Last Updated 2/10/2025

MBCIA Privacy Policy

Massachusetts Building Commissioners And Inspectors Association (MBCIA) is committed to protecting your privacy and personal information.

1. About this policy

Massachusetts Building Commissioners And Inspectors Association, Inc. ("MBCIA," "we," "us," or "our") is a Massachusetts corporation with a mailing address at PO Box 846, Burlington, MA 01803, United States.

This policy explains what personal information we collect through www.mbcia.org (the "Site") and our related services, how we use it, who we share it with, and what choices you have. The related services include membership, sponsorships, scholarships, the Job Board, events and classes, the member store, and our email communications (together with the Site, the "Services").

"Personal Information" means information that identifies, relates to, or can reasonably be linked to a person. Your use of the Services is also subject to our Terms & Conditions at https://www.mbcia.org/terms-and-conditions (the "Terms").

2. The short version

  • We collect what you give us through our forms and accounts, plus basic technical data when you visit the Site.
  • Stripe processes card payments. MBCIA does not see or store full card numbers.
  • We use outside service providers to run the Site, forms, email, payments, e-signatures, and class check-in. Section 5 names each one and says what it does.
  • We do not sell Personal Information for money. We use advertising tools from Google, Meta, and LinkedIn, which Section 7 explains along with how to opt out.
  • MBCIA staff use AI tools from Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (ChatGPT), and Google (Gemini), plus AI editing inside Make. We keep personal information out of them where we can, and a person reviews what they produce (Section 9).
  • A person at MBCIA decides every membership, job listing, sponsorship, and scholarship application. Automation and AI do not make the decision.
  • You can ask to see, correct, or delete your information, and you can unsubscribe from marketing email at any time (Section 13).

3. Information we collect

3.1 Information you give us

What we collect depends on how you use the Services.

  • Membership. Name, employer or municipality, job title, department, work and personal email addresses, phone number, mailing address, membership type, signature, and dues and payment history. Your Building Official number, where you have one.
  • Member accounts. Email address, a password (held by our login provider in protected form), membership status, and login activity.
  • Sponsorships. Business name, contact person, contact details, billing details, logo and promotional materials, and signature.
  • Scholarships. Applicant name and contact details, school and enrollment information, GPA and education history, employment history, application materials such as essays and references, the relationship to a member if any, and signature. Applicants under 18 also need the consent of a parent or guardian.
  • Job Board. For employers: organization name, contact details, and the listing content. For job seekers: name, contact details, resume, employment history, education, and anything else you include in an application.
  • Events, classes, and the golf event. Name, email address, employer or department, Building Official number, registration details, and attendance records from class check-in. Registration for the MBCIA golf event runs through Perfect Golf Event, which collects the details you enter there.
  • Contact and support. Your name, email address, and the content of your message.
  • Email preferences. Your subscription status and the lists you join or leave.
  • Member store orders. Name, shipping address, and order details, which we pass to Vistaprint to print and ship branded items.
  • Content you submit. Photos, comments, and other material you send us to post or use.

Please give us accurate information and tell us when it changes.

3.2 Payment information

When you pay by card, PayPal, or digital wallet, you enter your payment details into a form run by a payment provider: Stripe or PayPal, depending on what you are paying for. The provider collects and stores the full card number. We receive limited details back from the provider, such as the card brand, the last four digits, the expiration date, the billing name and address, and whether the payment succeeded. We keep invoice and payment history.

3.3 Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site, our hosting and security providers collect technical information, including:

  • IP address and approximate location derived from it
  • browser type, device type, operating system, and language setting
  • pages viewed, links clicked, the page that referred you, and the date and time of each visit
  • security signals that help tell people from automated bots, including when you submit a form

We also receive delivery and engagement data for our emails, such as whether a message was delivered, opened, or clicked. We also use Google Analytics, including its advertising features, along with Google Ads, the Meta pixel, and the LinkedIn Insight Tag, to count visits, report on the demographics and interests of our audience, measure ads, and show MBCIA ads to people who visited the Site (Section 7). We use Microsoft Clarity to see how visitors click, scroll, and move through pages (Section 7).

