How IMCC handles personal information

1. Who We Are

The Integrative Medicine Chamber of Commerce (IMCC) is an Alaska nonprofit corporation recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(6). This Privacy Policy explains how IMCC collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal information through imcc.us, IMCC membership accounts, the authenticated member directory, member forums, contact and sponsorship inquiries, payment-related workflows, and related website services.

This Privacy Policy applies to the IMCC website and website-operated services. It does not govern the independent privacy practices of third-party websites or services that may be linked from IMCC pages.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Contact and general inquiry information

When you contact IMCC through the website, we may collect:

• First name and last name.
• Email address.
• Topic of the inquiry and message content.
• Optional organization name, telephone number, and preferred contact method.
• A submission reference identifier and related administrative notes needed to respond to or manage the inquiry.

IMCC does not permit file uploads through the general contact form.

2.2 Membership signup and account information

When you create or use a paid membership account, IMCC may collect information required to establish, administer, and maintain the membership, including:

• Name, professional email address, location information, and selected membership discipline/pathway and membership level.
• Organization or practice information when required for the selected discipline/pathway.
• Professional category, specialties, services, languages, website, biography, and other profile information that is required or optional for the applicable member type.
• The member's required selection of Manual Renewal or Automatic Renewal.
• Account identifiers, login and account-status information, and membership activation, expiration, suspension, cancellation, or renewal status.
• Profile photograph if the member chooses to provide one.
• Administrative records needed to support account changes, representative changes, verified deletion requests, security actions, or enforcement of IMCC terms.

Board and employee accounts are provisioned separately from paid membership billing. Board and employee identity, role, account status, and authorized contact fields may be stored in authenticated IMCC systems. Personal Board or employee contact information is not published on public website pages.

2.3 Authenticated member directory information

Membership levels that include a directory benefit may display approved professional or business profile information in the authenticated IMCC Member Directory. Directory information may include a display name, organization, professional category, specialties, location, services, languages, website, biography, profile photo, and at least one professional contact method when required for the profile.

The Member Directory is not available to the general public. Directory access is limited to authorized authenticated users under IMCC's membership and administrative rules. Access-level benefits determine whether a member receives a directory listing and what listing features are available.

2.4 Sponsorship and partnership inquiry information

When a person or organization submits a sponsorship or partnership inquiry, IMCC may collect the contact and business information necessary to review the inquiry, including name, organization, professional email, telephone number, sponsorship interest, proposed timing, message content, and optional website or preferred contact method. If a relationship proceeds, IMCC may retain agreement, invoice, payment, delivery, and business-contact records associated with that relationship.

2.5 Payment and transaction information

Stripe is the approved payment processor for paid membership and approved sponsorship transactions. IMCC receives transaction status and limited billing or payment metadata needed to confirm payment, reconcile transactions, issue receipts, administer renewals, process tier changes, and address payment failures or duplicate charges. IMCC does not store full payment card numbers on the IMCC website.

For paid memberships, recurring billing is enabled only when the member affirmatively chooses Automatic Renewal. Manual Renewal does not authorize an automatic annual charge.

2.6 Member forum and user-submitted content

Authenticated members may use IMCC forum features. IMCC may store the member's display name, business or organization, topic titles, posts, replies, mentions, attachments, notification preferences, reports, and related moderation or enforcement records. Forum content is associated with the member account and may be searchable by other authorized forum users according to the forum rules.

2.7 Technical, security, and usage information

IMCC and its service providers may automatically collect technical and security information needed to operate and protect the website, including IP address, device and browser information, timestamps, authentication events, cookies or similar technologies, system and security logs, rate-control information, and signals used to detect spam, abuse, fraud, malware, or unauthorized access.

