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Privacy Statement

United Methodist Partners Privacy Policy

Overview

The agencies of The United Methodist Church are committed to protecting your privacy.

We collect personal information from you when you voluntarily provide it to us, such as by creating a user account, signing up for email updates and newsletters, registering for events or responding to charitable appeals. We may also collect personal information from your participation in our ministries, from social media networks, and from cookies. Collecting this information enables us to communicate with you about our programs and services, as well as better understand your needs and interests.

We may share personal information with other entities that help us fundraise or provide services to The United Methodist Church, but we have strict limitations on vendors' use of that data. We generally do not share your personal information with third parties, but when we do, we require them to protect your data in accordance with our policy. Mobile phone numbers and other sensitive data are not shared.

Our United Methodist agencies adhere to U.S. privacy laws, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, and other standards that give you rights regarding how your information is handled. These include the right to have your information deleted and the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal data for targeted advertising. Read our full policy for more details on your rights.

To the extent this summary differs from the full policy, the full policy governs.

Full Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) applies to the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church (Inc.) (“Global Ministries”), United Methodist Communications (“UMCom”), General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of The United Methodist Church (“GBHEM”), United Methodist Men (“UMM”), General Commission on Religion and Race (“GCORR”), General Commission on Archives and History (“GCAH”), General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (“COSROW”), The Connectional Table (“CT”), and our respective affiliated entities (collectively “we,” “us,” or “our”). This Policy describes how we collect, use, and disclose personal information through our websites, micro-sites, social media platforms, and apps, including, but not limited to, the umc.org, resourceUMC.org, umcmission.org, and gbhem.org websites, and other platforms on which this Privacy Policy is posted (collectively, “Online Sites”), as well as through offline programs and services (together with the Online Sites, the “Program and Services”). Additional specific policies or agreements may apply to certain Programs and Services. If such policies or agreements conflict with this policy, the terms of those policies or agreements will prevail.

We are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the highest level of privacy regulations. As such, we follow the obligations under the following regulations: the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Brazil's Data Protection Legislation (LGPD), and California's Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)/California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Individuals in the European Union and residents of some U.S. states have certain rights with respect to the collection, processing, and disclosure of their personal information. For more information, please see Section X, “Your Data Protection Rights under the EU GDPR,” and our U.S. State Supplemental Privacy Notice.

I. The Types of Personal Information We Collect

Personal information is information that identifies or is capable of identifying you as an individual. We collect personal information from you when you voluntarily provide it to us, such as by creating a user account, signing up for email updates, registering for programs and events, subscribing to newsletters, or responding to charitable appeals, surveys, and other communications. We may also collect personal information about you from your participation in our ministries, from social media networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and from other publicly and commercially available sources. In addition, we collect personal information passively through our Online Sites, such as via cookies and similar technologies that are used to analyze the use of the sites. We may disclose each of the categories of personal information described in Section I of the Privacy Policy to the third parties described in Section III for the purposes stated therein. We may also share each of these categories of personal information for targeted advertising purposes with third parties that provide us with advertising services.

Personal information we collect about you may include:

  • Identity Information, such as first name and last name, company name, gender, date of birth, language preferences, demographic information, your church name and role with the church, military rank and involvement, and the country you are located in.
  • Contact Information, such as address, email address, telephone, and other contact numbers.
  • Job Information, such as your company name, business title, and professional associations.
  • Log-in Information, such as your username, personal account number, and password, and log-in information for social media accounts if you log into our Online Sites through such accounts.
  • Location Information, such as if you agree to allow us to access your location to provide you with information relevant to your area.
  • Financial Information, such as credit card number, credit card expiration date, card security code, cardholder name, bank name, routing number, account number, and account holder.
  • Transaction Information, such as donation history and details of programs and services you have participated in or received from us, including your relationship to The United Methodist Church.
  • Technical Information, such as information collected automatically as you navigate through our Online Sites. Information collected automatically may include usage details, domain address, IP addresses, internet browser, operating system, your internet connection, the equipment you use to access our Online Sites, and information collected through cookies.
  • Inferences drawn from any of the information listed above to create a profile about you reflecting your preferences, characteristics, behavior, and attitude.
  • Sensitive Information, such as Social Security number, ethnicity, nationality, and health conditions.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All other categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.

