disclosed to third parties for their direct marketing purposes during the immediately preceding calendar year, along with the third parties’ names and addresses. Please note that not all personal information sharing is covered by S.B. 27’s requirements.
Acceptance of These Terms
Your use of the USF Websites shall indicate your understanding and acceptance of the terms of this Privacy Statement. If you do not agree with all the terms herein, you should not use the USF Websites or services.
Tell Us What You Think
The United Sommeliers Foundation welcomes your questions and comments about this privacy statement, about the practices of the Association, and about your dealings with this website. Please send email to info@unitedsommeliersfoundation.com
Last update: February 18th, 2023