IMCC plans to use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) for approved website and conversion measurement only after the visitor gives the applicable analytics consent. Google Search Console will be used for search-performance reporting. Approved analytics events may include membership-page views, discipline/pathway and membership-level selection, signup start, successful paid membership, Founding Sponsor inquiry, contact-form submission, member login, major call-to-action clicks, approved public-document downloads, and useful external-link clicks. IMCC will not intentionally send names, email addresses, telephone numbers, form-message text, payment-card information, private member-profile information, forum-message content, medical or health information, or Board/employee roster contact details to analytics.

3. How IMCC Uses Information

IMCC may use personal information to:

• Respond to inquiries and provide requested information.
• Create, authenticate, administer, secure, and support member accounts.
• Process memberships, payments, renewals, tier changes, cancellations, payment failures, and receipts.
• Provide membership-level access to the authenticated directory, forum, resources, and other active website features.
• Create and maintain directory profiles and allow members to update permitted profile information.
• Manage sponsorship and partnership inquiries, agreements, invoices, benefits, and fulfillment.
• Send transactional notices, membership notices, renewal reminders, forum notifications, and other service-related communications.
• Operate, maintain, troubleshoot, secure, and improve the website and its features.
• Detect or prevent fraud, abuse, impersonation, spam, unauthorized access, security incidents, and violations of IMCC rules.
• Maintain records needed for financial, legal, contractual, security, governance, or operational purposes.
• Comply with applicable law and respond to lawful requests or legal process.

4. Directory and Forum Visibility

Information entered into an authenticated directory profile or member forum is not treated the same as a private account field. Approved directory information may be visible to other authorized directory users, and forum posts, replies, attachments, display names, and organization names may be visible to authorized forum participants.

Members are responsible for the information and content they choose to publish through directory and forum features. Member-generated content reflects the member's own views and does not represent an endorsement or statement by IMCC.

IMCC does not publish Board member or employee personal contact information on public pages. Authorized internal contact information may be maintained in authenticated administrative systems and, when approved for a directory function, within authenticated directory access.

5. Cookies, Analytics, and Embedded Services

The website may use cookies or similar technologies that are necessary for login, account security, session management, preferences, fraud prevention, form protection, and other essential website functions.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the approved nonessential analytics platform and will remain off until the visitor gives the applicable analytics consent. The consent interface will provide Accept, Reject Nonessential, and Manage Preferences choices, and visitors may later change or withdraw optional consent. Public website access will not depend on accepting analytics cookies. Advertising pixels and remarketing/retargeting technologies are not approved for launch. Privacy-enhanced embedded media will be used where technically available, with nonessential tracking blocked until consent where required.

Before publication, IMCC must verify the final GA4 tag and consent configuration, cookie categories, retention/expiration settings, embedded services, and the exact consent-management product actually deployed on the production website.

6. How Information Is Shared

IMCC may disclose personal information only as reasonably necessary for website operations, membership administration, transactions, security, legal compliance, or a user-requested function. Categories of recipients may include:

• HostGator, for website and database hosting and related DNS configuration.
• Stripe, for payment processing, billing, payment status, and receipts.
• Cloudflare, for traffic protection, bot controls, and related website security services.
• GoDaddy Outlook / Microsoft 365, for IMCC email, transactional website email, inquiry routing, and related messaging services.
• The production WordPress membership, account, directory, forum, and form components used to operate member features.
• Google Analytics 4, for consent-based website analytics, and Google Search Console, for search-performance reporting.
• Professional advisers, contractors, or service providers when access is reasonably necessary to perform authorized work for IMCC and is subject to appropriate confidentiality and security controls.
• Government authorities, courts, law enforcement, or other parties when disclosure is required by law, legal process, or reasonably necessary to protect IMCC, its members, users, or others from fraud, abuse, security threats, or legal harm.

Before publication, IMCC will verify that this provider list matches the actual production site. The exact WordPress membership, account, directory, forum, form, consent-management, and embedded-media products must be added when selected and deployed.

7. Data Retention

IMCC retains information only for as long as reasonably needed for the purposes described in this policy, subject to the approved record-specific rules below and any longer period required for payment, accounting, tax, contractual, legal, security, dispute, fraud-prevention, or legitimate recordkeeping obligations.

