Virginia Beach Council of Civic Organizations, Inc.
Effective date: October 7, 2026
1. Who We Are
The Virginia Beach Council of Civic Organizations, Inc. (“VBCCO,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a nonprofit organization in the Commonwealth of Virginia. We educate civic leagues and homeowners associations about City of Virginia Beach government. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect through our website at www.vbcco.org, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.
2. Scope
This policy covers our website and the forms on it. It does not cover other websites we link to, such as the City of Virginia Beach, our payment processor, our email newsletter service, YouTube, or social media sites. Each of those has its own privacy policy.
3. Information You Give Us
We collect the information you choose to enter in our forms or send to us. Depending on the form, this includes:
- Contact form: your name, email address, phone number, subject, and message.
- Civic Organization Membership Application: organization name, mailing address, City Council district, primary contact name, email, and phone, meeting day, time, and location, the names, emails, and phone numbers of two voting representatives, and how you will pay dues.
- Individual Membership Application: name, address, phone, email, eligibility confirmations, an optional statement of why you want to join, how you will pay dues, and your typed signature.
- Board, Officer, Committee Chair, and Committee Member applications: name, address, phone, email, your civic league and membership information, the committees or positions that interest you, your skills and experience, any experience with city government, your availability, the name, phone, and email of two references, a resume you choose to upload (Board, Officer, and Committee Chair applications), a brief bio (Board application), and your typed signature. The Board application also asks for the name and phone number of your civic league president.
- Calendar event submissions: your name and contact information as the submitter, and the event title, date, and other event details you enter.
- Member account (registration and Profile Details): your username, email address, and password; first and last name; phone; address, city, state, zip code, and country; title or position; City Council district; a profile picture, if you upload one; and your choice about sharing your contact information with other members. Civic organizations also give the organization name, meeting day, time, and location, and the names, email addresses, and phone numbers of two voting representatives. Sponsors may give a business or organization name. Individual members also give their neighborhood and whether they are interested in starting a civic league. We also keep a record of your membership plan, the payment method you chose, and the amount and date of each payment.
- Organization members: if a civic organization’s representative adds you to its membership, we receive your name and email address from that representative and email you an invitation to register.
- Suggestion Box: the topic and your suggestion, and your name and email address if you choose to give them.
- Email: anything you include when you email us.
If you list another person as a reference, a voting representative, or your civic league president, or add a person to your organization’s membership, you are giving us that person’s name and contact information. We use it only for the purpose stated on the form. Please let that person know you have shared it.
4. Information Collected Automatically
- Form submissions: when you submit a form, our website records the IP address of the device used, along with the date and time.
- Security: our website and server use security software and a firewall that examine incoming requests, including IP addresses, to block attacks and protect logins.
- Server logs: like most web servers, our hosting server keeps standard logs of requests, such as IP address, date and time, page requested, and browser type.
- Cookies: our website uses cookies. Our Cookie Policy lists them and explains your choices.
- Analytics: we do not currently use a website analytics service. If we add one, we will update this policy and our Cookie Policy first.
5. Videos and Links to Other Sites
Some pages include videos embedded from YouTube, a Google service. When a page with a video loads, YouTube may receive your IP address and may set cookies, subject to the choices you make in our cookie banner. Google’s privacy policy is at https://policies.google.com/privacy.
Our website links to VBCCO accounts on social media sites. If you follow those links, the social media site’s own privacy policy applies.
6. Dues Payments
Online payments for dues and sponsorships are made on a secure checkout page operated by Stripe. You enter your card details on Stripe’s site, not ours. Our website sends Stripe your email address and the amount due. VBCCO does not receive or store full card numbers. Stripe’s privacy policy is at https://stripe.com/privacy. You may also pay by check mailed to our P.O. Box.
7. Email News
Our email news is sent through Mailchimp, a service of Intuit Inc. When you subscribe, you enter your information on a Mailchimp signup page, and Mailchimp stores it for us. Each email includes a link to unsubscribe. Intuit’s privacy statement, which covers Mailchimp, is at https://www.intuit.com/privacy/statement/, and Mailchimp’s cookie statement is at https://mailchimp.com/legal/cookies/.
8. How We Use Information
We use personal information to:
- respond to your questions and messages;
- review and process membership applications and keep membership and voting representative records;
- review volunteer, committee, board, and officer applications and contact you and your references;
- keep records of dues paid;
- send email news to people who have subscribed;
- publish events on our calendar;
- keep our website secure; and
- comply with the law.
9. How We Share Information
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information.
We share it only as follows:
- Within VBCCO: form submissions are emailed to the officer or committee chair responsible for that subject, and are available to VBCCO volunteers who manage the website.
- Service providers: companies that host our website and email, process dues and sponsorship payments (Stripe), and send our email news (Mailchimp), only as needed to provide those services.
- Public calendar: event information you submit for the calendar may be published on our website.
- Member contact sharing: if you check the box on the registration form or in Profile Details giving us permission to share your contact information, we show your name, title, email, and phone to other VBCCO members who are logged in to our website. For member civic organizations and sponsors, this includes a listing in the Member Directory, with council district and meeting day, time, and location for civic organizations. For people added to a civic organization’s membership, this includes that organization’s member list. If you do not check the box, we do not share your contact information with other members.
- Legal requirements: when required by law, court order, or subpoena, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of VBCCO or others.
10. Data Security
Our website uses encrypted HTTPS connections, a firewall, and security software, access to the website is limited to authorized volunteers, and our hosting account requires two-factor authentication. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
If a breach of security involves personal information as defined by Virginia law, VBCCO will give notice as required by Va. Code § 18.2-186.6 (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title18.2/chapter6/section18.2-186.6/).
11. How Long We Keep Information
Form submissions, including uploaded resumes, and membership records are kept indefinitely, or as called for by applicable law. Copies of form submissions are also sent by email to the VBCCO officer or committee chair who handles them.
12. Children’s Privacy
Our website is intended for adults and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have, we will delete it. If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information, please contact us at officers@vbcco.org.
13. Your Choices
- Cookies: use the “Manage consent” tab on our website at any time to change your cookie choices.
- Email news: use the unsubscribe link in any email.
- Member contact sharing: to change your choice, log in to our website, go to My Account, open Profile Details, and check or uncheck the sharing box.
14. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control
Our website treats a Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signal from your browser as a choice to decline cookies that are not strictly necessary.
15. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy. The effective date at the top shows when it was last changed. Significant changes will be posted on this page.
16. Contact Us
Virginia Beach Council of Civic Organizations, Inc.
P. O. Box 9252
Virginia Beach, VA 23450-9252
officers@vbcco.org