Effective date: October 4, 2026

The Ghana Council of Georgia, Inc. (“the Council”, “we”, “us”) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves the Ghanaian community in Georgia. This policy explains what personal information we collect through ghanacouncilofgeorgia.org, why we collect it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. We collect only what we need to run the Council’s programs, events and fundraising, and we never sell your personal information.

Information we collect

Information you give us

  • Contact form: your name, email address, subject and message, so we can reply to you.
  • Donations: your name, email address, billing address, donation amount and date, so we can process your gift and send a tax receipt. Card details are entered directly into our payment processor, Stripe, and never reach our website or our volunteers.
  • Event tickets and RSVPs: your name, email address and the tickets you choose. Tickets for some events, including GhanaFest Atlanta, are sold through an outside ticketing website (VIPSOCIO), which has its own privacy policy.
  • Newsletter: your email address, if you subscribe to receive our posts by email. Every email includes a link to unsubscribe.
  • Classified ads: the details you choose to publish in an ad, such as your name, phone number or email address. These appear publicly on the site while your ad is listed.

Information collected automatically

  • Security and fraud prevention: to protect payments, Stripe receives technical details about your visit, such as your IP address, browser type and how you interact with the page. Akismet (by Automattic) checks form submissions for spam.
  • Analytics (only with your permission): if you allow analytics, Jetpack Stats (by Automattic) records which pages you visit, the site that referred you, your browser and device type, and an approximate location based on your IP address. Jetpack Stats does not set cookies.
  • Videos (only with your permission): if you allow videos, YouTube (Google) loads its player on our video pages and may collect information about your viewing.

Cookies

We use essential cookies to keep the site secure and working, including fraud protection for payments (Stripe). With your permission, we also use analytics (Jetpack Stats) and YouTube videos. Optional cookies stay off until you allow them, and you can change your choice at any time using Cookie settings at the bottom of every page. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, optional cookies start switched off.

Our Cookie Policy lists every cookie we use, what it does and how long it lasts.

How we use your information

  • To answer your messages and requests.
  • To process donations and ticket purchases, and to send receipts and event information.
  • To send our newsletter, if you subscribed.
  • To keep the website secure and prevent fraud and spam.
  • To understand how the website is used so we can improve it, if you allowed analytics.
  • To meet our legal, tax and accounting obligations as a nonprofit.

For visitors in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, our legal bases are: your consent (analytics, videos and the newsletter, which you can withdraw at any time); performing a request or transaction you asked for (donations, tickets and replies to messages); our legitimate interest in keeping the site secure and free of fraud and spam; and compliance with legal obligations (keeping donation records).

Who we share information with

We share personal information only with service providers that help us run the website and our programs, and only for those purposes:

  • Stripe: payment processing and fraud prevention (Stripe privacy policy).
  • Google: YouTube videos, only if you allow them (Google privacy policy).
  • Automattic: Jetpack (analytics if you allow it, and newsletter delivery) and Akismet spam filtering (Automattic privacy policy).
  • Cloudways: hosts this website and its database.
  • VIPSOCIO: sells tickets for some of our events on its own website.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it. We do not sell or “share” personal information for targeted advertising, as those terms are defined in U.S. state privacy laws.

How long we keep information

  • Donation and payment records: 7 years, for tax and accounting purposes.
  • Contact form messages: as long as needed to handle your request, then deleted.
  • Newsletter subscriptions: until you unsubscribe.
  • Ticket and RSVP records: up to 3 years after the event.
  • Classified ads: while the ad is listed, plus a short period afterward.

Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

  • ask what personal information we hold about you and get a copy of it;
  • ask us to correct or delete it;
  • object to or restrict how we use it;
  • withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting anything we did before you withdrew it;
  • opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information (we don’t sell or share it);
  • complain to your local data protection authority.

To make a request, email us at ghanacouncilofgeorgia@gmail.com. We may need to confirm your identity before we act on it, and we will respond within 30 days. We will not treat you differently for exercising your rights.

Security

The website uses encrypted connections (HTTPS), and payment card details are handled only by Stripe. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information.

Children

This website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has given us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

International visitors

The Council is based in Georgia, USA. Our service providers process information in the United States and may process it in other countries. If you visit from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the new version on this page with a new effective date, and ask for your cookie choices again if our use of cookies changes.

See also our Terms of Service.

Contact us

Ghana Council of Georgia, Inc.
Email: ghanacouncilofgeorgia@gmail.com
Phone: 404-725-1666