When IMCC no longer needs eligible personal information, it will delete, anonymize, or securely dispose of it as appropriate and as permitted or required by law. A verified deletion request does not require IMCC to erase records that must or reasonably need to be retained for payment, legal, security, tax/accounting, fraud prevention, or other legitimate obligations.

8. Security

IMCC uses administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect website and account information. Current project requirements include individual administrator accounts, multi-factor authentication for primary and backup administrators, restricted administrator access, anti-bot protection, server-side validation, rate controls, spam filtering, security logging, and hosting/security controls appropriate to the production environment.

Cloudflare Turnstile or an equivalent privacy-conscious bot challenge may be used to protect forms from automated abuse. No method of transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure. IMCC will investigate suspected security incidents and provide notices when required by applicable law.

9. Medical and Health Information

IMCC is a membership and professional organization. The website is not intended to receive private medical records, diagnoses, treatment details, or other sensitive health information through general contact or membership forms. Do not submit medical records or other sensitive health information through the IMCC contact form.

If a contact-form submission includes private medical information, IMCC will restrict access to the submission, avoid copying that information into routine email, and delete it when legally and operationally appropriate. IMCC may notify the sender to use an appropriate healthcare channel instead. IMCC does not provide medical advice or emergency services through the website. For a medical emergency, call 911 or your local emergency service.

10. Your Privacy Choices and Requests

Depending on the website feature and applicable law, you may be able to:

• Review or correct permitted membership and directory profile information through your authenticated account.
• Change permitted communication or notification preferences.
• Change your membership renewal preference subject to the approved renewal cutoff rules.
• Request access to or correction of personal information held by IMCC when applicable.
• Request verified account deletion through self-service tools when available or by contacting IMCC.
• Request deletion of eligible forum content after the applicable edit period.
• Ask questions about IMCC's privacy practices or make another privacy request.

IMCC requires identity verification before sensitive account changes, disclosure of account information, or completion of a deletion request. Verification may use the account email and additional confirmation when the risk warrants it. Privacy requests may be submitted through verified account self-service where available, by email at info@imcc.us, or by telephone at 907-248-0602. IMCC does not promise a fixed response time; verified requests will be processed within the period required by applicable law.

11. Communications

IMCC may send service-related or transactional communications necessary to administer an account, payment, renewal, forum notification, sponsorship inquiry, security matter, or other requested service. Members may also receive approved newsletters, forum digests, mention notifications, or other member communications associated with their account settings and membership benefits.

Where an unsubscribe or preference control is available for nonessential communications, you may use that control. IMCC may continue to send transactional, account, security, legal, or other operational messages that are necessary to provide or administer the service.

12. International Users

IMCC's website and marketing are primarily focused on the United States, although membership may be available to persons or organizations outside the United States. If you access the website or provide information from another country, your information may be processed in the United States and by service providers used to operate IMCC's website and services. Privacy rights and obligations may vary by location. IMCC will handle verified privacy requests in accordance with applicable law.

13. Third-Party Websites and Member Links

The website and authenticated directory may contain links to member, sponsor, partner, payment, scheduling, embedded-media, or other third-party websites or services. IMCC does not control the privacy practices of independent third parties. Review the privacy notice of the third-party service before providing personal information to it.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

IMCC will review this Privacy Policy at least annually and whenever website practices materially change. The public policy will display an effective date and a "Last reviewed" date. Material changes will be posted on the website. IMCC will also email active paid members, Board members, and enabled employee accounts when a change materially affects membership rights or access, payments or renewal rules, directory visibility, account access, or privacy practices that materially affect those users. Minor wording, formatting, typo, or nonmaterial changes do not require a special email notice.

15. Contact IMCC About Privacy

Questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or IMCC's handling of website information should be directed to the organization-controlled contact channels below:

IMCC does not publish personal Board-member or employee contact information for privacy inquiries. The primary administrator manages internal routing.