The Bay State Council of the Blind (BSCB) respects your privacy. This policy explains what information we collect through this website, why we collect it, and how we protect it.
Information you give us
We only collect personal information that you choose to give us. This happens when you:
- Contact us. Our Contact Us form asks for your name, email address, a subject and your message. We use this to reply to you.
- Join BSCB or pay dues. Our Member Registration and Dues form asks for your name, email address, phone number, mailing address, whether you are a first-time member, and which chapters you want to join. You may also choose to tell us your vision status, gender and ethnicity. These three questions are optional, and we use the answers only in summary form to understand who our members are. We use the rest to keep our membership list, send you BSCB news and publications, and record your dues.
- Register for a conference or convention. Our registration forms ask for your email address, name, phone number (optional), whether you are a BSCB member, whether you will attend in person or on Zoom, how you want to receive the agenda (email, braille or large print), your meal choices, and whether you need a hotel room or subsidy. We use this to plan the event, order meals, send Zoom details and confirm your registration.
- Request a transportation subsidy. This form asks for your email address, name, the amount requested, how you want to be paid, your payment details (PayPal username, Zelle email or phone number, or home address for a check), how you traveled and the city you traveled from. We use this only to process your reimbursement.
- Register or pay by phone, email or mail. We record the same information you would give on the matching form.
Information collected automatically
When you send a form on this website, our form software also records your IP address, your browser type and the page you sent it from. We use this to prevent spam and to fix technical problems. This website does not use advertising or analytics tracking cookies. If you log in to the website, WordPress sets cookies to keep you logged in.
Payments
Dues, conference fees, donations and sponsorships are paid through PayPal. PayPal processes your card or bank details; BSCB never sees or stores your full card number. PayPal sends us your name, email address and the amount paid. PayPal’s use of your information is covered by the PayPal Privacy Statement.
Services we use
- Gravity Forms stores Contact Us and membership form entries on our website’s server.
- Google Forms collects conference registrations and transportation subsidy requests. These forms are hosted by Google and covered by the Google Privacy Policy.
- PayPal processes payments.
- Email is used to send form notifications to BSCB volunteers and confirmations to you.
Who sees your information
Only BSCB board members and volunteers who need it for their role, such as the membership chair, treasurer or conference committee, can see your information. We share member names and contact information with the American Council of the Blind (ACB), our national affiliate, as part of your membership. We do not sell, rent or trade your information, and we do not share it with anyone else unless the law requires it.
How long we keep it
We keep membership records, contact messages, event registrations and financial records for 7 years, and then delete them.
How we protect it
Our website uses a secure (HTTPS) connection, and access to stored entries is limited to authorized volunteers with their own logins.
Your choices
You can ask us to see, correct or delete the information we hold about you, or to stop sending you mailings. Email info@acbofma.org or call 1 (773) 572-6312. We will respond within 30 days.
Children
This website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their information.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when our website or forms change. The date below shows when it was last updated.
Contact us
Questions about this policy? Email info@acbofma.org, call 1 (773) 572-6312, or use our Contact Us page.
This policy was last updated on October 31, 2026.