3.4 Information from other sources

We receive Personal Information only from what is provided to MBCIA. Usually that is you. Sometimes it is someone who submits it for you, such as an employer or municipality that registers you for a class or pays your dues, or a member who recommends you for membership, as our bylaws require. We also receive payment confirmations from our payment providers. We do not buy Personal Information from data brokers.

3.5 Sensitive information

We do not ask for Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, health information, or union membership. Please do not include them in forms or uploads. If you pay by bank transfer (ACH), your bank account details are used only to process that payment. We do collect two kinds of sensitive business and education information: tax identification numbers (EINs) from sponsors and other businesses when a form asks for one, and student education information, such as school and GPA, on scholarship applications. We use that information only for the program it was given for.

4. How we use Personal Information

  • Run membership and accounts. Reviewing applications, approving or denying them, creating logins, limiting members-only content to members, and handling renewals.
  • Process payments and billing. Sending invoices and receipts, collecting dues and fees, sending past-due reminders, and handling refunds.
  • Deliver programs. Running events and classes, recording attendance, reporting attendance where required, and administering sponsorships, scholarships, and the Job Board.
  • Communicate with you. Sending account and transaction messages, announcements, newsletters, and surveys.
  • Provide support. Answering questions and fixing problems.
  • Protect the Services. Blocking bots and abuse, preventing fraud, and keeping the Site secure.
  • Improve the Services. Understanding how the Site and programs are used so we can fix and improve them.
  • Reach and understand our audience. Using Google Analytics advertising features, Google Ads, the Meta pixel, and the LinkedIn Insight Tag to measure ads, see the demographics and interests of Site visitors, and show MBCIA ads to people who visited the Site.
  • Meet legal and governance duties. Keeping records required by our bylaws, tax and accounting rules, audits, and legal claims.
  • Promote MBCIA. With your permission, recognizing scholarship recipients, sponsors, and event participants by name or photo.

We will not use your Personal Information for a materially different purpose without telling you first and, where the law requires it, getting your consent.

5. Service providers and what they do

We use the providers below to operate the Services. Each handles Personal Information for us under its own terms and privacy notice. We authorize them to use it to provide their service to us. Stripe, PayPal, Google, and Microsoft also use some data for their own fraud prevention, security, and legal compliance, as their notices describe. Google, Meta, and LinkedIn also use advertising data under their own notices, as Section 7 explains. Perfect Golf Event and ShareThis collect some data under their own notices, so read theirs as well.

