Privacy Policy

Last Updated: October 23, 2013

PLEASE READ THIS PRIVACY POLICY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE.  This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) sets out the types of information that the National Community Investment Fund (“NCIF,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) may collect, use, and/or disclose when you use NCIF’s Websites and other products or services of NCIF (collectively, the “Website”) and the purposes for which we may use such information. 

The Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Terms”) constitute a legally binding agreement between you and NCIF.  By using the Website in any way, you are agreeing to be bound by and comply with the Terms. NCIF reserves the right to amend, remove, or add to the Terms at any time and for any reason. If NCIF makes changes to these Terms, it will notify you of these changes, including, without, limitation, by emailing or otherwise sending you a notification, posting a notice on part(s) of the Website, and/or updating the “Last Updated” date above.  You should visit this page periodically to keep apprised of any changes.  By continuing to use the Website after any such change(s), you accept and agree to the modified Terms.  NCIF reserves the right to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Website, any features, benefits (including without limitation blocking your access to the Website or terminating your NCIF Account), rules or conditions (or of any portion or area thereof), all without notice, even though such changes may affect the way you use the Website. You understand, acknowledge, and agree that NCIF will not be liable to you or any third party for any modifications or discontinuance of the Website and/or any portions or areas thereof.

INFORMATION THAT MAY BE COLLECTED

What Information Does NCIF Collect?

We may collect personal information about you including, without limitation, non-public information about you that helps NCIF identify you such as your name, mailing address, e-mail address, age, telephone number, Website password, occupation, and other demographic and non-publicly available information.  In some instances, financial institution subcontractors of NCIF may collect financial information, such as credit card or bank account numbers. You may also be required to select a username and password for use on the Website.  Certain features of the Website, including but not limited to making purchases and signing up for certain subscription-based access to paid content may require credit card and billing information as well. NCIF reserves the right to combine personally identifiable information we collect with publicly available information or information obtained from third parties or affiliates.

We also may collect information about your use of the Website, including, without limitation: your IP address/domain name combination, any referring sites, usage statistics, browsing history, type of computer operating system you use (e.g., Microsoft Windows or Mac OS), the type of browser you use (e.g., Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer), the domain name of your internet service provider, your use of social media (e.g., Twitter or LinkedIn) in connection with the Website, any searches that your run, and/or any bookmarks that you make. NCIF may collect certain information about the computer, mobile device, service provider, or other means by which the user accesses our Website, including, without limitations, the hardware model, operating system and version, MAC address, unique device identifier, phone number, International Mobile Equipment Identity ("IMEI"), and mobile network information. NCIF employs various technologies and mechanisms to collect data about your use of the Website, including, without limitation, sending cookies to you. Cookies are small files, which may be stored on your hard drive or in device memory, that help the Website facilitate and improve your user experience, track the frequency of use of portions, areas, and features of the Website, and account for other aspects user access and use of the Website. NCIF may also use web beacons in its collection of this information. For more information about cookies, and how to disable them, please see "User Choices" below.

If you attend any conference, symposium, or other event NCIF hosts, organizes, or participates in (or those of its affiliates), we may collect information from you, including, without limitations, quotes, written material, and other data, information, and materials you provide. In addition to these Terms, the use, collection, and purpose for sharing this information is governed by the terms and conditions applicable to those events.  You are encouraged to refer to those specific agreements for further information. 

NCIF may allow ad networks, such as third party ad servers and ad agencies, to serve advertisements within the Website. NCIF may also place web beacons for these companies within the pages on our Website. Because your web browser must request these advertisements and web beacons from the ad network’s servers, these companies can view, edit or set their own cookies, just as if you had requested a web page from their site.

As described in the Terms of Service, the use of any third-party links or websites linked to the Website is governed by the third-party’s terms of service and privacy policy.  NCIF and the Website have no responsibility for, and disclaim herein, any third-party link or websites and your use thereof.  You are encouraged to review any third-party’s terms of service and privacy policies.

How We Collect Information
You do not need to provide us with personally identifiable information in order to visit and use some of the services on our Website.  However, to participate in some activities and use some services on the Website, it is necessary for you to provide personally identifiable information.  
We may collect personal information from you, for example, without limitation, when you:

  • Sign up to subscribe to the Website; 
  • Sign up to receive e-mail alerts, announcements or newsletters; 
  • Interact with the Website;
  • Make a purchase or sign up for a any conference, symposium, or other event NCIF hosts, organizes, or participates in (or those of its affiliates);
  • Search any of the Website’s databases, including the Website’s Dashboard; and
  • Communicate with NCIF via the Website or email.  

