Privacy Policy

Effective Date: April 26, 2025

The Mexican Heritage Association of West Michigan (“MHAWM,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) values and respects the privacy of individuals who visit our website or otherwise interact with our services. This Privacy Policy outlines the nature, scope, and purpose of the collection, processing, use, disclosure, and safeguarding of your personal information. By accessing or utilizing our website, you acknowledge and consent to the practices described herein.

1. Information We Collect

In the course of providing our services, we collect a broad range of personal information from users, including, but not limited to, full names, mailing addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and payment details.

Such information may be collected through voluntary submission via website forms, registrations for events, volunteer applications, nominations, donations, ticket purchases, and subscription signups.

Additionally, through the use of automated technologies, including cookies, web beacons, and pixels provided by third-party services such as Google Analytics and Meta Pixel, we collect technical and usage-related information such as IP addresses, browser types, device identifiers, pages visited, time spent on site, and user navigation paths.

This automated information enables us to better understand user interactions and improve our services accordingly.

2. Methods of Information Collection

Personal information is collected directly from users when they voluntarily engage with our site, including when submitting forms, making financial contributions, purchasing event tickets, volunteering, submitting nominations, or participating in organizational activities.

In addition to direct collection, we automatically capture data through the implementation of cookies and third-party tracking technologies, which gather and analyze behavioral and demographic information to enhance our marketing efforts, improve website functionality, and personalize user experience.

Third-party service providers engaged for these purposes include, but are not limited to, Squarespace Forms, Squarespace Email Campaigns, Google Analytics, Stripe, PayPal, and Meta Pixel.

3. Use of Information

The personal information collected is utilized for a multitude of organizational purposes.

These include the processing of donations and ticket sales; the facilitation of event participation, nominations, and volunteer engagement; the dissemination of newsletters, promotional materials, and event announcements; the management of internal administrative operations; the maintenance of website security and integrity; and the fulfillment of legal and regulatory requirements.

We may also leverage aggregated, anonymized, or otherwise non-personally identifiable information to conduct research, perform data analysis, and improve the quality and reach of our programs and services.

4. Disclosure and Sale of Information

In certain instances, and subject to applicable legal restrictions, we may disclose or sell personal information to trusted third parties, including event sponsors, partner organizations, and service providers who perform functions on our behalf.

Such disclosure is undertaken for purposes consistent with the objectives of MHAWM, including, but not limited to, event promotion, operational support, and partnership development.

We do not engage in the indiscriminate sale of personal information to unrelated third parties for their independent commercial use.

All third-party recipients are contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality and security of the information disclosed and to use such information solely for authorized purposes.

5. Your Rights and Choices

Individuals retain the right to access, correct, amend, or request deletion of their personal information held by us.

In addition, individuals may at any time opt out of receiving marketing communications by utilizing the “unsubscribe” link provided in our emails or by contacting us directly.

Requests for access, correction, or deletion should be directed to our privacy team via email at privacy@mhawm.com.

We endeavor to respond to all such requests within a reasonable and legally compliant timeframe.

Please note that certain residual information may remain in our backup systems or be retained as necessary for legal or administrative purposes.

6. Information Concerning Minors

We acknowledge the importance of protecting the privacy of minors.

We permit individuals under the age of 18 to submit information for purposes including, but not limited to, event participation, pageantry, volunteer activities, and nominations.

Parents or legal guardians who believe that personal information pertaining to a child under the age of 13 has been submitted without proper consent are encouraged to contact us immediately at privacy@mhawm.com, whereupon we will take prompt steps to investigate and, if appropriate, delete such information.

7. Security of Information

We employ a range of technical, administrative, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

Nevertheless, while we strive to maintain robust security practices consistent with industry standards, we cannot guarantee absolute security of information transmitted electronically or stored digitally.

Payment transactions are processed securely through Stripe and PayPal, and payment data is handled in accordance with the highest industry security standards; no credit card information is stored directly on our servers.

8. Third-Party Websites and Services

Our website may contain links to external websites or incorporate services operated by third parties.

This Privacy Policy does not extend to such third parties, and we disclaim all responsibility or liability for their content, practices, or privacy policies.

Users are encouraged to review the privacy statements of any external websites they visit prior to providing personal information or engaging in transactions.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to amend or update this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in our operational practices, legal obligations, or technological advancements.

Such amendments will be effective immediately upon posting on this website, unless otherwise stated.

Your continued use of our website following the posting of an updated Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the terms as modified.

It is your responsibility to review this page periodically for any changes.

10. Contact Information

For questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the manner in which we handle your personal information, you may contact us at:

Mexican Heritage Association of West Michigan

Email: privacy@mhawm.com