  • Webflow. Hosts and publishes the Site, including its content management system and site forms. Information involved: Visitor technical data; content and form data processed through the Site. Privacy notice:webflow.com/legal/privacy
  • Cloudflare. Security, traffic filtering, bot protection (including Turnstile checks), content delivery, and web redirects. Information involved: IP address, request and device data, and bot-check signals. Privacy notice:cloudflare.com/privacypolicy
  • GoDaddy. Domain registration. Information involved: Registrant and contact details for the domain. Privacy notice:godaddy.com/legal/agreements/privacy-policy
  • Memberstack. Member accounts, logins, and access to members-only pages. Information involved: Name, email address, password (in protected form), membership plan and status, login activity. Privacy notice:memberstack.com/legal/privacy-policy
  • Basin Forms. Collects submissions from our application and request forms. Information involved: Everything you enter on a form, including uploaded files. Privacy notice:usebasin.com/privacy
  • Make. Automation that moves form data between our systems, creates records, sends emails, and runs limited AI editing tools (Section 9). Information involved: Form submissions and the contact, membership, payment-status, and listing data needed for each step. Privacy notice:make.com/en/privacy-notice
  • Zapier. Automation that connects some of our forms and systems. Information involved: Form submissions and contact details passed between systems. Privacy notice:zapier.com/privacy
  • Stripe. Card and wallet payments, invoices, and customer billing records. Information involved: Name, email address, billing address, payment method details, invoice and payment history. Privacy notice:stripe.com/privacy
  • Resend. Delivers account and transaction emails such as application decisions, welcome messages, and notices. Information involved: Name, email address, and the content of the message. Privacy notice:resend.com/legal/privacy-policy
  • Constant Contact. Email lists, newsletters, announcements, and text messages. Information involved: Name, email address, mobile number for texts, organization, list membership, and open and click activity. Privacy notice:constantcontact.com/legal/privacy-notice
  • SignWell. Electronic signing of applications and agreements. Information involved: Name, email address, signature, signing date and time, IP address, and the signed document. Privacy notice:signwell.com/privacy
  • SignNow. Electronic signing of agreements and applications, including signed records made before we began using SignWell. Information involved: Name, email address, signature, signing date and time, IP address, and the signed document. Privacy notice:signnow.com/privacy
  • OneTap. Class and event check-in and attendance reports. Information involved: Name, email address, employer or department, Building Official number, and attendance records. Privacy notice:onetapcheckin.com/legal/privacy_policy
  • Google Workspace. Our staff and officer email, documents, spreadsheets, and file storage, including membership and invoice tracking. Information involved: Any Personal Information in the records and messages we keep there. Privacy notice:policies.google.com/privacy
  • Microsoft 365. Our staff and officer email and calendars (Outlook), file storage (OneDrive and SharePoint), meetings and chat (Teams), and documents and spreadsheets (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Information involved: Any Personal Information in the records and messages we keep there. Privacy notice:microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement
  • Canva. Designing graphics, social posts, and printed materials. Information involved: Names, photos, and logos that appear in the designs. Privacy notice:canva.com/policies/privacy-policy
  • Anthropic (Claude). AI assistant used by MBCIA staff and contractors to draft and edit copy, summarize documents, analyze spreadsheets, and help build the Site and automations. Information involved: Only what is entered or uploaded in a request, which may include names, contact details, or listing text. See Section 9. Privacy notice:anthropic.com/legal/privacy
  • OpenAI (ChatGPT). AI assistant used by MBCIA staff and contractors to draft and edit copy, summarize documents, analyze spreadsheets, and help build the Site and automations. Information involved: Only what is entered or uploaded in a request. See Section 9. Privacy notice:openai.com/policies/privacy-policy
  • Google (Gemini). AI assistant used in Google Workspace and on its own to draft text, summarize documents, and analyze spreadsheets. Information involved: Only what is entered, or what the feature reads in the Google Workspace file you or we open with it. See Section 9. Privacy notice:support.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961
  • Google Analytics. Counts visits and shows which pages are used. Its advertising features provide audience demographics and interests reports and let MBCIA show ads to people who visited the Site (remarketing). Information involved: IP address, device and browser data, pages viewed, referring page, and cookie and advertising identifiers. Privacy notice:policies.google.com/privacy
  • Google Ads. Conversion tag that measures the results of MBCIA ads on Google. Information involved: IP address, device and browser data, pages viewed, actions on the Site, and advertising identifiers. Privacy notice:policies.google.com/privacy
  • Meta (Facebook and Instagram). Meta pixel that measures the results of MBCIA ads and shows ads to people who visited the Site. Information involved: IP address, browser and device data, pages viewed, actions on the Site, and cookie identifiers, which Meta may match to its user accounts. Privacy notice:facebook.com/privacy/policy
  • LinkedIn. LinkedIn Insight Tag that measures the results of MBCIA ads and shows ads to people who visited the Site. Information involved: IP address, browser and device data, pages viewed, and cookie identifiers, which LinkedIn may match to its member accounts. Privacy notice:linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy
  • Microsoft Clarity. Heat maps and session recordings that show how visitors click, scroll, and move through Site pages. Information involved: IP address, browser and device data, pages viewed, clicks, scrolling, and mouse or touch movements. Privacy notice:privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement
  • Google Maps. Shows maps and directions for event locations and addresses on the Site. Information involved: IP address and the location or address you search. Privacy notice:policies.google.com/privacy
  • ShareThis. Social sharing buttons on the Site. Information involved: IP address and the page you are viewing when you use or load a sharing button. Privacy notice:sharethis.com/privacy
  • PayPal. Payments made with a PayPal account. Information involved: Name, email address, and payment details you give PayPal. Privacy notice:paypal.com/us/legal-hub/paypal/privacy-full
  • Vistaprint. Printing and shipping branded member store items and printed materials. Information involved: Name, shipping address, and order details. Privacy notice:vistaprint.com/policies/privacy
  • Perfect Golf Event. Registration and payment for the MBCIA golf event. Information involved: Name, contact details, registration choices, and payment details. Privacy notice:perfectgolfevent.com/privacy-policy

