How We Handle Your Information

Who We Are

"We," "us," "GABCO," and "the Association" refer to the Georgia Association of Black County Officials, a statewide professional association of Black county officials headquartered at 2200 Fairburn Rd SW, Atlanta, GA 30331. Our website is gabcoonline.org. You can reach us at admin@gabcoonline.org or 404.692.3224.

Information We Collect

When you interact with our website, fill out a form, become a member or sponsor, register for an event, donate, or opt into text messages, we may collect:

• Name and contact information — first name, last name, email address, mailing address
• Phone number — for member communications and, only if you affirmatively opt in, SMS text messages
• Membership and affiliation details — county, office held, organization, role, and information you share when applying for membership or registering for events
• Payment information — billing details for dues, donations, and sponsorships processed through PCI-compliant third-party payment processors (we do not store full card numbers)
• Website usage data — IP address, browser type, pages visited, and referring URL (via cookies and analytics tools)
• Communications — when you contact us through email or web forms, we keep a record of what you sent

How We Use Your Information

We use the information you provide to:

• Respond to inquiries and membership questions
• Process membership applications, dues, donations, and sponsorships
• Communicate about your membership, events, advocacy alerts, and Association activities
• Send transactional notifications (receipts, event confirmations, dues reminders)
• Send text messages — only if you have affirmatively opted in (see SMS Communications below)
• Advance GABCO's mission of advocacy, training, and collaborative governance for Georgia communities
• Comply with legal obligations including tax reporting

SMS Communications

If you opt in to receive text messages from GABCO, the following terms apply:

All GABCO text messages identify the Association as the sender and include opt-out instructions.

Sharing of Information

We share your information only as follows:

• Service providers: We use trusted third-party vendors (payment processors, SMS providers, email platforms, hosting, analytics) to operate the Association. These vendors are contractually bound to use your information only to provide services to us and must protect it consistent with this policy.
• Legal compliance: Your information may be disclosed if required by law, subpoena, court order, or to protect our legal rights.
• Mobile numbers and SMS consent records are never shared, sold, or transferred to third parties for marketing.
• Aggregated data: We may share aggregated, de-identified information that does not personally identify you.

Cookies and Analytics

Our website uses cookies and analytics tools (such as Google Analytics) to understand how visitors use the site. These tools collect aggregated, non-personally-identifying information. You can disable cookies in your browser settings.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Opt out of text messages at any time by replying STOP
• Unsubscribe from emails using the unsubscribe link in any email
• Request a copy of the information we have about you
• Request deletion of your information, subject to legal retention requirements (financial records must be retained per tax law)
• Update your information by contacting us

Children's Privacy

Our website and SMS program are not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, contact us immediately so we can remove it.

Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information. No system is 100% secure, but we work to keep your data safe and respond promptly to any incidents.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Material changes will be communicated through the website or via direct notification when feasible.

Contact Us

Questions about this policy or our SMS program? Reach out:

• Mailing address: 2200 Fairburn Rd SW, Atlanta, GA 30331
• Email: admin@gabcoonline.org
• Phone: 404.692.3224
• Contact form: gabcoonline.org/contact
• SMS opt-out: Reply STOP to any text message you receive from GABCO
• Related: Terms of Use · Opt-In Signup