Privacy Policy

The Association of Washington Cities (“AWC”) is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that you have a resourceful and safe online experience. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) explains the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide when you visit the various web pages operated by AWC, including wacities.org (the “Website”) and our Event app and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information.

Please read this Policy carefully before you use wacities.org, the Website or the Event app. By accessing or using the Website or Event app, you accept and agree to be bound by this Policy and our Terms of Use. If you do not agree with this Policy, do not access or use our Website or Event app.

Changes to this Policy

AWC may change this Policy at any time for any reason and without notice, and it is your responsibility to check this page periodically to ensure you are aware of any changes. All changes are effective immediately when we post them. Your continued use of the Website or Event app after this Policy has changed means that you accept and agree to the changes. The date this Policy was last revised is identified at the bottom of this page.

Information we collect about you

AWC collects information about you both directly from you when you provide it to us and automatically as you interact with and navigate the Website or Event app. AWC does require you to register and provide professional information to use the Website or Event app, although some content, services, or products may not be available to you if you do not provide that information.

First name
Last name
Designations
Email
Attendee profile image (Headshot)
Company
Title
Bio

Within the app, you will have the option to edit this information, or remove yourself from being displayed in the attendee list.

Information the Event app collects:

User profile information: The initial information uploaded/provided by the event organizer can be accessed by you and you can edit/delete your profile information.
User profile image (headshot): The initial image may be uploaded/provided by the event organizer but it can be accessed by you and you can edit/delete/upload your profile image (headshot).
User device information: When you install the Event app, the Event app may collect your device information from your mobile device. We collect this information to help us generate app adoption analysis, enhance our product performance and monitoring.
Graphics and images: If the social posting feature is configured, users can post graphics and images in social posting. This information is strictly based on user input and can be removed based can be removed on request.
User app engagement activities: The Event app may capture users’ app feature usage to generate engagement ranking to encourage app adoption.

Do we use cookies?

The Event app uses cookies (small text files placed on your device) and similar technologies to provide our websites and apps to help collect data. Cookies collect non-personal information. Cookies allow us to store your preferences and settings, improve upload process, remember you on future visits, enable you to sign-in, combat fraud, and analyze how our websites and online services are performing. The Event app uses other identifiers, such as the mobile device information in apps, for similar purposes.

The types of information AWC may collect about you includes information:

By which you may be personally identified, such as name, email address, work or home address, and telephone number;
That is about you but may not identify you personally, such as your zip code, gender, or other demographic information; and
About your internet connection and use of the Website or Event app , including usage details, IP addresses, browser type, domain names, access times, referring Website or Event app addresses, and information collected through cookies and other tracking technologies.

As you navigate and interact with the Website or Event app, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about the details of your visit to the Website or Event app and information about your computer and internet connection. That helps us improve our Website or Event app and deliver better and more personalized service, including by enabling us to estimate the size and usage patterns of our audience, store information about your preferences, speed up your searches, and recognize when you return to the Website or Event app.

The technologies we use for automatic data collection may include cookies. Cookies are small pieces of data that are stored on your computer or other device when a website is loaded in a browser. The Website or Event app uses various types of cookies for the following purposes:

Session cookies: These cookies are usually deleted when you log out or the browser session ends. Session cookies preserve your session state as you move throughout the Website or Event app.
Persistent cookies: These cookies are used when you create or log in and use an account on the Website or Event app. This prevents you from having to log in every time you visit a new page on the Website or Event app and enhances your Website or Event app experience. These cookies may persist up to one year or indefinitely. End user’s may forcibly clear persistent cookies by clearing the browser’s cache.
Third-party cookies: AWC uses certain third-party cookies to understand how you use the site and how AWC can improve your experience. These cookies may track things such as how long you spend on the site and the pages that you visit so we can continue to produce engaging content. The third-party cookies AWC uses may include, but are not limited to Google Analytics, Barracuda Web Application Firewall, Sitefinity, Aptify, Aspen Tech Labs, Eventpedia, and Qualtrics. We have linked to the privacy policies for each of the third-party services listed.

Most browsers will tell you how to change your browser settings to notify you when a cookie is being set or updated, or to restrict or block some or all types of cookies. Consult the “Help” section of your browser for more information. If you disable or refuse cookies, some parts of this Website or Event app may be inaccessible or not function properly. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Website or Event app.

Information you provide to AWC

There are various ways in which you may provide information directly to AWC on or through the Website or Event app, including:

Filling out forms on the Website or Event app , including information provided when you register for events or services, create a user profile, or answer a survey;
Completing transactions through the Website or Event app;
Conducting search queries on the Website or Event app; or
Contacting us directly through email or other Website or Event app -related electronic communications;
Contributing to interactive features, such as bulletin boards, chat areas, or forums.

