Website Privacy Policy

Last modified: April 13, 2026

1. Acceptance of the Privacy Policy

The National Institute of Minority Economic Development (“Institute” or “We”) respects your privacy and are committed to protecting it through our compliance with this privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”). This Privacy Policy describes the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide when you visit the website www.TheInstituteNC.org (“Website”) and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information.

The privacy of the Institute’s clients, partners, and supporters is of the utmost importance and is core to the organization’s business model. This importance extends to those utilizing the Institute’s Website. The Privacy Policy was created to ensure transparency in how information is collected through the Institute’s Website and what ways this information is used.

This policy applies to information we collect:

when you complete any electronic forms present on the Website;
automatically on the Website; and/or
from emails and other electronic messages between you and us through the Website.

It does not apply to information collected by:

Us offline (e.g., information you may provide us over text messages, phone calls, postal mail, etc.) or through any other means, including on any other website operated by the Institute or any third party (including our affiliates and subsidiaries); or
Any third party (including our affiliates and subsidiaries), including through any application or content (including advertising) that may link to or be accessible from or on the Website.

If you link to third party websites, applications or content from the Website, you should check the privacy and security policy statements of such third parties to understand the policies and practices of such third parties, as such third party websites, applications or content are subject to different terms and privacy policies, and we are not responsible for those policies and practices.

PLEASE READ THIS POLICY CAREFULLY TO UNDERSTAND OUR POLICIES AND PRACTICES REGARDING YOUR INFORMATION AND HOW WE WILL TREAT IT. BY ACCESSING OR USING THIS WEBSITE, OR PROVIDING YOUR INFORMATION (INCLUDING PERSONAL INFORMATION (AS DEFINED BELOW)) THROUGH THE WEBSITE, YOU AGREE TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND EXPRESSLY CONSENT TO THE USE AND DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION AS DESCRIBED BELOW. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH OUR POLICIES AND PRACTICES, YOU HAVE THE OPTION NOT TO USE OUR WEBSITE AND DELETE ANY COOKIES PLACED ON YOUR WEB BROWSER AND HARD DRIVE BY THE WEBSITE.

We reserve the right to modify, amend or cancel this Privacy Policy at any time, consistent with applicable data privacy laws (see the Changes to Our Privacy Policy Section). Your continued use of this Website after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check the policy periodically for updates and ensure you check the “Last Modified” date above.

2. Information We Collect About You and How We Collect It

Depending on how you interact with the Website, we may collect several types of information from and about you, including information:

by which you may be personally identified or relates to, describes or is reasonably capable of being associated with you, such as your: name, postal address, e-mail address, telephone number, government issued identification number, gender, race/ethnicity, account username,, Internet Protocol (IP) address (“personal information”);
that is about you but individually does not identify you, such as company name, company address, industry, job title; and/or
about your internet connection, IP address, the equipment you use to access our Website, browser type and version, time-zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system, mobile network information and platform, full Uniform Resource Locator (URL), clickstream to, through and from the Website (including date and time), and your actions on our Website, such as: pages you viewed, page response time, download errors, length of visit to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks and mouse-overs), and methods used to browse away from the page and other usage details.

We collect this information:

directly from you when you provide it to us; and/or
automatically as you navigate through the Website. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses, and information collected through cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies (as described below).

A. Information You Provide to Us.

The information we collect on or through our Website may include:

Information that you provide by completing forms on our Website. This includes information provided at the time of: applying for debt or investment capital, grants and/or loans, making donations to us, subscribing to our newsletters or updates, subscribing to our support services, and/or requesting further services or information. We may also ask you for information when you report a problem with our Website.
Records and copies of your correspondence (including email addresses), if you contact us.
Your responses to surveys that we might ask you to complete for research purposes.

Additionally, through our online “Contact Us” form (located at: https://theinstitutenc.org/contact-us/), you may be able to send messages to us though an open text field where you have the opportunity to provide us with any information you choose, which may include additional categories of personal information than the categories listed above. You acknowledge and agree that provision of any information through the open text field is optional, and that any information that you provide through it, is at your sole discretion and risk. The Institute highly recommends that you carefully consider what information you are providing to the Institute and not provide any information, including personal information, which may be sensitive in nature, that you wish to keep confidential, and/or are not comfortable providing us.

