Last updated: 31 October 2026
The Pelican Lake Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in Oneida County, Wisconsin. This policy explains what personal information this website collects, why we ask for it, who can see it, and how long we keep it. It is written in plain language and describes what the site actually does.
What this site collects
This site collects personal information only when you choose to send it, by filling in one of our forms, or when you become a member of the association. From early 2027, members will also be able to sign in to the site (see “Member sign-in” below).
| What you send | Why we ask | How long we keep it |
|---|---|---|
| Contact form: your name, email address, phone number if you give one, the topic you select, and your message | So the right committee can answer you | 15 months |
| Volunteer form: your name, contact details, membership status, the volunteer areas you select, and any skills you describe | So the Membership Committee can match you with work that needs doing | Until it is transferred into the association’s membership database, then under that system’s retention rules |
| Photo submissions: your name, email address, the photo files, where and when the photo was taken, how you wish to be credited, and your consent to publish | So we can publish lake photographs with permission and correct credit | For as long as the association uses the photographs, or until consent is explicitly withdrawn. The consent record is our evidence that publishing your photograph was permitted |
| Social media and promotion requests: your name, contact details, and the details of your request | So the Communication Committee can act on the request | 15 months |
| Newsletter ad requests: the business name, contact name, email address, phone number, billing address, ad size, ad artwork and any notes | So the Communication Committee can place the ad and send an invoice | 27 months |
| Membership records: the names of the people in your membership, mailing and lake addresses, email addresses and phone numbers, membership dates, payments, your directory and newsletter choices, and notes kept by the Membership Secretary | To keep the membership list the bylaws require, send notices and receipts, keep the association’s financial records, and run the member directory | While you are a member, and for seven years after your membership ends |
Two things are worth stating plainly, because they are not obvious:
- Form submissions are stored in this website’s own database, not only emailed to a committee.
- Because photographs you upload are stored on the website, they are also included in the website’s routine backups, which are held in the association’s Google Drive.
- Membership records are kept in the membership system that runs inside this website (CiviCRM), so they are included in those backups too.
Who can see it
Website administrators, and the committee your message was routed to. Membership records can be seen by website administrators and the Membership Secretary, and payment records also by the Treasurer, the Financial Review Committee and the association’s accountants. Notes kept by the Membership Secretary are never shown to members. Changes to membership and payment records are logged with the date and time, so the association’s finances can be reviewed. Nothing you send is published without your knowledge, sold, rented, or shared with anyone outside the association, or used for any purpose other than the one you sent it for.
Member sign-in
From early 2027, members can sign in to see the member directory, update their own details and renew online. Your sign-in details are stored by the website. Passwords are stored in scrambled form, and no one at the association can read them. Signing in sets a cookie that keeps you signed in.
Member directory
From early 2027, members who sign in can see a directory of other members. You are listed unless you choose not to be, and you choose which details are shown: your lake address, mailing address, email address and phone number. The directory can be seen only by signed-in members whose membership is current. It is never public. You can change your choices at any time.
Payments
Online donations, and from early 2027 online membership renewals, are processed by Stripe. Your card details go directly to Stripe and are never seen or stored by the association or this website. We keep a record of each payment (the amount, date and method) with your membership record. Payments by check or cash are recorded the same way.
Information collected automatically
Our hosting company keeps standard web server logs, which record things like the IP address of the device requesting a page, the browser used, and which pages were requested. The association does not use these logs; they exist for the security and operation of the server and are kept under the hosting company’s own policy.
The association runs no advertising on this site. We use Google Analytics to understand how many people visit the site and which pages they use. It records the pages you view, the type of device and browser, and your approximate location (city or region), and sets cookies to tell repeat visits apart. Google Analytics does not give us your name, email address or IP address. Blocking cookies, or using Google’s browser opt-out, stops it, and the site works normally either way. The software that runs the website sets a small number of cookies needed for it to work, and signing in as an editor or member sets one that keeps you signed in.
Video on this site
The home page includes a video hosted on YouTube, which is owned by Google. The video is not stored on this website. When you open a page that contains it, your browser contacts Google’s servers to load the player, and Google receives your device’s IP address in the process. This happens whether or not you press play.
Google may also set cookies in your browser when the page loads, again whether or not you play the video, and may use them to recognize your device or to inform the advertising it shows you elsewhere. That is Google’s collection, not ours, and it is governed by Google’s own privacy policy rather than this one. Blocking third-party cookies in your browser prevents it, and the rest of this site works normally if you do.
Other companies involved
- Our web host stores the website and its database.
- Google provides the association’s email, and stores our website backups in Google Drive.
- YouTube, part of Google, hosts the annual report video shown on the home page.
- Google Analytics, part of Google, measures visits to this site.
- Amazon Web Services sends the association’s membership email, such as receipts, renewal reminders and meeting notices.
- Constant Contact sends the association’s newsletter and announcement emails to members’ email addresses.
- Stripe processes online payments.
Links to other websites
This site links to other organizations, including the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and local businesses. Once you follow a link off this site, that organization’s privacy policy applies, not ours.
Children
This website is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has sent us information, please contact us and we will remove it.
Your choices
You can ask us what personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Use the contact form and select “Something else” as the topic. From early 2027, members can also update their own details and directory choices after signing in. Information held in website backups will be completely removed once those backups are overwritten in the normal course, which takes up to 15 months.
One exception is worth knowing about. If you ask us to delete a photograph consent record, we will also stop using the photographs it covers, because that record is the only evidence that publishing them was permitted.
A second exception: we cannot delete a membership or payment record while the law or the association’s bylaws require us to keep it. We can remove you from the directory and from our mailings straight away, and delete the rest once the retention period ends.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we will update the date at the top of this page. Significant changes will also be noted in the association’s newsletter.
Questions
Questions about this policy, or about information the association holds, should go through the contact form. You can also write to Pelican Lake Association, PO Box 96, Pelican Lake, WI 54463.