Privacy Policy

1Scope of This Privacy Policy

The Coalition of Black Small & Medium Enterprises of Saskatchewan, operating as COBSMEs, is committed to protecting the personal information entrusted to us by our members, entrepreneurs, business owners, program participants, partners, sponsors, volunteers, event attendees, website users, and community stakeholders.

This Privacy Policy explains how COBSMEs collects, uses, discloses, retains, safeguards, and manages personal information in connection with our website, programs, events, membership activities, business directory, community initiatives, communications, and related services.

COBSMEs is responsible for the personal information under its control and will manage such information in accordance with applicable Canadian privacy laws, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, commonly known as PIPEDA, where applicable.

By using our website, submitting information through our forms, registering for programs or events, joining our network, subscribing to communications, submitting a business listing, or otherwise providing information to COBSMEs, you consent to the collection, use, disclosure, and retention of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy, unless you withdraw your consent or unless otherwise permitted or required by law.

This Privacy Policy applies for as long as COBSMEs retains your personal information, including after your relationship with COBSMEs has ended.

2Key Terms

Personal Information

"Personal Information" means information about an identifiable individual. This may include, but is not limited to:

• Name;
• Home, mailing, or business address;
• Email address;
• Telephone number;
• Date of birth, where required;
• Demographic information voluntarily provided;
• Business ownership or professional background information;
• Membership, event, program, or registration information;
• Payment or transaction information, where applicable;
• Photographs, videos, testimonials, or other media where individuals may be identifiable;
• Website usage information, such as IP address, browser type, device information, and digital activity.

Personal information does not generally include business contact information used solely for professional or organizational communication, such as a person's name, title, business email, business address, or business telephone number.

COBSMEs Programs

"COBSMEs Programs" means programs, events, training, mentorship activities, networking initiatives, funding-readiness activities, business directory services, community resources, advocacy initiatives, and other services or activities administered, promoted, or supported by COBSMEs.

Partners and Service Providers

"Partners" and "Service Providers" means organizations or individuals that COBSMEs may work with to deliver programs, host events, manage technology platforms, provide communications, process registrations, administer forms, support business directory listings, deliver training, support sponsorships, or provide administrative, professional, or technical services.

3Types of Personal Information We Collect

The type of personal information COBSMEs collects depends on the nature of your relationship with us and the programs, services, or website features you choose to use.

COBSMEs may collect the following types of personal information:

Contact Information

• Name;
• Email address;
• Telephone number;
• Mailing address;
• City, province, or community location;
• Social media handle, where voluntarily provided.

Membership and Program Information

• Membership status;
• Program registration details;
• Event attendance information;
• Training or mentorship participation;
• Business support needs;
• Entrepreneurial or professional background;
• Areas of business interest;
• Feedback, survey responses, or evaluation information.

Business Directory and Business Profile Information

Where you submit information for inclusion in a COBSMEs business directory or community listing, we may collect:

• Business name;
• Business owner or contact person name;
• Business category or industry;
• Business address or service area;
• Business phone number;
• Business email;
• Website and social media links;
• Business description;
• Logo, images, or other submitted content;
• Consent to publish the submitted listing information.

Information submitted for publication in a directory may be publicly visible if approved and posted by COBSMEs.

Event, Media, and Communications Information

COBSMEs may collect:

• Event registration details;
• Attendance records;
• Dietary or accessibility requests, where voluntarily provided;
• Photographs, videos, or recordings from COBSMEs events;
• Newsletter subscription preferences;
• Communication preferences;
• Testimonials or feedback voluntarily submitted.

Where photography or video recording occurs at a COBSMEs event, COBSMEs will make reasonable efforts to provide notice. Individuals who do not wish to be photographed or recorded should advise COBSMEs before or during the event.

Payment and Transaction Information

Where paid membership, event registration, sponsorship, donation, or other payment activity applies, COBSMEs or its payment service providers may collect transaction-related information, such as:

• Billing name;
• Billing contact details;
• Payment confirmation;
• Transaction history;
• Invoice or receipt details.

COBSMEs does not intentionally store full payment card numbers unless specifically required and protected through an approved payment processing system.

Technical and Website Usage Information

When you visit the COBSMEs website, certain technical information may be collected automatically, including:

• IP address;
• Browser type;
• Device type;
• Operating system;
• Referring website;
• Pages visited;
• Time spent on pages;
• General website usage patterns;
• Cookies or similar tracking technologies.

This information helps COBSMEs maintain website functionality, improve user experience, monitor site performance, and understand how visitors use the website.

Sensitive or Demographic Information

COBSMEs may collect certain demographic information where it is relevant to our mandate, programs, reporting, funding, or community-impact measurement. This may include information voluntarily provided by individuals or businesses regarding community affiliation, business ownership profile, language, location, or sector.

