Privacy Policy

Last Updated: June 30, 2025

Thank you for visiting and choosing to be part of our community at First United Methodist Church In New York (“First United Methodist Church”). First United Methodist Church (“we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to the privacy of our online and offline supporters, including members, online users, donors, event attendees and visitors. First United Methodist Church operates in accordance with the following privacy policy, and by providing us with your information online or offline, you consent to the terms of this privacy policy.

If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use the Website.

The policies below are applicable to the website located at fumcstamford.org and any other websites under the control of First United Methodist Church (the “Website”), however the Website is accessed and/or used, whether via personal computers, mobile devices, or otherwise, and other interactive features, applications (including mobile applications), or downloads that are operated by First United Methodist Church that are made available by us. Please be advised that the practices described in this Privacy Policy apply only to information gathered online at our Website. They do not apply to information that you may submit to us offline or to websites maintained by other companies or organizations to which we may link.

The Information We Collect.

In general, you can browse the Website without submitting your personal information to us. However, there are a number of conditions in which you may need to provide us with your personal information. The following is a list of the common ways in which we collect your personal information.

  • When you register for an account on the Website;
  • When you sign up to receive e-mail newsletters from us;
  • When you make a donation, pledge or log-in;
  • When you participate in surveys or complete a newcomer form;
  • When you register for and participate in our programs, activities, initiatives, and events;
  • When you request information or assistance;
  • In conjunction with your employment inquiries or applications;
  • When you participate with social media accounts involving Church properties;
  • In conjunction with any verification of your account information;
  • In conjunction with investigations into any activity that may violate the law or the Website’s terms and conditions;
  • When you communicate with us through the Website;
  • When you provide user-generated content on any part of the Website that permits it; and
  • In conjunction with any other place on the Website where you knowingly volunteer personal information.

When you interact with any First United Methodist Church page or account on a social media platform, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vimeo, Google+, YouTube, or Pinterest, or when you use your social media account or credentials to log in to the Website, we may also collect the personal information that you make available to us on that page or through that account, including your account ID or online handle.

When you interact with the Website, our servers automatically collect some anonymous “non-personal identifiable” aggregate information, which may include visitors’ browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer, Chrome or Firefox), operating systems (e.g., Windows or Macintosh), Internet Service Providers, and other similar information. The information collected is used for statistical purposes to monitor how First United Methodist Church’s online visitors navigate our website, allowing us to modify our website to better accommodate our visitors.

Generally, we collect the following categories of Non-Personal Information:

  • We may collect certain personal and demographic data such as name, address, contact information, age, gender, and five-digit zip code as part of collecting personal information;
  • We collect and store certain device information about your computer, mobile device, or other device that you use to access the Website. This information may include IP address, geolocation information, unique device identifiers, browser type, browser language, and other transactional information;
  • We automatically log certain usage information about your use of the Website. This information includes a reading history of the pages you view;
  • We collect and store additional “traffic data” such as time of access, date of access, software crash reports, session identification number, access times, and referring website addresses;
  • We collect and store other information regarding our users’ use of the Website so that third parties may provide us with reports and analysis regarding usage and browsing patterns of the Website.

When you email First United Methodist Church

First United Methodist Church is pleased to receive e-mails from you. Should you choose to send an e-mail to First United Methodist Church, your message and e-mail address will be forwarded to the appropriate department within First United Methodist Church and we will save your e-mail as part of our permanent records

Please be aware that we respect clergy-penitent privilege, however, any message, material, ideas, concepts, or other information sent to First United Methodist Church by e-mail will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to (a) conform to applicable law or comply with legal process served on us or the Website; (b) protect and defend our rights or property, the Website, or our users; and (c) act under emergency circumstances protect against imminent harm to the rights, property or personal safety of First United Methodist Church, our affiliates, our agents, members, or users of Website or the public.

Children

First United Methodist Church takes special care to protect the safety and privacy of children, and does not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 13. If you are under the age of 13, please do not submit any personal data to us. First United Methodist Church encourages parents and legal guardians to monitor their children’s internet usage and help enforce this privacy policy by instructing children to never provide personal data to us without their permission. In the event we learn we have inadvertently gathered personal information from children under the age of 13, we will take reasonable measures to promptly erase such information from our records.

Data Security

First United Methodist Church processes credit card information using secure socket layering (SSL) encryption technology, which protects against interception of your information by third parties. SSL is the standard for most browsers and servers and encrypts all of your personal information, including credit card number, name and address so that it cannot be read as the information travels over the Internet. Your credit card information will be temporarily stored on a secured server only for as long as necessary to process your payment. To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and administrative procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we learn from you to help us personalize and improve your experience on the Website. We use your Personal and Non-Personal Information in the following ways:

General Uses

  • For editorial purposes;
  • Responding to your inquiries;
  • Communicating with you about your account, pledges, donations, or transactions with us and sending you information about features on our Website or about First United Methodist Church;
  • Communicating with you about changes to our policies;
  • Personalizing content and experiences on our Website, including providing you with recommendations based on your preferences;
  • Sending you newsletters, mailings, and information about programs, initiatives, activities, and events by e-mail or another medium;
  • Processing your employment application;
  • Event, program or volunteer registration;
  • Optimizing or improving our programs, services, and operations;
  • Research and development;
  • Verifying your account and account activities;
  • Detecting, investigating, and preventing activities that may violate our policies or be illegal;
  • Performing statistical, demographic, and marketing analyses of users of the Website and their usage patterns; and
  • Managing our organization and other corporate entities.

