Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Friends of James McQueen (the “Campaign,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and protects information from visitors and supporters of friendsofjamesmcqueen.com (the “Site”) and from people who interact with the Campaign by email, phone, text, or in person. By using the Site or sharing your information with the Campaign, you agree to the practices described here.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of information:

• Information you give us — name, email address, phone number, mailing address, ZIP code, and any messages or comments you submit through forms on the Site, including the contact form and the email-updates sign-up form.
• Communications preferences — whether you have opted in to receive recurring automated text messages from the Campaign at the phone number you provided.
• Donation information — donations are processed by our third-party donation processor (Zeffy). The Campaign does not store your credit-card or banking information on our systems. We receive donor identity and amount details required by campaign-finance law.
• Automatically collected information — your IP address, browser type, device type, referring URL, pages visited, and interaction events. We may use analytics tools such as Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the Site.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To respond to your inquiries and messages.
• To send you Campaign updates, event invitations, and volunteer opportunities by email or, with your consent, by SMS.
• To process donations and meet Maryland State Board of Elections reporting obligations.
• To improve the Site, our outreach, and our programs.
• To prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents.
• To comply with applicable law.

3. SMS Messaging

If you opt in by checking the SMS disclosure on a form, you consent to receive recurring automated text messages from Friends of James McQueen at the phone number you provided. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies. Text STOP to opt out at any time. Text HELP for help. We do not sell or rent the phone numbers you give us. Your consent to SMS is not a condition of donation, volunteering, or voting.

4. How We Share Information

We share your information only as needed and in these limited cases:

• Service providers — vendors who help us operate the Campaign (e.g. email and SMS providers, our donation processor, hosting providers like Vercel, analytics providers).
• Campaign-finance disclosures — Maryland law requires public reporting of certain donor information. We disclose only what the law requires.
• Legal compliance — when required by court order, subpoena, or other legal process; or to protect the rights, safety, or property of the Campaign, our supporters, or the public.

We do not sell your personal information.

5. Cookies and Tracking

The Site uses cookies and similar technologies for essential functionality (e.g. remembering your session in the admin area) and, when configured, for analytics. You can refuse cookies through your browser settings; some Site features may not work without them.

6. Data Security

We take reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the information we collect. No internet transmission or storage system is 100% secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as needed to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, comply with our legal obligations (including campaign-finance recordkeeping), resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

8. Your Choices

• Email — every Campaign email contains an unsubscribe link. You may unsubscribe at any time.
• SMS — reply STOP to any Campaign text message to unsubscribe.
• Access, correction, or deletion — contact us at the address below to request access to, correction of, or deletion of the information we hold about you, subject to legal exceptions.

9. Children

The Site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date above shows when it was last revised. We encourage you to review the policy periodically.

11. Contact Us

Questions or requests about this policy? Email info@friendsofjamesmcqueen.com.

TBD[legal]: this policy is a starting template. Have campaign counsel review before launch and confirm it covers all applicable jurisdictions, your specific vendors, and any tracking pixels.