Personal information collected by NCIF may be stored and processed in the United States in accordance with the laws of the United States. By using the Website, you expressly consent to the storage and processing of your personal information in the United States or elsewhere in accordance with the laws of the United States. NCIF may retain your personal information for as long as NCIF deems necessary.
NCIF automatically receives and records non-personal information on our server logs from your browser as well as through other analysis of the Website. We also may collect information using cookies, web beacons, crawlers, scrapers, bots, or similar technologies, or through third parties using similar technologiesAs mentioned above, when you visit the Website, your web browser may store cookies on your computer, which will better enable you to navigate the Website upon return. You may use the Website even if you choose to reject or delete the cookies. Cookies also may be used by some of the other websites for which a link is placed on the Website.  

HOW NCIF MAY USE THE COLLECTED INFORMATION

You hereby understand, acknowledge, and agree that NCIF may use information for many purposes, including, without limitation:

  • Administering the Website;
  • Enabling your access to and use of the Website;.
  • Processing and responding to your requests and inquiries and provide services to you;
  • Alerting you and sending you electronic communications regarding new developments, Website features, special events, services, or NCIF news;
  • Sending announcements and providing you with contents;
  • Confirming transactions you make through the Website;
  • Improving the Website and enhancing the user experience;
  • Customizing the advertising and content you see, including the display of targeted and contextual advertisements;
  • Inform you of technical notices and administrative messages;
  • Track user trends, usage, and activities
  • Monitor and analyze information regarding your browsing and viewing preferences and to diagnose problems of the Website;
  • Analyzing our users’ demographics and interests;    
  • Generating anonymous and/or aggregated reporting; 
  • Replying to your concerns, question, and requests and otherwise maintain customer service;
  • Allowing you to use interactive features of the Website
  • For fraud prevention, internal operations, legal compliance, and other public purposes; 
  • Enforcing the Terms of Service or this Privacy Policy; and
  • Any other purpose for which the information was collected.

NCIF’s Website is located and hosted within the United States and is intended for and directed to users in the United States.  If you use or access the Website internationally, in a jurisdiction where the laws or regulations differ from United States laws, including, without limitation, those laws and regulations relating to privacy, data collection and use, and disclosure, you hereby understand, acknowledge, and agree that your use of the Website is governed by United States law.  You further consent to jurisdiction within the United States (as provided by the Jurisdiction and Choice of Law section above), and waive any right you may have to apply the laws of any other jurisdiction or nation.  You hereby understand and acknowledge that, by using the Website (and/or any portions thereof), you are transferring your personal information to the United States, and you consent to that transfer.  

How NCIF May Use, Provide, or Share the Collected Information 

You hereby agree that NCIF may use, provide, or share information about you for a variety purposes.  These include, but are not limited to:

  • NCIF may provide such information in connection with and responsive to a legal process or a request for information filed as part of an on-going legal action in a court of competent jurisdiction, arbitration panel, or other judicial tribunal, if NCIF believes disclosure is in accordance with any applicable law, rule, or regulation, or as otherwise required by any applicable law, rule or regulation;
  • NCIF may disclose such information to others for purposes of outsourcing one or more of NCIF’s functions to service providers who work on behalf of or with NCIF under confidentiality or similar agreements including service providers, agents, vendors, advertisers, consultants and affiliates
  • NCIF may use such information to confirm or update information provided by you;
  • NCIF may provide such information in the event of any reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer or disposition of all or any portion of NCIF’s business or operations (including without limitation in connection with bankruptcy or any similar proceedings); 
  • NCIF may share information to others in connection with and in order to investigate or remedy potential violations of our user agreements or policies (including, without limitations, any part of these Terms), or to protect the rights, property and safety of NCIF, our users or others;
  • NCIF may share information with others in relation to a potential, negotiated, or completed business transaction or transfers of all or a portions of NCIF (its subsidiaries and/or affiliates) to another entity; 
  • NCIF may share information with NCIF’s affiliates, organizations, or other individuals or business, when a user has requested or directed NCIF and/or NCIF has received your consent to so; and
  • NCIF may share information with other parties as otherwise authorized by you. 

