Terms and Privacy
DATA PRIVACY NOTICE
Effective date: 06/09/2025
Contents
How we collect Personal Data 2
Personal Data that you give us 2
Personal Data we collect from you 2
Personal Data we collect from others 3
How we use your Personal Data 3
Personal Data that you give us 3
Information we collect about you 3
Personal Data we receive from other sources 3
When we share and who can access your Personal Data 3
Selling or sharing your Personal Data 4
Where we Store your Personal Data; International Users 4
How Long we Store your Personal Data 4
Links to Third Party Sites and Services 5
Introduction
This Notice explains how The Appraisal Foundation (“Foundation”, “we”, or “us”) collects and processes your Personal Data. Each time you visit www.appraisalfoundation.org or related properties (together, the “Site”) or otherwise interact with us, the current version of this Notice will apply. Accordingly, whenever you use our Site, you should check the date of this Notice (which appears at the top) and review any changes since the last version. This Notice is applicable to all Site visitors, registered users, and all other users of our Site.
“Personal Data” is any information that enables us to identify you, directly or indirectly, by reference to an identifier such as your name, identification number, location data, online identifier or one or more factors specific to your physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity.
By visiting the Site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Notice. If you have any questions about this Notice, or our processing of Personal Data, please contact us here.
How we collect Personal Data
Personal Data that you give to us or our service providers
We may collect and process the following Personal Data:
Contact information, which you provide when corresponding with us by phone, e-mail or otherwise. This includes information you provide when you participate in discussion boards or other social media functions on our Site and when you report a problem with our Site. The information you give us may include your name, address, e-mail address, phone number, financial information and/or credit card information.
Customer website account information, including your name, contact details such as address, phone number and email address (business or personal), job title, year of account creation, and any other information related to your website account. Account information may be provided by you during the registration process, or by a related third party, on your behalf.
Purchase information, relating to purchases of event participation, books, reports, journals or newsletter subscriptions either in-person or via our Site. Purchase information will include financial information as well as information concerning the content and time of the purchase.
Certification information, relating to certification programs, in which members are granted certification if they meet specified educational/employment experience requirements and/or pass an exam. This may include extensive information about the experience/performance of those certified or accredited. Where the certification concerns an institutions or businesses, this may include similar information identifying employees and other members of staff including volunteers. This information may be provided to us by education providers that we have contracted with to host qualifying education courses
Personal Data we collect from you
With regard to each of your visits to the Site we will automatically collect the following information:
Technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer or device to the Internet, device type (e.g., desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone), browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform;
Information about your visit, including pages you viewed or searched for, page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), methods used to browse away from the page, any phone number used to call our customer service number, and location information.
We may use this information to generate aggregate information, such as statistics about visitors to our Site. Such aggregate information will no longer constitute your personal data and may be processed for various business purposes.
Personal Data we collect from others
We may receive information about you from publicly available and third-party databases or services that provide information about businesses or people, that we believe will help us provide products and services that may be of interest to you. If we receive your contact details via such methods, we will obtain your consent before contacting you if required by the law of the country in which you are located.
How we use your Personal Data
Personal Data that you give us
We may use Personal Data that you provide directly to us for the following purposes:
- to carry out our obligations arising from any contract entered into between you and us and to provide you with the information, products and services that you request from us;
- to organize events that you have purchased or registered for, and to provide you with information, and other materials, relating to the content of the event, the speakers, sponsors, and other attendees;
- to provide our newsletter and other publications, provided you have given us your consent;
- to respond to your questions and provide related account services;
- to provide you with information about other events, products, and services we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased, provided you have not opted-out of receiving that information;
- to provide you, or permit selected third parties to provide you, with information about events, products, or services we feel may interest you, provided you have given your consent;
- to transfer your information as part of a merger, consolidation, or transfer of assets of the Foundation;
- to notify you about changes to our website account service; and
- to ensure that content from our Site is presented most effectively for you and your computer.
Information we collect about you
We will use Personal Data that we have collected about your use of our Site:
- to administer our Site and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes;
- to improve our Site to ensure that content is presented most effectively for you and your computer;
- as part of our efforts to keep our Site safe and secure;
- to make suggestions and recommendations to you and other users of our Site about goods or services that may interest you or them.
Personal Data we receive from other sources
We will combine this information with information you give to us and information we collect about you. We will use this information and the combined Personal Data for the purposes set out above (depending on the types of information we receive).
When we share and who can access your Personal Data
We may share your Personal Data for the purposes described in this Notice with:
- a member of our group;
- advisors to our group, such as legal and financial advisors and auditors;
- to comply with the law, applicable regulations, governmental and quasi-governmental requests, court orders or subpoenas (in our sole and absolute discretion as we deem necessary or appropriate);
- partners, suppliers and sub-contractors, for the performance of obligations arising from your website account, or any other contract we enter into with them or you, to provide you with the information, products and account services that you request from us, or to otherwise manage our operations (e.g., Shopify who host our web shop on our behalf, third parties that manage our mailing lists, cloud-based hosting and storage providers, etc.);
- analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimization of our Site;
- trusted third-party companies and individuals to help us provide, analyze, and improve the Site and our website services (including but not limited to data storage, maintenance services, database management, web analytics and payment processing);
- in the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we will disclose your Personal Data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets;
- if the Foundation or substantially all of its assets are acquired or managed by a third party, in which case Personal Data held by it about its customers will be one of the transferred assets.
We will only transfer your Personal Data to trusted third parties who provide sufficient guarantees in respect of the technical and organizational security measures governing the processing to be carried out and who can demonstrate a commitment to compliance with those measures.
Selling or sharing your Personal Data
We will never sell or share your Personal Data to third parties without your opt-in consent.
