Privacy Policy

San Antonio Applied Innovation Council | Effective Date: May 1, 2026 | Last Updated: July 17, 2026

The San Antonio Applied Innovation Council ("we," "us," or "our") is a private-sector working group powered by Emerge and Rise, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in San Antonio, Texas. This policy explains what information we collect when you visit sanantonioinnovates.com, submit a membership inquiry, or sign up for our newsletter. It also explains how we use that information, who we share it with, and what choices you have.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share it for third-party advertising purposes. We only use it to operate the Council, communicate with our community, and improve how the site works.

If you have questions, email us at info@emergeandrise.org.

1. Information We Collect

Information You Give Us Directly

When you fill out a membership inquiry form, apply for membership, or subscribe to our newsletter, you may provide:

Name, title, and email address
Phone number
Business or organization name and website
LinkedIn profile URL
Any other details you include in a form submission or message

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, certain information is collected automatically through cookies and server logs. This includes:

IP address and approximate geographic location (city/region level)
Browser type, operating system, and device type
Pages visited, time spent on each page, and how you navigated the site
Referring website or source
Date and time of your visit

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

Operate and maintain our website
Process and review membership inquiries and applications
Send our newsletter and Council announcements (only if you subscribed)
Respond to your questions or requests
Understand how our site is being used so we can improve it
Detect and prevent fraud or unauthorized activity
Comply with legal obligations

We do not use your information for automated decision-making or profiling that has legal or similarly significant effects on you.

3. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. We use them, and so do several of the third-party tools embedded on our site.

Types of Cookies We Use

Essential cookies: Required for the site to function. You cannot opt out of these without breaking core site functionality.
Analytics cookies: Used to track how visitors use the site. This data is aggregated and used to improve the site.
Tracking and identification cookies: Used by tools like Factors.ai to identify and profile site visitors for business intelligence purposes.
Advertising cookies: Used by LinkedIn's Insight Tag to enable retargeting and ad audience building.

Your Cookie Choices

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers let you block or delete cookies, though blocking all cookies may affect how the site works. You can also opt out of specific tools:

Google Analytics: tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
LinkedIn Insight Tag: linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls
Factors.ai: privacy@factors.ai

4. Third-Party Services We Use

Below is a complete list of the third-party tools currently embedded on our site or used in our communications.

Service	Purpose	Data Collected	Privacy Policy
Google Analytics	Website traffic analysis	IP address, browser, device, pages visited, session duration, referral source	policies.google.com/privacy
Factors.ai	Visitor behavior analytics and account intelligence	IP address, browsing activity, geo-location, device info, and session data. May be used for targeted advertising by Factors.ai.	factors.ai/legal/privacy-policy
LinkedIn Insight Tag	Ad retargeting and audience analytics	Page views, referral source, LinkedIn member ID if logged into LinkedIn	linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy
Squarespace	Website hosting and form submissions	Form data, IP address, session data	squarespace.com/privacy
Mailchimp (Intuit)	Newsletter delivery	Email address, open and click tracking, device and browser info	mailchimp.com/legal/privacy
Substack	Newsletter and publication platform	Email address, subscription status, open and click tracking	substack.com/privacy
Monday.com	Membership application tracking	Name, email, organization, and form submission data	monday.com/l/privacy

Each of these services operates under its own privacy policy. We are not responsible for their practices, but we have linked to their policies above so you can review them.

5. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information to anyone, for any purpose.

We share your information only in the following circumstances:

Service providers: We share data with the third-party vendors listed in Section 4 to the extent necessary to operate our website and programs.
Council operations: If your membership application is approved, your name and organizational affiliation will be publicly listed on the Council website and in session materials. This is disclosed during the application process.
Legal obligations: We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Council, Emerge and Rise, or the public.
Organizational transfers: In the unlikely event of a significant organizational change, your information may be transferred. We will provide notice before that happens.

6. Your Privacy Rights

Regardless of where you live, you have the following rights with respect to the personal information we hold about you:

Right to access: You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
Right to correction: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to deletion: You can ask us to delete your personal information unless we have a legal obligation to retain it.
Right to restrict processing: You can ask us to pause processing your information under certain conditions.
Right to object: You can object to our processing of your information based on legitimate interests.
Right to data portability: You can request your information in a structured, machine-readable format.
Right to opt out of sale or sharing: We do not sell or share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@emergeandrise.org with "Privacy Request" in the subject line. We will respond within 45 days.

We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

7. Data Retention

Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe. After unsubscribing, your email remains in a suppression list to prevent accidental re-subscription.
Membership inquiry and application records are retained for up to three years.
Contact form submissions are retained for up to two years.
Website analytics data is subject to each service's own retention policies, typically 14 months for aggregated data.

8. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect your personal information. Our website is hosted on Squarespace, which maintains its own security infrastructure. No method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. If you believe your information has been compromised, contact us immediately at info@emergeandrise.org.

9. Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, contact us and we will delete it promptly.

10. International Visitors

The San Antonio Applied Innovation Council is based in San Antonio, Texas, and our website is operated from the United States. If you are visiting from outside the U.S., your personal information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country. By using this site, you acknowledge that transfer.

If you are located in the European Union, European Economic Area, or United Kingdom and believe your data is being processed in a way that implicates your rights under the GDPR or UK GDPR, you have the right to request access, correction, or deletion of your data, or to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. To submit an international privacy request, email info@emergeandrise.org with "International Privacy Request" in the subject line.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the updated version on this page and change the last updated date at the top. If we make changes that significantly affect how we handle your information, we will notify you by email or by placing a notice on our website before the change takes effect. Your continued use of the site after any changes means you accept the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this policy or want to submit a privacy request:

Email: info@emergeandrise.org
Website: sanantonioinnovates.com
Mail: Emerge and Rise, Inc. | PO Box 592663 | San Antonio, TX 78259
Phone: (210) 880-9330