Your privacy is important to International City/County Management Association ("ICMA", "we", or "us").  We developed this Privacy Policy to describe how we collect, use, disclose, and otherwise process Personal Data about you, including through https://ICMA.org, and any other ICMA websites or applications that link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Site”).  If you have any questions or comments regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at CustomerServices@icma.org.

1.  Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may revise and update this Privacy Policy from time to time and will post the updated Privacy Policy to the Site. If these changes are material (i.e., changes we believe you will find important), we will provide notice of changes by email or by posting notice of the changes on our Site.

2.  What is Personal Data?

“Personal Data” is information that, either alone or in combination with other information, identifies you. When we combine other information (i.e., information that does not, on its own, identify you) with Personal Data about you, we treat the combined information as Personal Data.

3.  How We Collect and Use Personal Data

     A.  Personal Data You Provide to Us - We collect Personal Data when you voluntarily provide it to us. For example, we may collect your name, address, email address, demographic information, and payment information, when you complete your online profile, submit a membership application, make a purchase such as a book or conference registration, complete a survey, send an email to us through our “Contact Us” feature, make a donation, or provide information via paper forms or in-person interactions (e.g., making a purchase at an on-site conference) or provide Personal Data to us in any other way through our Site.

 ICMA uses contact information to inform you of new products, technical information and services, and upcoming events that may be of interest based on your participation in ICMA, expressed interests, selected industry codes, or industry engagement. After your membership expires, we may continue to send you occasional e-mails to provide you with offers to rejoin ICMA.  If you no longer wish to receive these emails, the opt-out process is described in Section 6 of this Privacy Policy. You may also unsubscribe from these e-mails by following the unsubscribe instructions found within the email.

We process your email and password to enable you to securely log into the Site, and we process information regarding your role with ICMA to appropriately control access to certain content. We process this Personal Data only as necessary to provide you services on the Site under our and to further our legitimate interests in protecting the Site and content.

ICMA uses the information provided through membership forms to process membership applications and related requests. For example, based on your agreement to become a member, ICMA processes membership in other associations; information on your involvement in ICMA such as offices held, committees served on, etc.; educational background; professional background; and personal and professional references.  We process this information only as necessary to provide you with the benefits of membership.  We also archive membership information for historical purposes.

We allow users to post or provide content via the Site, including questions, comments, blog posts, file uploads, document submission, and wiki contributions, (collectively, “User Postings”) and you may choose to contribute User Postings to our community and on the Site. Because your User Postings are associated with your profile, they may be identifiable to us and to other users.  We are not responsible for any use of the Personal Data that you may include as part of your User Postings.

We also use the Personal Data we collect about you to carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collection.

     B.  Information We Automatically Collect through the Site - We collect the following types of information automatically when you use the Site:

Log Information - When you use our Site, our servers automatically record information, including your Internet Protocol address (“IP Address”), browser type, referring URLs (e.g., the site you visited before coming to our Site), number of clicks, and how you interact with links on the Site, domain names associated with your internet service provider, pages viewed, and other such information (collectively, “Log File Information”). We may also collect similar information from emails sent to you which then help us track which emails are opened and which links are clicked by recipients. We use Log File Information collected from our implementation of the Site to further our legitimate interests in securing the Site by identifying potential threats and vulnerabilities, and in analyzing the effectiveness of our Site, and to improve the Site’s function and content.

Cookies and Similar Technology - When you use or access the Site, we use cookies and similar technologies such as pixels, web beacons, and local storage to collect information about how you use the Site.  We process the information, including Personal Data, collected through such technologies to further our legitimate interests in operating the Site, enhance your experience through personalization, and help us better understand the features of the Site that you and other users are most interested in. Examples of third-party providers we partner that may collect your Personal Data include, but are not limited to: 

  • Google Analytics. To learn more about how Google uses data, visit Google’s Privacy Policy and Google’s page on “How Google uses data from sites or apps that use our services.” You may download the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on for each web browser you use, but this does not prevent the use of other analytics tools. To learn more about Google Analytics cookies, visit Google Analytics Cookie Usage on Websites.
  • Pixels. We use Meta pixels, LinkedIn pixels, and X pixels to track user activity on our Site and improve downstream offerings, including interest-based advertising for our services and those of our partners and service providers.

We and our advertisers use cookies and similar technologies to collect information for interest-based advertising purposes, such as which advertisements were viewed, how often they were clicked, and device location information to provide you with content and advertising that might be of interest to you.  You may also request to opt-out of an advertiser’s use of cookies by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative at http://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1#!/ or the Digital Advertising Alliance. If you opt out of such cookies, you will continue to receive advertisements, but those advertisements will no longer be personalized for you. Some of our advertising partners, service providers (described in Section 4, below), and third parties from which we receive content use cookies or other methods to gather information regarding your use of our Site. Such third parties may use these cookies or other tracking methods for their own purposes by relating information about your use of our Site with any of Personal Data about you that they may have. The use of such information by a third party depends on the privacy policy of that third party. If you would like more information, please see Section 6 for our contact information. Examples of third-party service providers we engage to serve interest-based advertisements include Google Ads (including Google Dynamic Remarketing and Google Signals), Meta Ads (including Meta Pixels and Facebook advertising services), and LinkedIn marketing solutions (including LinkedIn Ads, Pixels, and Analytics).

