RI privacy policy

At its November 2002 meeting, the RI Board of Directors adopted the following policy:

RI collection and use of personal membership data

As part of its effort to assist clubs and districts and facilitate communication with Rotarians, Rotary International collects personal information about Rotary club members to be used solely for the purpose of conducting the following core business activities:

• Billing
• Supporting The Rotary Foundation
• Identifying prospective candidates for presidential and Foundation appointments to conferences, RI and The Rotary Foundation committees, task forces, and other assignments
• Tracking membership trends, developing membership characteristics, producing demographic analysis, and supporting membership retention
• Identifying Rotarians who have specific language and/or professional skills
• Providing information and updates to district chairs and others involved in RI programs and service projects
• Supporting The Rotarian and the regional magazines
• Providing guidance to clubs and districts in their public relations efforts
• Communicating key organizational messages and information to district leaders for dissemination at the club level
• Facilitating convention and special event planning
• Communicating information to Rotary clubs, districts and district leaders by officially licensed vendors under RI's licensing system

At the direction of the RI Board of Directors, RI may occasionally participate in special advertising and/or marketing initiatives that involve the release of membership information. RI will notify Rotarians about these initiatives and give them the opportunity to decline to participate. Rotary International may also disclose information as required by law or if pertinent to judicial or governmental investigations.

A note about RI and privacy of member information

In order to protect online privacy, Rotary International keeps e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, mail addresses and other information secure. RI protects the security of personal data by using password-protected areas and restricting access.

The security of your payment information during transmission is protected by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts all of your personal information, including name, address, and credit card number, so that it can travel safely over the Internet. The entire credit card number is submitted to the appropriate credit card company during order processing, but only the first and last four digits of your credit card numbers are accessible to designated staff via a password-protected interface. It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer. Be sure to sign off when finished using a shared computer.

The Official Directory is not available on the Internet and must be ordered by Rotarians. The Official Directory cannot be used as a commercial mailing list and Rotary club members should take care to make sure it is not possible for anyone else to use it for this purpose.

Recommendations about privacy for club, district, and other Rotary-related Web sites

RI recommends Rotarians follow similar guidelines when using personal information on the Internet, e-mail, and district, club, or other Rotary-related Web sites. Rotarians might consider:

Not posting what could be considered sensitive personal information, such as name, address, e-mail address, telephone number, etc., without written permission from that Rotary club member. Using password-protected areas, where only members with passwords can log in, if information needs to be shared.

In general, all Rotarian users of the Internet should keep in mind that although one cannot control who views information on the Internet, one can control what is posted. Always consider the ramifications of posting sensitive data of Rotary club members and sharing e-mail messages with addresses of other Rotarians with third parties. In addition, countries impose different standards on how personal information can be used. You may want to consider consulting with an expert before any personal information is used.

If you have concerns or questions about these policies, please contact RI at 847-866-3000.