We may combine information gathered from the Website and information that we have received, gathered, acquired, or stored from other sources, both information collected offline by First United Methodist Church and information received from third parties—including information that currently exists in our files—into a single customer record. We also use and/or combine information that we collect offline or receive from third-party sources to edit, enhance, and/or check the accuracy of your customer record.

How We Use Cookies and Tracking Technologies

The First United Methodist Church website may use cookies (small files that store information on your computer’s web browser) to enhance user experience on the website. Cookies are used to perform certain functions such as saving passwords, personal interests and preferences; delivering content specific to these interests and preferences; and analyzing website activity and user behavior on the website. You may set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie and delete any cookies you receive. This Website is functional without the retention of cookies. When cookies are used, you have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but, if you prefer, you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies.

Like some websites, we may use web beacons or flash cookies. A web beacon or flash cookie (also known as an “action tag” “tracer tag,” or “single-pixel GIF”) is an invisible graphic on a web page or e-mail newsletter that is programmed to collect non-personally identifiable information about your use of a given website or newsletter, e.g., whether you opened the e-mail. Like cookies, web beacons allow First United Methodist Church and its technology providers to summarize overall usage patterns for our analysis and provide personalized services to you.

First United Methodist Church strives to protect the transmission and storage of any information submitted by visitors to the Website, but no transmission and storage of data is completely secure, and submissions are at your sole risk.

This Website may contain links to sites operated by third parties. Please be advised that the practices described in this Privacy Policy do not apply to information gathered through these other websites.

Please remember that any information you share in public areas, such as online directories, message boards, social media, or feedback sections, becomes public, and therefore this Privacy Policy does not apply to any information you choose to make public. Please be careful about what you disclose, and do not post any personal information that you expect to keep private.

Cross Border Data Transfer

The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) is a European Regulation concerning the use and processing of personal information effective on May 25, 2018.

We will use reasonable efforts to securely process all personal information in line with the rights specified under the GDPR, in particular those related to the following requests:
  • Access to your personal information;
  • Correction of the personal information that we hold;
  • Deletion of your personal information;
  • A restriction of processing of your personal information;
  • Transfer of your personal information to another party; or
  • Objection to processing of your personal information based on First United Methodist Church’s legitimate interest (or those of a third party) to use it and there is something about your particular situation that causes you to object to such processing.

We hold your information and use it as described in this Privacy Policy and will use reasonable measures to ensure that your personal information is only transferred to third parties who also maintain at least the standard of protection required under the GDPR.

The Website is published in the United States and is subject to laws of the United States. If you are located in a country outside the United States and voluntarily submit personal information to us, you thereby consent to the general use of such information as provided in this Privacy Policy and to the transfer of that information to, and/or storage of that information in, the United States. First United Methodist Church shall not be liable under any circumstances for damages resulting from use of information collected from visitors to the Website.

Publication License of this Website

The materials contained in this Website are published under a Creative Commons CC by-SA 4.0 License. Please follow the license terms shown in the link before using any images, text, PDF documents, Icons, or website design.

We reserve the right to modify or amend the terms of this Privacy Policy from time to time without notice. Your continued use of our Website following the posting of changes to this Privacy Policy will mean you accept those changes.

Questions and comments should be directed to the First United Methodist Church Business Office.

If you have any questions or requests regarding this policy, if you would like to change your preferences, if you no longer wish to receive e-mail updates from First United Methodist Church, or if you believe First United Methodist Church has inaccurate or incomplete information about you, don’t hesitate to get in touch with through our contact form or by calling 203-324-1323. Out of respect for your privacy, e-mail recipients may opt out of receiving e-mails by following the unsubscribe instructions included in the e-mail messages.

First United Methodist Church of Stamford is a private, not-for-profit organization, and is tax exempt under Section 501©(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal tax ID#06-0646643.

Contact

First United Methodist Church
42 Cross Rd
Stamford, CT 06905
Telephone: 203-324-1323
Church Office

Terms and Conditions

Contribution Notice:

Contributions are made with the understanding that First United Methodist Church has complete control of the donated funds and discretion as to the use of the funds, so that the funds are used to carry out First United Methodist Church’s tax-exempt purposes and functions.

Personal information:

We do not sell or share billing information about you. We do not share your personal information outside of our associated ministries.

Terms and Conditions:

By making a recurring donation, you authorize First United Methodist Church to charge your credit card automatically each month. You acknowledge that you have full authority to make this charge to this credit card and this authorization is to remain in full force and effect until:

  1. First United Methodist Church has received an online termination activated by yourself, two (2) business days before the next requested charge cycle OR
  2. you will send an email to admin@fumcstamford.org or in writing to Eileen Kelly – 42 Cross Rd Stamford,CT 06905. You understand that it may take up to three (3) weeks to process any email or written requests from time of receipt at First United Methodist Church, during this time your credit card may be charged.

You also agree to amend your information electronically online, if the card expires. Until these amendments are received your credit card will not be charged and may be rendered inactive.

If your donation is refused by your financial institution for any reason, including over-limit, closed account, insufficient funds, or unauthorized account, First United Methodist Church will not be able to process your donation and may freeze your recurring donation request until you submit updated information to First United Methodist Church.

 You understand and agree that you will notify First United Methodist Church in writing at admin@fumcstamford.org or in writing to Eileen Kelly – 42 Cross Rd Stamford, CT 06905 within thirty (30) days if you think the donation has been incorrectly charged to your credit card. First United Methodist Church will correct, as soon as possible, any direct charges made in error, but you agree not to hold the church liable for any contingent expenses, related losses or further charges that result from the incorrect charge.

All contributions are made with the understanding that First United Methodist Church has complete control of the donated funds and discretion as to the use of the funds, so that the funds are used to carry out First United Methodist Church’s tax-exempt purposes and functions.