B. Information We Collect Through Automatic Data Collection Technologies.

As you navigate through and interact with our Website, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns, including:

a) Details of your visits to our Website, including traffic data, logs, and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Website.
b) Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system, and browser type.

We may maintain or associate the information we collect automatically with personal information that we collect in other ways or receive from third parties. It helps us to improve our Website and to deliver a better and more personalized service, including by enabling us to:

a) Estimate our audience size and usage patterns.
b) Store information about your preferences, allowing us to customize our Website according to our users’ interests.
c) Compile aggregate data about traffic on the Website and user interactions with the Website to provide better Website experiences and tools.
d) Recognize you when you return to our Website.

The technologies we use for this automatic data collection may include:

a) Cookies (or browser cookies). A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting, you may be unable to access certain parts of our Website. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Website.

C. Our Use of Cookies

Our Website uses technologies, such as cookies, tags, pixels, and similar scripts, to store and/or disclose information about Website visitors, their systems, and browsers. The information collected by cookies and tracking technologies varies and can be of a personal nature (information that directly or indirectly can identify you) and of a non-personal nature (information that does not identify directly or indirectly any single individual, such as cookies used to enable language settings on a website). Information of a personal nature may include but is not limited to, details regarding the device you are using, the browser you are using, your IP address, the previous website you visited.

The following describes how we use different categories of cookies:

Strictly Necessary Cookies. Strictly necessary cookies are necessary for our Website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. If you have chosen to identify yourself to us, we may place a cookie on your device that allows us to identify you when you are logged into our Website uniquely and to process your online transactions and requests.
Functional Cookies. Functional cookies enhance the function and performance of the Website. They also allow us to analyze the use of the Website to evaluate and improve customer experience. If you do not allow functional cookies, then some or all services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies. These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of the Website.

Specifically, you can find the list of cookies that we use on our Website at our Cookie declaration here:

Type	Cookie Name	Domain	Description	Duration retained
Analytics	_pk_id.*	theinstitutenc.org	Matomo set this cookie to store a unique user ID.	1 year 1 month
Analytics	_pk_ses.*	theinstitutenc.org	Matomo set this cookie to store a unique session ID for gathering information on how users use the website.	1 hour
Analytics	_ga_*	theinstitutenc.org	Google Analytics sets this cookie to store and count page views.	1 year 1 month 4 days
Analytics	_ga	theinstitutenc.org	The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and keeps track of site usage for the site’s analytics report. It stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.	1 year 1 month 4 days
Analytics	vuid	.vimeo.com	Vimeo installs this cookie to collect tracking information by setting a unique ID to embed videos to the website.	1 year 1 month 4 days
Functional	player	.vimeo.com	Vimeo uses this cookie to save the user’s preferences when playing embedded videos.	1 year
Necessary	__cf_bm	.vimeo.com	This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.	1 hour
Necessary	_cfuvid	.vimeo.com	Cloudflare sets this cookie to track users across sessions to optimize user experience by maintaining session consistency and providing personalized services.	session
Necessary	_GRECAPTCHA	www.google.com	This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks.	6 months
Necessary	rc::a	google.com	This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks.	never
Necessary	rc::f	google.com	This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks.	never
Necessary	rc::b	google.com	This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks.	session
Necessary	rc::c	google.com	This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks.	session
Other	_grecaptcha	theinstitutenc.org		never
Other	LOCAL_STORAGE_ID_VIMEO_PLAYER	player.vimeo.com		never
Performance	sync_active	player.vimeo.com	This cookie is set by Vimeo and contains data on the visitor’s video-content preferences, that the website remembers parameters such as preferred volume or video quality.	never

D. Use of Google Analytics

We may use Google Analytics to collect certain analytical information (including IP addresses) to help us better understand activity on the Website. Google Analytics uses cookies to track you on the Website, record multiple visits by you to the Website, and record all the pages you visit on the Website. Google Analytics tracks your visits to the Website whenever you return.