NCIF also may use and share non-personally identifiable information with third parties. Additionally, we may take personally identifiable information and de-identify it and share it in a de-identified or aggregated form with third parties, consultants, advertisers and/or business partners in order to analyze Website usage, demographics, interests, improve our products or services, improve our user experience, research and reporting or for similar purposes. We will not re-identify such data, and we will ask our contracting parties to agree to keep the data in its de-identified form.  

USER CHOICES

Updating, Correcting, and Deleting Account Information

A user may update or correct information about the user by launching the Website and editing account settings within the account portion of the Website. If you wish to delete your account, please email NCIF at marketing@ncif.org with “Delete Account” in the subject line.  Please be aware that, even after you delete your account, NCIF may retain certain information about you, as required by law, for legitimate business purposes, or as part of NCIF’s regular information retention policy.  NCIF may also retain cached or archived copies of information about you, for a fixed period of time, after you delete your user account.  By using the Website and agreeing to be bound by the Terms, you understand, acknowledge, consent to, and agree that NCIF may retain the information as described in this “Account Information” section and you hereby waive and release any claim, allegation, or cause of action any claim you might have against NCIF arising from, concerning, or in connection with NCIF retention of information as described herein. 

Allowing or Rejecting Cookies

The default setting on most web browsers is to accept cookies by default. However, most web browsers allow you elect to remove or reject browser cookies. Please note that if you choose for your web browser to remove or reject cookies, this could affect the availability, functionality, and/or usability of our Website. 

MISCELLANEOUS

Analytics Website Provided by Others

NCIF may engage others to perform analytics services for the Website. These individuals or entities may use various mechanisms (including, without limitation, utilizing cookies, web beacons, and other technologies) to collect information about your use of the Website and other websites.  This collected information may include, but is not limited to, your IP address, web browser, the pages you have viewed, time spent on pages, the links you have clicked, and conversion information. NCIF may utilize this information in order to, among other things, monitor user data, evaluate the frequency in which certain content on or portions of the Website are used, and more accurately comprehend your activity while using the Website. 

Maintaining Security

NCIF will exercise reasonable care, including taking technical and organizational precautions, in order to protect your personal data and information from unauthorized access, loss, theft, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction.  This data and information will only be stored on secure servers owned, controlled, or contracted for by NCIF.  If NCIF engages a third party for its data hosting, NCIF will endeavor to ensure that party has agreed to comply with the privacy standards contained herein.  

Despite NCIF’s obligations to make reasonable efforts to protect personal information as set forth above, no transmission of data or information over the Internet is guaranteed to be completely secure. It may be possible for third parties not under the control of NCIF to intercept or access transmissions or private communications unlawfully. While we strive to protect personal information, neither NCIF nor our service providers can ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us over the Internet.  Any such transmission is at your own risk.  By using the Website, you understand, acknowledge, consent to, and agree not to hold NCIF responsible or liable for any damage, pecuniary or otherwise, caused by a third party’s unauthorized access to or use of your personal information.  As stated in the Terms of Service, you further agree to defend, indemnify, and hold NCIF harmless for any damage, pecuniary or otherwise, caused by a third party’s unauthorized access to or use of your personal information, and waive and release any claim, allegation, or cause of action that you may have for the same. Further, by using the Website, you understand, acknowledge, consent to, and agree not to hold NCIF responsible for maintaining or storing your personal information or other user-generated content for any particular period of time. You further agree to defend, indemnify, and hold NCIF harmless for any damage, pecuniary or otherwise, caused by a third party’s unauthorized access to or use of your personal information, and you waive and release any claim, allegation, or cause of action that you may have for the same.  

Links to Third Party Sites

The Website may contain links to third party websites. NCIF is not responsible for the practices of third parties and encourages users to read these privacy policies associated with these third party websites before using their websites.  NCIF has no control over and is not responsible for the content of or claims made by websites, hyperlinks, or other services that may be linked to or from the Website (and/or any portions thereof), whether or not they may be affiliated with NCIF.  Any websites linked to or from the Website are for the user’s convenience only, and you access them at your own risk.  Please be aware that you also may be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use affiliate services, third-party content or third-party software, or visit another website linked to by NCIF or the Website