II. How We Use Your Personal Information

We collect, use, process, and disclose the personal information we collect about you for the following purposes:

  • To communicate with you regarding our Programs and Services, including providing you with updates, resource materials, and other information that we think may be of interest to you.
  • To administer your registration or participation in any of our Programs and Services, including websites and applications, and to administer our Domestic Relief Supplies program, mission services, and other volunteer programs.
  • To respond to your Programs and Services inquiries, feedback, or other correspondence we receive from you.
  • To maintain archival records of your participation in our Programs and Services for historical and research purposes.
  • For fundraising purposes and to process donations.
  • To verify your identity.
  • To improve the content of our Online Sites, such as, for example, using cookies to find out which parts of our Online Sites are visited most often.
  • To customize the content and/or layout of our Online Sites for each individual visitor.
  • To analyze and better understand your needs, preferences, and interests.
  • To ask for feedback and reviews of our Programs and Services.
  • To serve other purposes for which we provide specific notice at the time of collection.
  • To comply with our legal obligations, and enforce our rights and policies.
  • To administer, monitor, and secure our Online Sites, information technology systems, and databases, including detecting and preventing security incidents and fraudulent activity.
  • To connect with you on third-party social media platforms, including to deliver targeted advertisements on such platforms.

We may also aggregate and/or anonymize personal information and analyze that data for statistical or any other purposes permitted by law. Anonymous information is data from which all individually identifying information has been removed. Aggregate information is anonymous data collected about a group of individuals.

III. When We May Disclose Personal Information

We may share the personal information we collect about you with:

  • Our affiliated entities that help us fundraise, provide Programs and Services on behalf of or in connection to The United Methodist Church, or conduct processing on our behalf.
  • Vendors who process personal information on our behalf, including vendors who provide data hosting, digital marketing, information technology, email and mailing services, and other functions and activities to support our Programs and Services. We impose contractual limitations on our vendors' use of personal information they collect or receive in conjunction with providing services to us.
  • Third parties that provide us with services related to personalized advertising.
  • Third parties in connection with verifying or enforcing compliance with the policies governing our Programs and Services, and applicable laws, or to protect against misuse or unauthorized use of our Programs and Services.
  • Government or judicial authorities to comply with a subpoena, court order, governmental inquiry, legal process, legal obligation, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of other users or the public.
  • A successor entity in connection with a change in legal structure or other organizational change. Should such a reorganization occur, we will use reasonable efforts to ensure the successor entity uses your information in a manner that is consistent with our Privacy Policy.

We may also disclose aggregated and/or anonymized data to any other third parties to the extent permitted by law.

Information from Third Parties

We may receive personal data about you from various third parties, including:

  • Account Information and Payment Information from another individual when they purchase a gift for you on our websites.
  • Device and Usage Data from third parties, including analytics providers such as Google.
  • Account Information and Payment Data from social media platforms when you log in to our website using social media platforms.
  • Content from communication services, including email providers and social networks, when you give us permission to access your data on such third-party services or networks.
  • Account Information and Payment Data from third parties, including organizations (such as law enforcement agencies), associations, and groups that share data for the purposes of fraud prevention and detection and credit risk reduction.
  • Account Information, Payment Data, and Financial Data from technical, payment, and delivery service providers.

Suppose you provide us, or our service providers, with any personal data relating to other individuals. In that case, you represent that you have the authority to do so and acknowledge that it will be used in accordance with this policy. If you believe that your personal data has been provided to us improperly or to exercise otherwise your rights relating to your personal data, please contact us by using the information set out in the “Contact Us” section below.

Information to Third Parties

As a general practice, we do not share your personal information with third-party agents, contractors, service providers, and suppliers who assist in providing support and services to our entities. When we do, we require those third parties to protect your personal information in accordance with this policy and applicable laws. Data, including mobile phone numbers, will not be sold or shared with third parties for promotional or marketing purposes.

IV. Retention and Deletion

We will retain your personal information only as long as necessary to provide our Programs and Services to you, enhance your user experience, and otherwise as necessary for our operations or as permitted or required by applicable laws. We may archive your information (store it in inactive files) for a certain period prior to its final deletion as part of our ordinary business continuity procedures.