We receive this data from Google in an aggregated, anonymous form that does not personally identify you. We will not use Google Analytics to track, collect, or upload any data that personally identifies an individual (such as a name, email address, or address) or other data that can reasonably be linked to such information by Google.

We will not facilitate the merging of personally identifiable information with non-personally identifiable information that is collected through any Google product or feature unless you specifically and affirmatively provide us with your consent to that merger of personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable information.

If you would like to learn more about how Google uses information collected through Google Analytics, you can find out more here.

If you want to opt out of Google Analytics, you can download and install the add-on for your web browser here.

E. Preferences

We strive to provide you with choices regarding the personal information you provide to us. There are mechanisms to provide you with control over your information.

Almost all web browsers allow you to verify which cookies are present on your device, block cookies, or receive notifications when a cookie is set. You can also set cookie preferences proactively on all browsers and devices used. Additionally, you can reset your preferences whenever you clear your cache or cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this Website may then be inaccessible or not function properly. Additionally, you can reset your preferences whenever you clear your cache or cookies.

To learn how you can manage your Flash cookie settings, visit the Flash player settings page on Adobe’s website at:
https://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager.html#120702

Below are links informing you of methods offered by some popular browsers which allow users to express their options regarding the use of cookies:

Google Chrome:
https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop

Apple Safari:
https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/manage-cookies-sfri11471/16.1/mac/13.0

Mozilla Firefox:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/websites-say-cookies-are-blocked-unblock-them#w_check-cookie-settings

Microsoft Edge:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/delete-cookies-in-microsoft-edge-63947406-40ac-c3b8-57b9-2a946a29ae09

3. How We Use Your Information

We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal information:

To present our Website and its contents to you.
To provide you with information, events, or services that you request from us.
To process your applications for grants and loans that you complete on our Website.
To process any donation payments that you submit on our Website, subject to the terms of use and privacy practices of our Payment Processor (please see the Third-Party Payment Processor Section for more information).
To provide, support, personalize, and develop our Website, content, and services.
To provide you with support and to respond to your inquiries, including to investigate and address your concerns and monitor and improve our responses.
To personalize your Website experience and to deliver content, and service offerings relevant to users’ interests.
To help maintain the safety, security, and integrity of our Website, services, databases and other technology assets, and operations.
To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it.
To notify you about changes to our Website or any products or services we offer or provide through it.
To carry out our obligations and enforce our legal rights.
In any other way we may describe when you provide the information.
For any other purpose with your consent.

Subject to any election made in the Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information Section, by using our Website, you consent to the above uses of your information. Where we have a legal basis to use your personal information without consent, this Privacy Policy fulfills our duty to process personal information fairly and lawfully and in a manner that you would expect given the nature of our relationship with you, by giving you appropriate notice and explanation of the way in which your personal information will be used. Where consent is required for our use of your personal information as described above, you have the right to withdraw or decline your consent and cease your use of the Website. If you decide to withdraw your consent, such withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before such withdrawal.

For more information, see the Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information Section.

4. Disclosure of Your Information

We may disclose aggregated information about our users, and information that does not identify any individual, as permitted by applicable law.

We may disclose personal information that we collect or you provide as described in this Privacy Policy:

To our subsidiaries and affiliates.
To contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our business and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them (such as data cloud providers, information technology providers, customer support, email delivery, consumer research, and website analytics).
To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of the Institute’s assets (or negotiations of or due diligence for such transactions), whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by the Institute about our Website users is among the assets transferred.
To our business or marketing partners with whom we co-sponsor events or promotions, with whom we jointly offer services, or whose services may be of interest to you.
To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it.
To comply with any court order, law, law enforcement investigation, or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request.
If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Institute, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.
To our professional advisors, such as lawyers, auditors, bankers, and insurers, where necessary in the course of the professional services that they render to us.
To our third-party analytics service providers for the purposes of enhancing or improving our Website and its functionalities.
With your consent.