Information Posted on the Website That Is Provided By Third-Party 

The Website may contain information or anecdotes relating to you or other potential users of the Website that is provided by third-parties, including, without limitation, the NCIF’s financial institution partners (the “Posters).  While NCIF requires these Posters to certify the accuracy of the information and their permission to use it, NCIF has no control over and is not responsible for the content of or claims made in, hyperlinks, or other information contained in these submissions.  By using the Website, you understand, acknowledge, and agree that this information is solely provided by the Poster and that NCIF and the Website have no responsibility for the contents of  any information contained therein.  You further agree to waive any claims, alleged claims, and allegations (including any brought in any judicial or adjudicative forum) you may have against NCIF or the Website in connection with this information or the Website’s posting of it.  You further agree to defend, indemnify, and hold NCIF and the Website harmless for any claims, alleged claims, and allegations (including any brought in any judicial or adjudicative forum)  brought by any third party against NCIF in connection with this information, including, without limitation, any inaccuracies, alleged inaccuracies, or fraudulent behavior in connection with this information.  

Note on Policy on Use by Children

The Website is directed and intended to be used by people who are thirteen (13) years or older. If you are concerned or believe that your child has provided NCIF information without your consent (including, without limitation, registered an account for the Website without your consent), please contact us at marketing@NCIF.org, and please note in the subject line of the email “Children Use.” NCIF does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. NCIF will remove personal information it later becomes aware was furnished by a child under the age of 13 (who does not have parental consent) and terminate the associated account.

Note on Use by California Residents

If you reside in California and have provided us with your personal information, you may request certain information regarding NCIF’s disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. In response to such request NCIF may choose instead to provide you with a cost free means of preventing such information sharing. To make such a request, email marketing@ncif.org or write to the following address:

National Community Investment Fund
Attn: California Customer Choice Notice
135 S. LaSalle St., Suite 3025
Chicago, IL 60603

If emailing, please indicate in the subject line that this is for the “California Customer Choice Notice.” 

Disclosure to Third Parties

Without your consent or direction, and except as provided in these Terms, NCIF will not share any of the personal information you provide to us with any third party other than NCIF’s service providers who assist it in providing the Website. To the extent that we do share your personal information with a service provider, NCIF will endeavor to ensure that party has agreed to comply with our privacy standards as described in this Privacy Policy.   

Other Persons’ Personal Information

In using the Website, you may acquire access to others’ personal information, such as names and addresses.  Your use of the Website constitutes your agreement to respect others’ privacy with respect to personal information.  You may not, under any circumstances, release others’ personal information to third parties, including your employees who have no need for the information, without the written consent of both NCIF and the person or persons whose personal information you intend to forward.  By using the Website and agreeing to be bound by the Terms, you understand, acknowledge, consent to, and agree that you will abide by and comply with the Legal Agreements for PayPal Services.  Any failure to abide by or comply with any part of the Terms and/or the Legal Agreements for PayPal Services may result in the suspension or termination of your use of the Website, deletion of your NCIF account, and may subject you to civil or criminal liability.  You may not, under any circumstances, use personal information obtained from the Website to send unsolicited email, facsimile transmissions, or spam, even if the person to whom you intend to send unsolicited email or spam has communicated with you in the past.  You agree to immediately notify NCIF of any release or breach of any third party’s personal information (including name, address, phone numbers, email addresses, account numbers, investment histories, or social security number) that occurs as a result of use of the Website under your user name.   Please report any such violations to: marketing@ncif.org. 

General: 

These Terms (i.e. the Terms of Service together with the Privacy Policy), together with any other agreement(s) you have with NCIF and/or the Website (including, without limitation, any agreement relating to any any conference, symposium, or other event NCIF hosts, organizes, or participates in (or those of its affiliates)), constitute the entire agreement between you and NCIF and govern your use of the Website, superseding any prior agreements between you and NCIF. You also may be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use affiliate services, third-party content or third-party software, or visit another website linked to by NCIF or the Website.  The section titles in these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. Nothing contained in these Terms shall be deemed to constitute either a partnership, joint venture, or employee relationship, by you and NCIF and/or you and other user(s), for any purpose. 

Severance and Waiver: 

You understand, acknowledge, and agree that if any provision of these Terms shall be found to be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these Terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.  You further understand, acknowledge, and agree that, if any provision of these Terms is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision.

NCIF’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by NCIF.

Contact Us

To contact us, please email marketing@ncif.org or write to the following address: National Community Investment Fund, 135 S. LaSalle St., Suite 3025, Chicago, IL 60603.