While we do not sell Personal Information in exchange for monetary consideration, we do disclose Personal Information for other benefits that could be deemed a “sale” under various data protection laws because it is sometimes broadly defined to include activities such as the delivery of interest-based advertising on websites or allowing third parties to receive certain information, such as cookies, IP address, and/or browsing behavior.

To manage your cookie preferences with respect to these technologies, you can: 

  • Customize your browser settings to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable certain cookies, please note that some parts of our Site may not function properly. These settings may be lost and require reconfiguration if you delete your cookies.
  • You may also request to opt-out of an advertiser’s use of cookies by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative at http://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1#!/ or the Digital Advertising Alliance. If you opt out of such cookies, you will continue to receive advertisements, but those advertisements will no longer be personalized for you.
  • Review and execute any provider-specific instructions to customize your preferences or opt-out of certain processing, including interest-based advertising, by third-party service providers. For example, to opt-out of this type of advertising by Google, customize your ad preferences, or limit Google’s collection or use of your data, visit Google’s Safety Center and Google’s Ad Settings and follow Google’s personalized ad opt-out instructions.

     C. Information We Receive From Third Parties - Occasionally we may receive Personal Data from third parties such as entities or event organizers whose members or attendees may have interests that are similar to the interests of our members. We process Personal Data received from such third parties in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

     D. SMS Consent - Your SMS consent and phone number will not be shared with any third party for marketing purpose under any circumstances whatsoever.

    

4.  To Whom We Disclose Personal Data

We may disclose aggregated information about our users, and information that does not identify an individual, without restriction. We will not disclose Personal Data about you except as set forth in this Privacy Policy or with your consent. This section describes to whom we disclose Personal Data, and for what purposes:

  • Partnering Non-Profit Organizations. We may share Personal Data and other membership information (for example:  name, title, employer, mailing address, email address, business phone number, membership status, event registration status) with partnering nonprofit organizations, including without limitation state associations of local government management, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties and our licensees, MissionSquare Retirement, ICMAtv, and other business partners such as CPSM, Polco, and Zencity. Your information may be used by these other organizations for communications, to invite you to special events such as receptions at conferences, and to share information on programs, products, and services. Finally, we may also share Personal Data with other members related to ICMA Executive Board Elections. They may contact you with information regarding their candidacy prior to an election.  You may choose not to have your email address shared by changing your privacy and communication preferences in the “My ICMA” area of the website.
  • ICMA Committees, Councils, and Other Groups. By agreeing to participate on an ICMA Committee, Council, or other group, individuals consent for us to share their contact information with other members of the group. The members of the group agree to use such information only for limited ICMA business purposes.
  • Our Service Providers. We employ service providers to perform tasks on our behalf and to assist us in providing the Site. For example, we employ service providers who help with: (i) sending emails and maintaining mailing lists; (ii) maintaining and developing our website and apps; (iii) fulfilling orders and subscriptions, and (iv) providing conference services. We use commercially reasonable efforts to work with service providers that post a publicly available privacy policy.
  • Strategic Partners. We may share our membership lists with our strategic partners and their customers, and inform a partner of the membership status of those customers. This enables our partners to contact their customers who are also a member of the Site for certain business purposes, such as participation in focus groups. We may also contact you on behalf of a strategic partner without sharing your contact information with that  partner.
  • Companies Involved in Merger and Acquisition Transactions. In some cases, ICMA may choose to buy or sell assets. In these types of transactions, user data (including Personal Data) is typically one of the business assets transferred. Moreover, if ICMA, or substantially all of its assets, were acquired, user data would be one of the assets that is reviewed and transferred or acquired by a third party.
  • Law Enforcement, Government Agencies, and Courts. We may disclose Personal Data at the request of law enforcement or government agencies or in response to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process to establish, protect, or exercise our legal or other rights or to defend against a legal claim or as otherwise required or allowed by law, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of a Customer or any other person. We may also disclose Personal Data to investigate or prevent a violation by you of any contractual or other relationship with us or your illegal or harmful activity.
  • Other. We may disclose Personal Data to third parties when explicitly requested by or consented to by you, or for the purposes for which you disclosed Personal Data to us at indicated at the time and point of the disclosure (or as was obvious at the time and point of disclosure).

