Last updated: December 20, 2024

This Privacy Policy describes how Van Gerpen and Associates (“we” or “us”) collects, uses, and shares your personal information when you use our website https://www.vangerpenandassociates.com/ and any of our subdomains (the “Website”). 

Topics:

• Personal information we collect

• How we use your personal information

• How we share your personal information

• How we store your data

• Email marketing

• Behavioral advertising

• Your data protection rights

• Third party websites

• Changes

• Contact Us

Personal information We Collect 

When you visit the Website, we automatically collect certain information about your device, including information about your web browser, IP address, time zone, and some of the cookies that are installed on your device. Additionally, as you browse the Website, we collect information about the individual web pages or products that you view, what websites or search terms referred you to the Website, and information about how you interact with the Website. We refer to this automatically collected information as “Device Information”. 

We collect Device Information using the following technologies: 

• “Cookies” are data files that are placed on your device or computer and often include an anonymous unique identifier. For more information about cookies, and how to disable cookies, visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org  

• “Log files” track actions occurring on the Website, and collect data including your IP address, browser type, Internet service provider, referring/exit pages, and date/time stamps. 

• “Web beacons”, “tags”, and “pixels” are electronic files used to record information about how you browse the Website. 

We use Device Information for:

• Functionality: To recognize you on our website and recognize your previously selected preferences, including your preferred language and your location. 

• Advertising: To collect information about your visit, the content you viewed, the links you followed, and information about your web browser, device, and IP address. We sometimes share limited aspects of this data with third parties for advertising purposes.

• Affiliate Marketing: To track which member of our affiliate team referred you to us for the purpose of granting commissions to them if you purchase form us

You can set your browser not to accept cookies, and the website above tells you how to remove cookies from your browser. Some of our website features may not function if you disable cookies. Please note that we do not alter our Website’s data collection and use practices when we see a Do Not Track signal from your browser. 

We also collect data you provide to us directly. We refer to the data you provide as “Provided Information.” We collect and process data you provide when you:

• Register online or place an order for any of our products or services

• Voluntarily complete a customer survey or provide feedback on any of our message boards, via our contact form, or via email

• Provide your email address in exchange for access to a free resource

• Sign up for our email newsletter or subscribe to any of our regular content

• Submit an intake form or application form for any of our services or programs

The Provided Information we collect may include:

• Personal identification information (name, email address, phone number, etc.)

• Billing information (billing address, shipping address, payment information, including credit card numbers, etc.)

• Business information (name of your business, business model, revenue levels, business goals)

When we talk about “Personal Information” in this Privacy Policy, we are talking both about Device Information and Provided Information. 

How we use your Personal Information

We use the Provided Information that we collect generally to fulfill any orders placed through the Website (including processing your payment information, delivering products, and providing you with invoices and/or order confirmations). Additionally, we use Provided Information to: 

• Communicate with you; 

• Screen our orders for potential risk or fraud; and 

• When in line with the preferences you have shared with us, provide you with information or advertising relating to our products or services. 

We use the Device Information that we collect to help us screen for potential risk and fraud (in particular, your IP address), and more generally to improve and optimize our Website (for example, by generating analytics about how our customers browse and interact with the Website, and to assess the success of our marketing and advertising campaigns). We also use Device Information to track affiliate referrals for the purpose of granting commissions to our affiliates.

How we share your Personal Information 

We share your Personal Information with third parties to help us use your Personal Information, as described above. For example, we use Google Analytics to help us understand how our visitors use the Website - you can read more about how Google uses your Personal Information here: https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/. You can also opt-out of Google Analytics here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.]

The types of third parties with whom we might share elements of your Personal Information include:

• Payment processors engaged by us to securely store and handle payments information, such as credit or debit card information

• Providers of email management and distribution tools

• Providers of security and fraud prevention tools and services

• Providers of data aggregation and analytics software services that allow us to effectively monitor and optimize our site

• Providers of affiliate marketing tracking and analytics software services that allow us to provide an affiliate program and grant commissions to affiliates

• Providers of client management systems to help us track and communicate with potential clients

We may also share your Personal Information to comply with applicable laws and regulations, to respond to a subpoena, search warrant or other lawful request for information we receive, or to otherwise protect our rights. 

How we store your data

We process and store your data using the following providers:

• Squarespace, Squarespace Payments, Etsy, Gmail, PayPal, Venmo, Google Workspace

Please visit their individual websites for information on the physical location of their servers where your information is stored.

We use commercially reasonable security measures to protect against unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure or destruction of any information that may be stored on our servers. Of course, no computer network or data transmission on the internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure and so you submit your information at your own risk.

We will maintain your Personal Information for our records unless and until you ask us to delete this information. 

Email Marketing

If you make a purchase on this Website, download a free resource in exchange for your email address, and/or opt in to receive emails, you agree to receive email communications from this site, including but not limited to newsletters, site updates, promotions, and other announcements and correspondence.  We are not responsible for the receipt of any such emails. You are responsible for ensuring that our email address(es) are not blocked or forwarded to your spam folder.

You have the right at any time to stop us from contacting you for marketing purposes. If you opt to unsubscribe from receiving emails, you understand that you may no longer receive information or updates from this Website, including promotions or product updates.

Behavioral Advertising 

As described above, we use your Personal Information to provide you with targeted advertisements or marketing communications we believe may be of interest to you. For more information about how targeted advertising works, you can visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s (“NAI”) educational page at http://www.networkadvertising.org/understanding-online-advertising/how-does-it-work 

You can opt out of targeted advertising by using the links below: 

• Meta: https://accountscenter.facebook.com/ads 

• Google: https://www.google.com/settings/ads/anonymous  

• Bing: https://advertise.bingads.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/policies/personalized-ads

• TikTok: https://support.tiktok.com/en/account-and-privacy/personalized-ads-and-data/personalization-and-data 

• Pinterest: https://help.pinterest.com/en/article/personalization-and-data 

Additionally, you can opt out of some of these services by visiting the Digital Advertising Alliance’s opt-out portal at http://optout.aboutads.info/

Your Data Protection Rights 
If you are a European resident, you have the right to access personal information we hold about you and to ask that your personal information be corrected, updated, or deleted. Under certain conditions, you may also have the right to restrict or object to our processing of your data, and to request that we transfer your Personal Information to another organization. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact us through the contact information below. 

Additionally, if you are a European resident, we note that we are processing your information to fulfill contracts we might have with you (for example if you make an order through the Website), or otherwise to pursue our legitimate business interests listed above. Please note that your information will be transferred outside of Europe, including to Canada and the United States. 

Third Party Websites

Our privacy policy applies only to our website. We are not responsible for the data collection, privacy practices or policies of any third-party site to which we may provide a link or that may link to our site. We encourage you to read the privacy statement and terms of use of other sites.

Changes 

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect, for example, changes to our practices or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. The date of the last revision will be indicated by the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. Any such changes are effective immediately upon publication on our Website.

Complaints

Please contact us if you have any complaints about how we use your Personal Information so we can resolve the issue whenever possible. Residents of the European Union also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection regulator, such as the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK.  California residents can contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, California 95834 or by telephone at (800) 952-5210 or (916) 445-1254.

Contact us 

For more information about our privacy practices, if you have questions, or if you would like to exercise your data protection rights, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Email us: wavcpa@gmail.com

Write to us: PO Box 653; Yankton, SD 57078