This list is accurate as of the date at the top of this policy. We update it when we add or replace a provider that handles Personal Information.

6. Other ways we share Personal Information

  • Job Board. When you apply for a job through the Job Board, we send your application to the employer. Employer contact details and listing content are visible to job seekers. See Section 12.
  • Licensing and certification bodies. Where a class qualifies for continuing education credit, we send attendance records, including your Building Official number, to the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) as its rules require.
  • MBCIA officers, directors, and volunteers. They see the information they need to run membership, events, scholarships, and committees, and they must keep it confidential.
  • Maps. When the Site shows a map or directions, Google Maps receives your IP address and the address or location you ask about.
  • Legal and safety reasons. We may disclose Personal Information to comply with law, respond to valid legal process, enforce our Terms, or protect the rights, property, or safety of MBCIA, our members, or others.
  • Organizational changes. If MBCIA merges with, transfers its assets to, or is dissolved into another organization, Personal Information may transfer as part of that change. The receiving organization must honor this policy or give you notice of any change.
  • With your consent. We share information for other purposes when you ask or agree.

We do not sell Personal Information in exchange for money. However, when we use the advertising tools described in Section 7 (the Google Analytics advertising features, Google Ads, the Meta pixel, and the LinkedIn Insight Tag), those companies receive cookie identifiers and browsing activity from the Site. Some state privacy laws treat that as "sharing" for targeted advertising. You can opt out as described in Sections 7 and 13.

7. Cookies, analytics, and browser signals

Cookies are small files that a website stores on your device. The Site and its providers use them for four purposes:

  • Essential. Keeping you signed in to your member account, protecting forms, and filtering malicious traffic.
  • Preferences. Remembering settings you choose.
  • Analytics and advertising. Google Analytics sets cookies to count visits and to report on the demographics and interests of our audience. Its remarketing feature, Google Ads, the Meta pixel, and the LinkedIn Insight Tag use cookies and similar tags to measure the results of MBCIA ads and to show MBCIA ads to people who visited the Site, on those companies' services and other sites. To opt out, you can use the Google Analytics opt-out add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout, Google ad settings at https://adssettings.google.com, Meta ad preferences at https://www.facebook.com/adpreferences, LinkedIn ad controls at https://www.linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls, or the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out at https://optout.networkadvertising.org.
  • Heat maps and recordings. Microsoft Clarity records how visitors click, scroll, and move through pages, and may create recordings of visits. We use it to find pages that confuse people or do not work. We do not use it to identify you.
  • Embedded content. Google Maps and the ShareThis sharing buttons may set their own cookies and may record the page you are on. If you are signed in to a social network and use one of its buttons, that network may link the activity to your profile. Log out first if you do not want that.

Most browsers let you block or delete cookies. Blocking essential cookies may stop member login and forms from working.

The Site does not currently respond to the Global Privacy Control signal. To opt out of targeted advertising, use the steps above or contact us at [email protected], and we will record your opt-out. We also do not respond to "Do Not Track" signals, because there is no common standard for them.

8. Email and text messages

We send two kinds of email. Transaction messages, such as application decisions, login details, receipts, invoices, and past-due notices, come from [email protected] through Resend. Newsletters and announcements go out through Constant Contact.

