Privacy Policy

Last updated: February 6, 2024

Updated to add “Text-In-Church” as email newsletter provider for most communications.

Gateway Alliance Church (“Gateway”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) cares about your privacy. This privacy policy describes what personal information we collect in-person and on our websites, and our policies and procedures on the collection and use of your personal information. If you choose to visit our website, your visit is subject to this privacy policy, and you agree to the terms of it.

We use your personal data to provide and improve our online services. By using this service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this privacy policy.

There are many different ways to share your personal information with us both in-person and on our website.

• Personal Information. We use Planning Center Online to administer and oversee all personal information, including online registrations, contact forms, connect cards, and our online giving (described below). The personal information we collect depends on your interactions with us, and must be voluntarily provided to us. All personal information collected is also governed by Planning Center Online’s Privacy Policy, found here: https://www.planningcenter.com/privacy

  The personal information we collect may include your first and last name, email address, phone number, mailing address, and other similar contact information as provided. We understand the sensitive nature of some of this information, and every effort will be made to ensure its complete confidentiality in accordance with our security policy listed below. The information we collect will be used internally to communicate with you and provide services you have requested, and will be viewed solely by ministry staff and key volunteers within our organization. Under no circumstances will any of this information be shared with a third-party (excluding our service providers, more information below) unless required by law.

  By providing us with your personal contact information, you affirm your consent to our collection and use of your data.

• Newsletters and Other Communication. Users who provide us with their personal information may receive newsletters (administered through Mailchimp/Text In Church), email communications (through Mailchimp/Text In Church, Planning Center Online or our gateway.ac email addresses) or communication through other channels. These forms of communication are used (among other things) to promote our upcoming events, share information about Gateway, and keep you updated on what is happening at Gateway.

  By submitting your personal contact information to Planning Center Online, you consent to be placed on our regular mailing list, understanding that you can withdraw your consent at any time using the unsubscribe feature in our emails.

   

• Website Chat. This website is using Tidio, a chat platform that connects users with the customer support of Gateway Alliance Church. We collecting email addresses & names only with the consent of the users, in order to start the chat. The messages and data exchanged are stored within the Tidio application. For more information, please refer to their Privacy Policy (available below). Gateway Alliance Church is not making use of these messages or data other than to follow up on users’ registered issues or inquiries, and at no point is this data shared with another application or service. Your personal data will be processed and transmitted in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

   

• Payments. While using our services, you may voluntarily choose to donate or make a payment (e.g. for  rentals). When donating to Gateway both online & offline, your personal information (including name, payment information such as credit card or debit card number, and donation amount) is provided to Planning Center Online for the purpose of tracking and administration – specifically for taxes. All payment information is kept securely by Planning Center Online and the payment platforms listed below, and are not accessible by any member of our ministry staff. All other personal information surrounding giving (including your name and how much you gave but excluding your payment information) is only available to a few members of our ministry staff who are responsible for overseeing and administering our finances.

  Gateway collects credit and debit card payments through the following payment providers: Square Inc. and Stripe Inc. Stripe manages all our online payments collected through Planning Center Online (including donations & event registrations), while Square manages all our online rental payments and in-person credit and debit payments. For more insight on their security and practices, please read their terms of service (Square: https://squareup.com/ca/en/legal/general/ua; Stripe: https://stripe.com/en-ca/ssa) and privacy policies (Square: https://squareup.com/ca/en/legal/general/privacy; Stripe: https://stripe.com/en-ca/privacy)

   

• Usage Data. Our website automatically collects certain information from users when using our online services. This information may include your Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our service that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers, and other diagnostic data. This information is anonymously collected and provided to us by Google Analytics, and is governed by their privacy policy. No personally identifiable information is collected or accessed by this service. You can access Google’s Privacy Policy here: https://policies.google.com/privacy and can opt-out of of Google’s Analytics using this tool: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

  By visiting our website you consent to our automatic data collection unless otherwise blocked through tools provided above.
  
  

• Cookies and Tracking Technologies. We use cookies (small data files containing information about our users that are stored on your hard drive) and similar tracking technologies (such as Facebook Pixel) to track the activity on our service and store certain information. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies, however if you disable cookies, you may not be able to access certain parts of our service.
  
  By visiting our website, unless specified through your browser, you consent to the use of cookies.

We may use your personal data for the following purposes:

• To provide and maintain our service, including the monitoring of the usage of our service
• To manage your account, provided through Planning Center Online.
• To perform a contract, specifically for those who wish to rent our facilities
• To contact you by email, phone, or other forms of communication
• To provide you with news and general information about our services and events unless you opt to not receive such information
• To manage your requests

We may share your personal information in the following situations: 

• With Service Providers, such as: Planning Center Online (for registration & online giving), Text-In-Church (for email newsletters & text messaging), Mailchimp (for ministry specific newsletters), Square Inc (opt-in; only for on-site giving & rental payments) and Stripe Inc (opt-in;  only for online giving). All Personal information is only provided as necessary to third parties with whom we have business relationships for the purposes outlined in this privacy policy, and are governed by those companies’ privacy policies. 

• With Key Volunteers, such as: group leaders (of any Gateway Group you join), team coaches (of any Gateway Team you join), prayer team members (in response to requests you submit), and others as required. In this instance, only your name, email address and phone number may be shared. This information is only shared to provide you with certain services (groups, teams, kids etc), and all volunteers with access to such information are required to follow this privacy policy.

We retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy policy. We will retain and use your personal data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, to comply with tax law and other applicable laws).

We will also retain your usage data for internal analysis purposes for a period of time, except when legally obligated to retain this data for longer periods of time.

You have a number of rights under data protection law, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Access & Rectification: You have the right to access and rectify the personal data we hold about you, and can do so by visiting Your Gateway Profile. If you cannot login to your profile, you can contact us via email at admin@gateway.ac
• Erasure: You have the right to request that we delete any personal information we hold that pertains to you. We will assess each deletion request on a case-by-case basis, and may ask for proof of your identity.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, you can do so either by visiting Your Gateway Profile (for access & rectification) or by contacting us using the following details:

Email: admin@gateway.ac
Address: 13931 140 Street Northwest, Edmonton, Alberta, T6V1J7

Your personal information is stored securely by our service providers, and we take every reasonable precaution to ensure that your data is treated securely in accordance with this privacy policy. Your information will never be shared with a third-party, excluding our service providers, unless required by law.

The security of your personal information is extremely important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we and our service providers strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Gateway works with several different service providers in order to deliver the best possible online experience. Any information provided to these providers is subject to their privacy policies, listed below:

• Planning Center Online: https://www.planningcenter.com/privacy
• Mailchimp: http://mailchimp.com/legal/privacy/
• Text In Church: https://textinchurch.com/privacy_policy
• Square Inc: https://squareup.com/ca/en/legal/general/privacy
• Stripe Inc: https://stripe.com/en-ca/privacy
• Tidio: https://tidio.com/privacy-policy/
• Google Analytics: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
• Facebook Pixel: https://www.facebook.com/business/m/privacy-and-data

Our service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third party link, you will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise you to review the privacy policy of every site you visit.

We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.

We may update our privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new privacy policy on this page.

You are advised to review this privacy policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this privacy policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, You can contact us by email at: admin@gateway.ac

This Privacy Policy was created with the help of the Free Privacy Policy Generator.