COBSMEs will only collect sensitive information where there is a clear purpose, appropriate consent, and a reasonable need connected to a program, service, funding requirement, reporting obligation, or community-impact objective.

4How We Collect Personal Information

COBSMEs may collect personal information directly from you, indirectly through authorized sources, or automatically through website technologies.

We may collect information when you:

• Visit our website;
• Complete a contact form;
• Register for membership;
• Register for a program, training session, workshop, or event;
• Submit a business directory listing;
• Subscribe to our newsletter;
• Submit a partnership, sponsorship, or volunteer inquiry;
• Communicate with COBSMEs by email, phone, social media, or other channels;
• Participate in surveys, consultations, or feedback activities;
• Attend COBSMEs events;
• Provide photographs, testimonials, biographies, or business profile content;
• Engage with COBSMEs social media pages;
• Make payments, donations, sponsorship contributions, or event purchases, where applicable.

We may also receive information from partners, sponsors, service providers, public sources, referral organizations, or community stakeholders, where permitted by law and relevant to COBSMEs activities.

5Purposes for Collecting Personal Information

COBSMEs collects, uses, and discloses personal information for purposes that are reasonable and connected to our organizational mandate, programs, services, and website operations.

The main purposes include:

• Responding to inquiries;
• Managing membership applications and member communications;
• Registering individuals for programs, events, workshops, and training;
• Administering mentorship, networking, business support, and entrepreneur-development initiatives;
• Creating and managing business directory listings;
• Supporting community engagement and business visibility;
• Communicating about programs, events, opportunities, resources, and organizational updates;
• Managing sponsorship, partnership, volunteer, and stakeholder relationships;
• Processing event registrations, payments, invoices, donations, or sponsorships, where applicable;
• Conducting surveys, evaluations, and program improvement activities;
• Preparing aggregated and non-identifying reports for funders, partners, stakeholders, or community-impact purposes;
• Improving website content, accessibility, user experience, and functionality;
• Maintaining records for administrative, accounting, audit, insurance, reporting, and legal purposes;
• Protecting COBSMEs, its members, partners, website users, and the public from fraud, misuse, security incidents, or unauthorized activity;
• Complying with applicable laws, regulations, contracts, funding requirements, and lawful requests.

COBSMEs will not use personal information for purposes that are materially different from those described in this Privacy Policy without obtaining additional consent, unless permitted or required by law.

6Consent

COBSMEs will seek consent for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information, except where consent is not required or where collection, use, or disclosure is permitted or required by law.

Consent may be provided in different ways, including:

• Completing and submitting an online form;
• Checking a consent box;
• Registering for an event or program;
• Submitting a business listing;
• Subscribing to a newsletter;
• Signing a document;
• Providing information by email or other communication channel;
• Continuing to use the website where notice has been provided;
• Giving oral consent in appropriate circumstances.

You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal, contractual, administrative, or operational restrictions. Withdrawal of consent may affect COBSMEs' ability to provide certain services, process registrations, maintain a directory listing, communicate with you, or include you in specific programs.

To withdraw consent, contact COBSMEs using the contact information provided in this Privacy Policy.

7Limiting Collection

COBSMEs will limit the personal information it collects to what is reasonably necessary for the purposes identified in this Privacy Policy or otherwise communicated at the time of collection.

We will not knowingly collect excessive or unnecessary personal information.

8Use, Disclosure, and Sharing of Personal Information

COBSMEs will use and disclose personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected, for related purposes that would reasonably be expected, with consent, or as permitted or required by law.

COBSMEs may share personal information with:

• Internal staff, board members, volunteers, or authorized representatives who require access for COBSMEs purposes;
• Technology, hosting, website, email, newsletter, form, event, payment, and administrative service providers;
• Program partners, trainers, facilitators, mentors, sponsors, or delivery partners where needed to administer a program or event;
• Professional advisors such as accountants, auditors, insurers, legal counsel, or consultants;
• Government, funders, regulators, or authorities where required for reporting, audit, legal, contractual, or compliance purposes;
• Emergency services or authorities where necessary to protect health, safety, or security;
• Other third parties where consent has been provided.

COBSMEs may also disclose aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified information for reporting, funding, research, advocacy, program evaluation, or community-impact purposes. Such information will not be intended to identify specific individuals.

COBSMEs will not sell personal information.

9Business Directory Listings and Public Submissions

Where you submit a business listing, profile, event content, testimonial, photograph, biography, or other content for publication, you acknowledge that approved content may become publicly available on the COBSMEs website, social media channels, event materials, newsletters, or promotional materials.

Before submitting content involving other individuals, you are responsible for ensuring that you have the appropriate permission to provide and publish that information.

COBSMEs reserves the right to review, edit, decline, remove, or update public directory listings or submitted content in accordance with its website, membership, and community standards.