You can unsubscribe from marketing email at any time using the link in any message, or by contacting us. Members can also update preferences at https://www.mbcia.org/member/manage-account. Unsubscribing does not stop transaction messages while you have an account, an open invoice, or a pending application. Constant Contact records whether you open or click our emails.

We also send text messages through Constant Contact to people who give us their mobile number. By giving us your mobile number, you agree to receive them. Texts cover event and class reminders, membership and dues notices, and announcements. Message frequency varies, and message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out or HELP for help, or email [email protected]. We do not share mobile numbers or text-messaging consent with third parties for their marketing.

9. Automation and AI tools

9.1 Automation

We use Make and Zapier to move information between our systems, so staff do not have to retype it. For example, a submitted membership application triggers records in our member, billing, and e-signature systems, and a confirmation email.

9.2 AI tools we use

We use artificial intelligence ("AI") tools from these providers:

  • Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (ChatGPT), and Google (Gemini). Staff and contractors use these tools to draft and edit website, email, and social copy, summarize documents, analyze spreadsheets that can include membership, invoice, and event records, and build and maintain the Site and our automations. Gemini is also built into Google Workspace.
  • AI editing tools inside Make. These edit and format Job Board listings before they are published, and draft news posts and social posts.

Information you give us can reach these tools in two ways. Staff may enter or upload it to get work done, for example pasting a Job Board listing to be edited or asking a tool to summarize a membership spreadsheet. Automated steps may also send it, for example a listing sent through an AI editing step before publication. The provider receives and processes what is sent in order to return a result.

9.3 Limits we place on AI use

  • We do not enter card numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, or other government identifiers into AI tools.
  • We enter only the Personal Information needed for the task, and we remove names and contact details when the task does not require them.
  • We do not allow AI tools to make or recommend the decision on any membership, job listing, sponsorship, scholarship, or refund. A person at MBCIA makes every such decision.
  • A person at MBCIA reviews AI-generated or AI-edited content before it is published or sent. AI tools can be wrong, so we check facts, code references, and names.

Each provider keeps inputs and outputs under its own terms and retention settings, described in its privacy notice in Section 5.

9.4 Your choices

If you do not want your submission run through an AI tool, tell us when you submit it or email [email protected], and we will process it without AI editing where we can. You can also ask us to delete a submission that was sent to an AI tool, and we will delete what we control and ask the provider to delete what it holds where its tools allow it.

10. Payments

Stripe processes most payments made through the Services, including card payments and the digital wallets Stripe supports, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. PayPal processes payments made with a PayPal account. Perfect Golf Event takes payment for the golf event. We also accept checks, bank transfers, and cash, and for those we keep a record of the payer, amount, date, and check or transfer reference in our accounting records. Each provider's privacy notice governs its handling of payment data. We keep invoice, receipt, and payment-status records for accounting and tax purposes.

11. Electronic signatures

We use SignWell and SignNow to collect signatures on membership, sponsorship, scholarship, and job listing paperwork. Each records your name, email address, typed or drawn signature, the date and time, and the IP address you signed from, and keeps an audit record of the signing. Signed copies are stored by the signing provider and by MBCIA in our document systems.

12. Job Board

MBCIA operates a Job Board at https://www.mbcia.org/jobs to connect employers with candidates. This section adds detail for Job Board users.

  • Employers. We collect organization and contact details, the listing, and billing information for any listing fee. Listings are public while they run. After a listing expires, we unpublish it and redirect its old address to the Job Board page. Copies may remain in search engine caches or archives that we do not control.
  • Job seekers. When you apply, we send your name, contact details, resume, and any other material you submit to the employer for that listing. After that, the employer's own privacy practices govern its use of your application. We do not verify employers or listings, and we do not control what an employer does with your information.
  • No sale. We do not sell or rent Job Board information to third parties.