V. Children's Privacy

Most of our Online Sites are not intended for children under age 13 and are not designed to attract the attention of anyone under age 13. For compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, we do not knowingly collect personal information of children under age 13 through most of our Online Sites. If you are a parent or guardian and believe we have collected personal information about your child in error, please contact us immediately so that we can make reasonable efforts to promptly remove all personal information relating to the child from our systems.

To the extent any of our Programs and Services intend to collect personal information from children, we will include additional information regarding the applicable policies and practices for that Program or Service regarding children's privacy.

VI. Links to Other Websites

Our Online Sites may contain links to websites owned by other entities. If you decide to use these links, you will leave our Online Sites. You have the choice of whether to access the links. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such third parties, and we make no representations or endorsements about them. This privacy policy does not apply to any third-party linked sites.

VII. Security

We take seriously our obligation to safeguard the confidentiality, security, and integrity of personal information we collect from and about you, and we have established and will maintain procedures that are designed for that purpose. We implement reasonable security measures to promote the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of personal information in our possession or control. Such measures are designed to protect your personal information from loss, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, you should be aware that such security measures cannot prevent all loss, misuse, or alteration of personal information.

VIII. Legal Basis for Processing your Personal Information

The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) governs privacy practices involving individuals in the European Union (“EU”) and requires us to have a legal basis to process your personal information. If you are located in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), the legal basis that we rely on for processing your data will depend upon the circumstances in which it is being collected and used, and we will provide you with a more detailed notice at the point of collection. Nevertheless, in most cases our legal basis will fall into one of the following categories:

  • where you have provided your consent to allow us to use your data in a certain way;
  • where the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you;
  • where the processing is necessary for us to comply with a legal obligation; or
  • where we have a legitimate interest in processing your personal information in order to administer and communicate with you about our Programs and Services.

IX. International Transfers of Personal Information

The collection and processing of personal information may involve the transmission of data on an international basis. This means, for instance, that the personal information we collect about you may be transferred and processed outside the EEA. In cases where such a cross-border transfer occurs, we endeavor to maintain an adequate level of protection in accordance with the GDPR, including, where appropriate, requiring contractual safeguards between entities transferring personal information and/or obtaining your express consent to the transfer of your personal information.

X. Your Data Protection Rights under the EU GDPR

If you are located in the EEA, subject to certain exemptions, you have the right to:

  • Request access to your personal information. This enables you to receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
  • Request correction of the personal information that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected. However, we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.
  • Request the erasure of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal information where there is no reason necessitating that we continue to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal information where you have objected to our processing of your information, where you believe we may have processed your information unlawfully, or where we are required to erase your personal information to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your erasure request and, if so, will explain the reason in response to your request.
  • Object to processing of your personal information when we are relying on a legitimate interest (or that of a third party) as our legal basis for the processing of your personal information. You also have the right to object when we are processing your personal information for direct marketing purposes. In general, we will endeavor to comply with your request; however, in limited cases we may need to deny your request if it is determined that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information that override your rights and freedoms.
  • Request the transfer of your personal information to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal information in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
  • Withdraw consent at any time when we are relying on consent to process your personal information. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent.
  • Submit a complaint regarding our collection and use of your personal information to your local data protection authority.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal information (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to an unauthorized person. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

EU/UK Representative

We have appointed a EU/UK Representative in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

EU/UK Representative (Thomas Kemper)
Weinbergstrasse 30
53545 Ockenfels
Germany
Phone: +49 151 74468987

You may contact the EU/UK Representative regarding any matter related to the processing of your personal data under EU or UK data protection laws.

XI. Contact Us

Global Ministries, United Methodist Communications, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, and our respective affiliated entities are the controllers of your personal information.

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or our Programs and Services in general, or if you are in the EEA and would like to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us:

Write to: United Methodist Communications
Attn: Privacy
810 12th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37203

XII. Modifications to our Privacy Policy

To accommodate new Programs and Services and to ensure up-to-date compliance with privacy laws, we may modify this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we modify this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by posting it on our Online Sites. Any changes will become effective as of the date of posting with respect to information we collect in the future. We will treat all personal information we collect in accordance with the Privacy Policy in effect at the time the information is collected. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy often so you are always fully informed.

Last updated: July 18, 2025. Mirrored from umc.org/en/content/privacy-statement. Full policy — including the U.S. State Supplemental Privacy Notice and Cookie Policy — is available at the source. Contact United Methodist Communications for questions.