By using this Website, you consent to disclosure of any information collected about you with our business partners for any business purpose, including without limitation providing access to our online resources, services, improving our online resources, services, and Website, and informing you about our other resources and services. Nothing in this section shall limit your ability to exercise choices about how we use and disclose your information under the Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information Section.

5. Retention of Your Information

We will only retain your personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes we originally collected it for. The criteria used to determine our retention periods include:

The length of time we have an ongoing relationship with you;
Whether there is a legal obligation to which we are subject (for example, certain laws require us to keep records of your transactions and interactions with us for a certain period of time before we can delete them); or
Whether retention is advisable based on our legal position, such as applicable statutes of limitations, litigation, or regulatory investigations.

Notwithstanding the previous sentence, we may retain your information in order to comply with applicable law, prevent fraud, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigation, enforce our legal rights, for backup, audit or regulatory purposes, and for other actions permitted by law.

6. Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information

We strive to provide you with choices regarding the personal information you provide to us. We have created mechanisms to provide you with the following control over your information:

Promotional Offers from the Institute. If you do not wish to have your email address used by
the Institute to promote our own or third parties’ events or services, you can opt out by sending us
an email stating your request to info@TheInstituteNC.org. If we have sent you a promotional
email, you may send us a return email asking to be omitted from future email distributions or
click the link at the bottom of the email marked “Unsubscribe.” This opt-out does not apply to
information provided to the Institute as a result of an inquiry, services you requested, and/or
grants or loans you applied for.

We do not control third parties’ collection or use of your information to serve interest-based advertising. However, these third parties may provide you with ways to choose not to have your information collected or used in this way. You can opt out of receiving targeted ads from members of the Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”) on the NAI’s website.

7. Children Under the Age of 18

Our Website is not intended for children under eighteen (18) years of age. No one under the age of eighteen (18) may provide any information to or on the Website. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under eighteen (18) years of age. If you are under the age of eighteen (18), do not use or provide any information on this Website or on or through any of its features, or provide any information about yourself to us, including any personal information. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from anyone under eighteen (18) years of age without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about anyone younger than eighteen (18) years of age, please contact us directly at: info@TheInstituteNC.org.

8. Data Security

We have implemented measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. Our measures include technical (e.g., computer safeguards) and physical (e.g., secured files and buildings) measures. Only those individuals who have a legitimate business reason in connection with their job responsibilities are permitted to access your personal information.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Website. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Website.

9. Third-Party Payment Processor

Any payment transactions (such as donations through our Website) will be handled by a third-party vendor (the “Payment Processor”) and subject to its respective privacy policy and terms of use. By engaging in any activities on our Website that requires you to submit payments through the Payment Processor (such as donating through our Website), you agree to be bound by the Payment Processor’s agreements or policies (including privacy notices of the Payment Processor) applicable to such Payment Processor’s service to facilitate payments. We do not collect or store any of your financial information, such as your bank, debit or credit card account numbers, that you provide to the Payment Processor. You expressly understand and agree that we are not responsible for the use of your information (including personal information) by the Payment Processor to facilitate any payments and monetary transactions that occur through your use of the Payment Processor. You are responsible for all transactions processed through the Website and/or Payment Processor and provide any information (including personal information) to the Payment Processor at your own discretion. Before using such Payment Processor, we recommend you review any agreement (including any terms of use), or policies (including any privacy notices) provided by the Payment Processor and make sure you agree with such agreements and policies.

10. Changes to Our Privacy Policy

It is our policy to post any changes we make to our Privacy Policy on this page with a notice that the Privacy Policy has been updated on the Website home page. If we make material changes to how we treat our users’ personal information, we will notify you. The date the Privacy Policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page. You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date active and deliverable email address for you, and for periodically visiting our Website and this Privacy Policy to check for any changes.

11. Contact Information

To ask questions or comment about this Privacy Policy and our privacy practices, contact us at:

114 West Parrish Street
Durham, NC 27701
(919) 956-8889
info@TheInstituteNC.org

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