If you are a registered user, you can review and change the personal information you have provided by logging into the Website or Event app and visiting your account profile page. The administrator for each organization also has the ability to do this on your behalf.

You and the administrator at your organization contribute information on or through the Website or Event app at your own risk. For city and town members, the administrator is most often the clerk. Although AWC limits access to certain pages, services, and content and implements other security measures, as described below, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. AWC cannot control the actions of other Website or Event app users and third parties who may attempt to access information without authorization.

How AWC uses your information

We may use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal information:

To present our Website or Event app and its contents to you;
To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us;
To publicize members and others who register for our events or accessing certain resources;
To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it;
To provide you with notices about your user account;
To contact you via email outreach to conduct research and share information that you provide to us;
To conduct research and gather feedback about the Website and the services we offer through the Website;
To inform you of other products or services available from AWC and its programs, associate members, partners, or service providers;
To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including the Terms of Use;
To notify you about changes to our Website or Event app or any products or services we offer or provide through it;
To allow you to participate in interactive features on our Website or Event app ;
In any other way we may describe when you provide the information; and
For any other purpose with your consent.
Other users of the Event app will be able to see limited information such as your name and company. Apart from your first and last name and company, we do not actively share your personal data within the app. As an attendee, you have the option to remove or update your contact info. Your email address (provided at the time of registration) is used as your username.

AWC does not sell or rent its customer or user lists to third parties.

Disclosure of your information

The PRA is a law that ensures the public’s right to access appropriate records and information. Any information or materials collected by or provided to AWC are public records subject to public disclosure under the PRA, unless an exemption to the PRA or other legal protection exists.

More information about AWC’s obligations under the PRA, including what types of information and materials may be exempt, is available at: https://www.atg.wa.gov/public-records-and-open-public-meetings/. AWC reserves the right to disclose any information necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, request from a governmental entity or regulatory body, or request under Washington’s Public Records Act, without notice to you.

AWC may disclose aggregated information about our users, and information that does not identify any individual, for any reason and without notice to you. That includes sharing aggregate data to use tools such as Google Analytics to perform statistical analysis, provide customer support, or to modify or improve the Website.

AWC may disclose, without notice to you, personal information that we collect, or you provide:

To our members, other governmental partners, or the Municipal Research Services Center (MRSC) and these organizations may also be subject to the Public Records Act;
To services providers who are bound by contractual obligations to keep your personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them;
To associate members and other partners when we believe there is a beneficial reason for sharing the data;
To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it (for example, if you submit information to register and create a profile on the Website or to make a payment, we will use the information you provide to take those actions);
To comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including to respond to any request from a governmental entity, regulatory body, or under the Washington State Public Records Act, RCW 42.56 (“PRA”);
To enforce or apply our Terms of Use and other contracts with you, including for billing and collection purposes;
To any third party who claims that material posted by you violates their rights, including their intellectual property rights or their right to privacy; and
If we otherwise believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of AWC, our members, our Website or Event app users, or others; and
For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information or with your consent.

Data retention and disposition

We keep your information as needed for the purposes for which it was collected, for the products and services that you are using, or to meet any legal requirements. Your information may be dispositioned in accordance with our retention and disposition policies.

How AWC protects your information

AWC has implemented data security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. All information you provide to us is stored on secure servers behind firewalls. Any personal information transmitted to complete a transaction (such as credit card information) is encrypted using SSL technology.

The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a username or password for access to certain parts of our Website or Event app , you are responsible for keeping that user name and password, or any username and password registered to your organization, confidential. You shall not share your username or password with anyone. We also urge you to be careful about sharing your personal information in or through parts of the Website or Event app that are accessible to a group or the public, such as social media, message boards or other interactive features. AWC does not know or control if, how, or why third parties may view or use the information you share.

AWC Employee Benefit Trust Privacy Policy

The AWC Employee Benefit Trust, a separate legal entity, is committed to protecting the confidentiality of any health information collected about you through secure email and other approved channels. The AWC Employee Benefit Trust HIPAA privacy policy notice governs how your information may be used and disclosed. When sending a message with personal information to the AWC Employee Benefit Trust, you must use a secure email system to ensure your information stays private. If you do not have access to a secure email system, you must use AWC’s secure email system.

Third-party websites

This Policy applies only to information we collect from you, or you provide to AWC, and not to information collected by any third party, such as social media, other websites, content, or applications that may link to or be accessible from or through the Website. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any websites you visit. AWC does not monitor or endorse the content, functionality, policies, or practices of any third-party websites you link to or access from the Website, and is not responsible for if, how, or why those third parties may collect, use, or disclose your information.

How to contact AWC

AWC welcomes your comments regarding this Policy. If you have any comments or concerns about this Policy or our privacy practices, please contact website@awcnet.org.

Last modified March 29, 2024.