10Cookies and Website Technologies

The COBSMEs website may use cookies, analytics tools, embedded media, forms, plugins, or similar technologies to support site functionality, improve performance, understand visitor activity, and enhance user experience.

Cookies may collect technical information such as IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and general usage activity.

You may adjust your browser settings to block or delete cookies. However, disabling cookies may affect certain website functions.

Where COBSMEs uses third-party tools such as analytics platforms, form plugins, newsletter tools, embedded videos, social media plugins, or payment tools, those third parties may process information according to their own privacy policies.

11Email, Newsletter, and Electronic Communications

COBSMEs may send emails, newsletters, event notices, program updates, funding or resource information, membership updates, and other electronic communications to individuals who have subscribed, registered, joined, participated, made an inquiry, or otherwise provided consent.

You may unsubscribe from promotional electronic communications at any time by using the unsubscribe mechanism provided in the message or by contacting COBSMEs directly.

COBSMEs may still send administrative or transactional communications where necessary, including registration confirmations, membership notices, payment confirmations, event updates, or service-related messages.

12Third-Party Service Providers and External Links

COBSMEs may use third-party service providers to support website hosting, online forms, email communications, newsletter distribution, analytics, payment processing, event registration, customer relationship management, file storage, design, IT support, and other administrative or operational functions.

These service providers may process personal information only to the extent necessary to provide services to COBSMEs, subject to contractual, technical, organizational, or legal safeguards where appropriate.

The COBSMEs website may also contain links to third-party websites, partner websites, funder websites, event platforms, social media pages, or external resources. COBSMEs is not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or security of third-party websites. Website users should review the privacy policies of those external sites before submitting personal information.

13Accuracy of Personal Information

COBSMEs will make reasonable efforts to keep personal information accurate, complete, and up to date for the purposes for which it is used.

You may request correction or updating of your personal information by contacting COBSMEs.

Where COBSMEs maintains a business directory listing, you are responsible for notifying COBSMEs of changes to your business information, contact details, or publication preferences.

14Safeguards

COBSMEs will use reasonable physical, technical, and organizational safeguards to protect personal information against unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification, loss, theft, or destruction.

Safeguards may include:

• Limiting access to authorized personnel;
• Password-protected systems;
• Secure website and hosting practices;
• Use of trusted service providers;
• Access controls and administrative procedures;
• Staff, volunteer, or contractor confidentiality expectations;
• Secure storage and disposal practices;
• Reasonable precautions when transmitting or storing electronic information.

No website, email system, or electronic transmission is completely secure. COBSMEs cannot guarantee absolute security of information transmitted electronically, but will take reasonable steps to protect personal information under its control.

15Retention and Disposal

COBSMEs will retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to provide services, to maintain business and membership records, to satisfy legal, accounting, audit, insurance, funding, reporting, or administrative requirements, or as otherwise permitted or required by law.

When personal information is no longer required, COBSMEs will take reasonable steps to securely destroy, delete, anonymize, or de-identify it.

16Access to Personal Information

You may request access to the personal information COBSMEs holds about you, subject to legal or reasonable limitations.

You may also request information about how your personal information has been used, disclosed, or protected.

Requests should be made in writing to:

COBSMEs may require sufficient information to verify your identity before responding to an access or correction request. This is intended to protect personal information from unauthorized disclosure.

Where permitted by law, COBSMEs may decline access in certain circumstances, such as where disclosure would reveal personal information about another individual, breach confidentiality, interfere with legal obligations, or be otherwise restricted by law.

17Challenging Compliance or Making a Privacy Complaint

If you have a question, concern, request, or complaint about this Privacy Policy or COBSMEs' handling of personal information, you may contact COBSMEs at:

COBSMEs will review privacy-related concerns and make reasonable efforts to respond in a timely and appropriate manner.

If you are not satisfied with COBSMEs' response, you may have the right to contact the appropriate privacy authority, including the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, where applicable.

18Children and Youth

COBSMEs programs and website services are generally intended for entrepreneurs, business owners, professionals, partners, sponsors, and community stakeholders.

Where COBSMEs collects personal information from youth or minors in connection with a youth entrepreneurship program, event, mentorship initiative, or community program, COBSMEs will seek appropriate consent from a parent or guardian where required or appropriate.

19Changes to This Privacy Policy

COBSMEs may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our programs, website, operations, legal requirements, service providers, or privacy practices.

The most current version of the Privacy Policy will be posted on the COBSMEs website. The effective date at the top of the policy should be updated when material changes are made.

Continued use of the COBSMEs website or services after changes are posted means you accept the updated Privacy Policy, subject to applicable law.

20Contact Information

For questions, access requests, correction requests, withdrawal of consent, or privacy-related concerns, please contact: