Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

ProjectMedMinds ("we," "our," or "us") is a youth-led community and non-profit association based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. We operate the website at projectmedminds.com and related community programs focused on health literacy, senior wellness, and volunteer engagement.

We are a registered Illinois not-for-profit association. This Privacy Policy applies to all information collected through our website and programs.

2. Information We Collect

Information You Provide Directly

• Contact form submissions — your name, email address, and message when you reach out to us
• Newsletter sign-ups — your email address when you subscribe to our newsletter
• Volunteer applications — your name, email, school/organization, and areas of interest
• Event registrations — name, email, and any event-specific details you provide

Information Collected Automatically

• Usage data — pages visited, time spent, referring URLs, and general site navigation
• Device information — browser type, operating system, and screen size (used for optimizing display)
• IP address — collected by our web hosting provider (Hostinger) for security and analytics purposes
• Volunteer finder searches — if you use our volunteer program search tool, your zip code may be transmitted to third-party APIs (such as zippopotam.us) to return location-based results

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect solely for the following purposes:

• Responding to your inquiries and contact form submissions
• Sending newsletters and event announcements you have opted into
• Coordinating volunteer participation and event logistics
• Improving our website content and user experience
• Complying with applicable laws and regulations

We will never use your information for unsolicited marketing, profiling, or any purpose unrelated to ProjectMedMinds' community health mission.

4. Information Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share limited information with trusted third parties only as necessary to operate our services:

Service Providers

• Hostinger — our website hosting provider, which processes server logs and IP data per their own privacy policy
• WordPress / WPForms — our website platform and form processing tools
• Email service providers — used to deliver newsletters (e.g., MailPoet), subject to their privacy policies

Legal Requirements

We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or government authority, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the safety of any person or to address fraud or security issues.

5. Cookies & Tracking

Our website uses cookies — small text files stored in your browser — to provide basic site functionality. We use:

• Essential cookies — required for the website to function (e.g., WordPress session cookies, security tokens)
• Analytics cookies — if enabled, to understand how visitors use our site (aggregated, non-personal data)
• Comment cookies — if you leave a comment on a blog post, you may opt in to saving your name and email in a browser cookie for convenience

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect some website functionality but will not prevent you from accessing our content.

We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or any third-party behavioral advertising technologies.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected:

• Contact form messages — retained for up to 12 months, then deleted
• Newsletter subscriptions — retained until you unsubscribe
• Volunteer records — retained for the duration of your involvement plus one year
• Server/access logs — retained by our hosting provider per their standard retention policy (typically 30–90 days)

You may request deletion of your data at any time by contacting us at the email below.

7. Children's Privacy

ProjectMedMinds programs often involve student volunteers, many of whom may be under 18. We are committed to protecting minors' privacy.

• Our website and forms are not directed at children under 13. If we learn we have collected information from a child under 13 without parental consent, we will delete it promptly
• If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has submitted personal information to us without your consent, please contact us immediately and we will delete it
• Student volunteers under 18 should have a parent or guardian review this policy

8. Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Our security measures include:

• SSL/HTTPS encryption on all pages of our website
• Password-protected admin access with limited permissions
• Regular WordPress and plugin security updates
• Hosting on Hostinger's secure server infrastructure

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time as our organization grows or as required by law. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
• Notify newsletter subscribers of significant changes via email

We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of our website after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal data, please contact us:

• Email: Contactus@projectmedminds.com
• Organization: ProjectMedMinds Not-for-Profit Organization
• Location: Buffalo Grove, Illinois

We are committed to resolving any privacy concerns promptly and transparently.