Security
Although we use security measures to help protect your Personal Data against loss, misuse or unauthorized disclosure, we cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted to us over the internet.
All information you provide to us is stored on secure servers.
Any payment transactions will be encrypted.
Where we Store your Personal Data; International Users
We are headquartered in the United States. Your Personal Data may be accessed by us or transferred to us in the United States or to our affiliates, partners, merchants, or service providers who are located worldwide. We will ensure that any such transfers are undertaken in compliance with applicable law, including implementing data transfer agreements incorporating model clauses where required. If you are visiting our Site from outside the United States, be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States.
How Long we Store your Personal Data
We will store your Personal Data, in a form which permits us to identify you, for no longer than is necessary for the purpose for which the Personal Data is processed. We may retain and use your Personal Data as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements and rights, or if it is not technically reasonably feasible to remove it. Consistent with these requirements, we will try to delete your Personal Data quickly upon request.
Retention
We will retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with access to our Site, or to maintain our financial records. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your information to provide you service, contact us here. We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. We maintain one or more databases to store your Personal Data and will keep such information in line with our data retention policies.
Cookies
Our cookie policy is available here.
How We Respond to Do Not Track Signals
Some internet browsers have incorporated "Do Not Track" features. Most of these features, when turned on, send a signal or preference (the "DNT Signal") to the web sites you visit indicating that you do not wish to be tracked. Since there is not yet a common understanding of how to interpret DNT Signals, nor a common definition of "tracking", we do not currently respond to DNT Signals on the Foundation websites.
Children’s Privacy
The Foundation complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Our Sites are not intended to be attractive to children under the age of 13, if you are not 13 years or older, do not use our Site. We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from children under the age of 13. If we learn that Personal Data of persons less than 13 years-of-age has been collected through our Site, we will take the appropriate steps to delete this information. If you are a parent or guardian and discover that your child or a minor under the age of 13 has posted, submitted or otherwise communicated Personal Data to our Site without your consent, then you may alert us here so that we may take appropriate action to remove the minor's Personal Data from our systems.
Links to Third Party Sites and Services
Our Sites may contain links to third party websites, applications and services not operated by us. These links are provided as a service and do not imply any endorsement by us of the activities or content of these sites, applications, or services nor any association with their operators. The Foundation is not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of any third-party including websites or services directly linked to our Service. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party site that you link from our Service.
Data Security Online
To protect your personal information from unauthorized access and use, we use security measures that comply with federal law. These measures include computer safeguards such as anti-virus software, multi-factor authentication, and firewalls, secured files, and secured buildings.
Your rights
Correction and removal
If any of the information that we have about you is incorrect, or you wish to have information (including Personal Data) removed from our records, you may do so by visiting your Foundation Profile, or contacting us here.
Opting Out
Additionally, if you prefer not to receive marketing messages from us, please let us know by clicking on the unsubscribe link within any marketing message that you receive, by visiting your Foundation preferences page, or by sending a message to us here.
Your European Rights
FOR RESIDENTS OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA OR UNITED KINGDOM ONLY.
The Foundation is the “controller” for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) (2016/679) including as it applies in the UK.
We will only process your Personal Data, including sharing it with third parties, where we have a lawful basis for doing so. The lawful bases we rely on are: (1) you have provided your consent which can be withdrawn at any time, (2) the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, (3) we are required by law, (4) processing is required to protect your vital interests or those of another person, or (5) processing is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate commercial interests, except where such interests are overridden by your rights and interests. If you have any questions about the specific lawful basis relied upon for any of the processing listed under “How we use your Personal Data” above, please contact us here. You are not obliged to provide us with any Personal Data but if you do not provide us with Personal Data that we require, we may be unable to provide you with services you request.
You have the right to ask us not to process your Personal Data for marketing purposes. We will usually inform you (before collecting your Personal Data) if we intend to use your Personal Data for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your information to any third party for such purposes and will obtain your consent where required under applicable law. You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by checking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your Personal Data. You can also exercise the right by contacting us using the Contact Us section on our Site.
Under European data protection law, in certain circumstances, you have the right to:
- Request access to your Personal Data. You may have the right to request access to any Personal Data we hold about you as well as related information, including the purposes for processing the Personal Data, the recipients or categories of recipients with whom the Personal Data has been shared, where possible, the period for which the Personal Data will be stored, the source of the Personal Data, and the existence of any automated decision making.
- Request correction of your Personal Data. You may have the right to obtain without undue delay the rectification of any inaccurate Personal Data we hold about you.
- Request erasure of your Personal Data. You may have the right to request that Personal Data held about you is deleted.
- Object to processing of your Personal Data. You may have the right to prevent or restrict processing of your Personal Data.
- Request restriction of processing your Personal Data Request transfer of your Personal Data. You may have the right to request transfer of Personal Data directly to a third party where this is technically feasible.
- Withdraw your consent
You can exercise any of these rights by contacting us using the Contact Us section on our Site.
In addition, where you believe that Foundation has not complied with its obligations under this Notice or applicable law, you have the right to make a complaint to an EU Data Protection Authority.
Your Californian Rights
FOR RESIDENTS OF CALIFORNIA ONLY. Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code requires select businesses to disclose policies relating to the sharing of certain categories of your Personal Data with third parties. If you reside in California and have provided your Personal Data to Foundation, you may request information about our disclosures of certain categories of Personal data to third parties for direct marketing purposes. Such requests must be submitted to us here.
Changes to this Notice
If we make any material changes to this Notice or the way we use, share, or collect personal Data, we will notify you by revising the “Effective Date” at the top of this Notice, prominently posting an announcement of the changes on our Site, or sending an email to the email address you most recently provided us (unless we do not have such an email address) prior to the new policy taking effect. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to this Notice.