13. Your choices and rights

You can do any of the following at no charge:

  • ask what Personal Information we hold about you and get a copy
  • ask us to correct information that is wrong or out of date
  • ask us to delete your information
  • unsubscribe from marketing email
  • opt out of targeted advertising, including remarketing by Google, Meta, and LinkedIn (see Section 7)
  • ask us to stop using your submission in AI editing tools
  • withdraw consent you gave us, such as consent to be named or pictured in our promotion

Members can view and update most account information at https://www.mbcia.org/member/manage-account. To make any other request, email [email protected] or use the form at https://www.mbcia.org/contact. We offer these rights to everyone who uses the Services, whatever state they live in.

Verification. We will confirm your identity before acting on a request, usually by matching the email address on your account or by asking for a few details we already hold. You may use an authorized agent. We may ask for written proof that the agent has your permission.

Timing. We will respond within the time the law requires. If we need more time, we will tell you why.

Limits. We may not be able to delete everything. We keep records that our bylaws, tax and accounting rules, or a legal hold require, and records needed to prevent fraud or resolve disputes. We will not disclose another person's information. Deleting your information may end your membership or remove your access to members-only content, and it does not by itself entitle you to a refund.

Appeals. If we decline a request, you may appeal by replying to our response or emailing [email protected] with the subject line "Privacy appeal." We will answer in writing and explain our reasons. If you are still not satisfied, you may contact the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office or the attorney general of your state.

14. How long we keep information

  • Membership records. While you are a member, and afterward for as long as MBCIA needs them for its records, bylaws, and legal requirements.
  • Invoices and payment records. For as long as tax, accounting, and audit rules require.
  • Sponsorship records. For the sponsorship term, and afterward as needed for MBCIA's records and accounting.
  • Scholarship applications. Awarded applications are kept as part of MBCIA's scholarship records. Applications that are not awarded are deleted when the program no longer needs them.
  • Job Board listings and applications. Listings stay public until they expire. We keep the records for as long as needed for billing and to resolve disputes.
  • Class attendance records. For as long as MBCIA needs them to issue certificates and report to the BBRS, and as long as the BBRS requires.
  • Email and text lists. Until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove you. We then keep a minimal record so we do not contact you again.
  • Website and security logs. Only as long as needed to secure and operate the Site, under each provider's settings.
  • Contact and support messages. For as long as needed to answer you and follow up.
  • Conversations in AI tools. Conversations that contain Personal Information are deleted when no longer needed, where the tool allows it, and otherwise follow the provider's retention settings.

When a retention period ends, we delete or anonymize the information. Some copies stay in backups until the backups rotate out. Providers in Section 5 keep data under their own retention rules.

15. Security

We limit access to Personal Information to the officers, staff, and volunteers who need it, and we require sign-in and multi-factor authentication for our administrative accounts. The Site uses encrypted connections, and our providers maintain their own security programs.

No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee that information will never be accessed without permission. Please use a strong, unique password, do not share your login, and tell us right away at [email protected] if you think your account has been misused. If a breach affects your Personal Information, we will notify you and government authorities as the law requires.

16. Children

The Services are for adults. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from anyone under 18, with one exception: a student under 18 may apply for a scholarship with the consent of a parent or guardian. A parent or guardian may contact us at [email protected] to review or delete that information. If we learn that we have collected other information from a child under 18, we will delete it.

17. Use of the Services from outside the United States

MBCIA operates in the United States, and our providers may process information in the United States and other countries. If you use the Services from outside the United States, you understand that your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those where you live.

18. Links to other sites

The Services link to websites run by others, including employers, sponsors, and government agencies. This policy does not apply to them, and we do not control their privacy practices.

19. Changes to this policy

We will post any update here and change the "Last updated" date. If we make a material change, we will also email members and post a notice on the Site before the change takes effect.

20. Contact us

Massachusetts Building Commissioners And Inspectors Association, Inc.

PO Box 846, Burlington, MA 01803, United States

Email: [email protected]

Web form: https://www.mbcia.org/contact