Privacy Policy | Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago

Who we are

The Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago ("VVSC", "we") is a nonprofit religious organization, tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. This policy covers this website and the accounts, registrations, stays, store orders and donations made through it. Questions about your information go to privacy@chicagovedanta.org, or by post to 14630 Lemont Road, Homer Glen, IL 60491, United States. We answer within 30 days.

What we collect

We collect what you give us to use the site, what our payment providers and bank tell us about money sent to us, and a little technical information that keeps accounts secure.

Only your name and email address are required. Everything else is optional. We ask for more only when something you choose needs it, such as who is coming to an event, or a shipping address and phone for an order we post.

Your account: name, email, phone numbers, postal addresses, preferred language, time zone and display settings. From you, when you sign up or edit your profile; from Google or Apple (your name and email only) if you sign in with them.
Sign-in and security: passkeys, two-factor settings, the device and browser you sign in from, its IP address, and the time zone your device reports. From your browser, when you sign in.
Registrations and stays: who is coming (names, adult or child, and for a stay what a room needs), the dates, notes you add, and the waiver you accept. From you, when you register or request a stay.
Store orders: what you ordered, a shipping or pickup address, and a contact phone. From you, at checkout.
Donations: amount, date, which center it supports, how you gave, and receipts sent. From you, and our payment providers.
Card and bank payments: the payment's amount and date, the card brand and last four digits, or the bank account's type and last four digits. We never see or store a full card or account number. From Stripe, which processes the payment.
Payments you tell us you sent: for Zelle, the transaction number, and optionally the name on the account it came from; for a check, its number, its date, the bank's routing number and the last four digits of the account. Never the whole account number, and never a photo of the check. From you, through "Paid by Zelle or check?".
Money received in our bank account: incoming deposits and transfers, with amount, date and the description the bank prints, which often includes the sender's name and the transaction number. From our own bank, through our statements.
Messages and subscriptions: which newsletters you subscribe to, the emails and texts we send you, and whether they were delivered. From you, and our email and text providers.
Forms: what you type into a contact or other form on the site. From you.

We do not use advertising cookies or third-party analytics trackers. The site sets the cookies it needs to keep you signed in and to remember your language.

How we use it

We use your information to run what you asked for and to keep honest books, nothing else.

To provide the service: hold your place at an event or a room, fulfil an order, show your bookings and gifts in your account, and issue tickets and wallet passes you ask for.
To record and match payments: confirm that money you sent reached us, mark what it paid for, and stop reminders once it has. A Zelle transaction number or check details you give us are matched against our bank's record of the money; a number that matches nothing marks nothing paid.
To send receipts and messages: confirmations, reminders, donation receipts for your tax records, and newsletters you chose.
To keep accounts safe: spot sign-ins from a new device, stop automated abuse of our forms, and investigate misuse.
To meet legal duties: keep the records the law requires of a tax-exempt organization, such as donation records.

We do not sell your information, use it for advertising, or make automated decisions about you that have legal effect.

Bank account data through Stripe Financial Connections

When you pay us from your bank account through Stripe, Stripe may use its Financial Connections service to confirm your account. We receive only the account type and its last four digits, never your bank login or full account number.

Stripe handles this under its own Privacy Policy.

Who we share it with

We never sell your information. We share it only with the service providers the site runs on, each for its own task, and with authorities when the law requires.

Stripe, our payment processor, handles card and bank payments. It receives the payment details you enter on Stripe's page.
Website hosting and database run the site and store its records. They receive the information described above.
File storage keeps uploaded images and documents. It receives files you or we upload.
Email and text delivery sends our emails, and texts if you choose them. It receives your email address or phone number, and the messages.
Google or Apple handle sign-in, if you choose it, and wallet passes, if you add a ticket to your wallet. They receive what you approve on their screen, and the ticket's details.
Address lookup suggests and checks postal addresses as you type. It receives the address you type.
Spam protection tells people from bots on our forms. It receives technical details of your browser.
Profile pictures show a picture you set up with Gravatar, if any. Gravatar receives a scrambled (hashed) form of your email address.
PayPal, Zelle or your bank, if you pay us through them, receive what you give them and handle it under their own policies.

Each provider handles the information under its own privacy policy and may use it only to do this work for us.

Where it is kept and for how long

Your information is stored in the United States, with the providers above. We keep it while your account is open and for as long as the purpose needs it afterwards.

Your account and profile: until you close your account.
Donation records and receipts: 7 years after the gift, as tax records for you and for us.
Payments toward registrations, stays and orders: 7 years, as accounting records.
Zelle and check details you report: until the payment is matched or closed, then with the payment's record.
Our bank statements: 7 years, as accounting records.
Sign-in and device records: 90 days.
Email and text delivery records: 1 year.

When you close your account, we delete your profile. Records the law requires us to keep, such as donations, stay with the details they need and nothing more.

Your choices and rights

You can see, correct or remove most of your information yourself, and you can ask us for the rest.

See and correct: your profile, bookings, orders and donations are on your account page; change what is wrong there, or ask us.
Take back a payment report: if you told us about a Zelle or check by mistake, take it back from the booking or order, or ask us.
Close your account: from your account page. We delete your profile and keep only the records described above.
Emails and texts: unsubscribe from any newsletter with the link in it; booking and receipt messages stop when there is nothing left to tell you.
Ask us: for a copy of what we hold about you, or anything this page doesn't cover, at privacy@chicagovedanta.org. We will check it is you before we answer.

Children, security and changes

Children. Accounts are for adults. A parent or guardian may list children by name and age group when registering a family; we use that only for the event or stay. We do not knowingly collect information directly from children under 13; if we learn we have, we delete it.

Security. We use sign-in protection such as passkeys and two-factor codes, encrypted connections, and providers who protect the data they hold. We never ask for, or store, a full card number, a full bank account number or a bank password. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects you, we will tell you as the law requires.

Changes. If we change this policy, we post the new version here with its date, and tell account holders by email when the change matters.

Contact. privacy@chicagovedanta.org, 14630 Lemont Road, Homer Glen, IL 60491, United States.

Last updated: October 06, 2026