5.  International Transfers of Personal Data to U.S.

We, as the owner of the Site, are based in the District of Columbia in the United States of America. We provide the Site for use only by persons located in the United States. We make no claims that the Site or any of its Content is accessible or appropriate outside of the United States. Access to the Site may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Site from outside the United States and/or transmit any information or data from outside the United States into the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are solely responsible for compliance with all local laws.

By providing us with Personal Data, you acknowledge and agree that Personal Data may be transferred outside of the country from which you are accessing the Site, including transferred outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”), to the United States. Each of these countries has different privacy laws that afford varying levels of protection for Personal Data, and such laws may not be as comprehensive as those that exist in the EEA.

By registering on the Site or otherwise using our Site and services, you consent to our and our affiliates’ transmission to, and collection and processing of Personal Data about you in any jurisdiction, in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

6.  Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the following rights with respect to your Personal Data under applicable data protection laws: 

  • Access – The right to request access to and obtain a copy of any Personal Data we may have about you.
  • Deletion – The right to delete your Personal Data that we have collected or obtained, subject to certain exceptions.
  • Correction – The right to request that we correct any inaccuracies in your Personal Data, subject to certain exceptions.
  • Opt Out of Certain Processing – The right to: (a) opt out of the processing of your Personal Information for purposes of targeted advertising, (b) opt out of the sale of your Personal Information, and (c) opt out of profiling that can lead to decisions affecting your legal rights or have significant impacts.
  • Objection/Restriction of Processing – The right to object or restrict us from processing your Personal Data in certain circumstances.
  • Withdraw Consent – The right to withdraw your consent where we are relying on your consent to process your Personal Data.
  • Lodge a Complaint – The right to lodge a complaint with a regulatory agency if you believe we have violated any of the rights afforded to you under applicable data protection laws. We encourage you to first reach out to us so we have an opportunity to address your concerns directly before you do so.

If you would like to exercise any of the rights afforded to you under applicable data protection laws, you may submit a request to privacy@icma.org. We will promptly review all such requests in accordance with applicable laws, you may submit a request to privacy@icma.org. We will promptly review all such requests in accordance with applicable laws. You may also exercise your opt out rights by broadcasting an Opt-Out Preference Signal, such as the Global Privacy Control (GPC). We honor Opt-Out Preference Signals, including GPC. If you choose to use an Opt-Out Preference Signal, you will need to turn it on for each supported browser or browser extension you use.

If you have an account with us, we provide you with access to—and the ability to edit or delete—certain categories of Personal Data through your account. Please note, your information will be displayed in our Who’s Who online directory. If you wish to have your profile removed from the directory contact us at privacy@icma.org. You may choose not to have your contact information shared with certain third parties, such as state associations, affiliates, and our partnering nonprofit organizations. You also may choose not to have your mailing information shared with our strategic partners and other private sector companies. If you have an account with us, you may change your privacy and communication preferences by going to the “Login” area of the site. You can access this section by selecting the “Login” link in the top right corner of the Site.

You will not be discriminated against in any way by virtue of your exercise of the rights listed in this Privacy Policy. However, should you withdraw your consent or object to processing of your Personal Data, or if you choose not to provide certain Personal Data, we may be unable to provide some, or all, of our services to you.

Only you, or an authorized agent that you authorize to act on your behalf, may make a request related to your Personal Data. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests, and if we cannot verify your identity, we may request additional information from you. If you are an authorized agent making certain requests on behalf of another person, we will also need to verify your identity, which may require proof of your written authorization or evidence of power of attorney. We endeavor to respond to requests within the time period required by applicable law. If we require more time, we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. 

We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your requests unless they are excessive or repetitive. If we determine that a request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request. We may deny certain requests, or only fulfill some in part, as permitted or required by law. If you are not satisfied with the resolution of your request and you are afforded a right to appeal such decision, you will be notified of our appeal process in our response to your request.

California Civil Code Section 1798.83 (the “Code”) permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us information about the personally identifiable information, as defined in the Code, (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes in the preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to:

ICMA

Attn: Compliance Manager

777 North Capitol Street, NE

Suite 500

Washington, DC 20002

7.  Personal Data from Children

We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from children under the age of 16.  If we learn that we have collected Personal Data from children, and if we do not have a lawful basis to process such Personal Data under applicable law, we will promptly take steps to delete such Personal Data.

8.  Retention of Personal Data

We will retain Personal Data about you for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes for which Personal Information about you has been collected as outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required by law.

9.  How We Protect the Confidentiality and Integrity of Personal Data About You 

We have implemented security measures to protect Personal Data from loss, misuse, and alteration. Despite these efforts to store Personal Data in a secure operating environment that is not available to the public, we cannot guarantee the security of Personal Data during its transmission or its storage on our systems. Further, while we attempt to ensure the integrity and security of Personal Data, we cannot guarantee that our security measures will prevent third parties such as so-called hackers from illegally obtaining access to Personal Data. We do not represent or warrant that Personal Data about you will be protected against, loss, misuse, or alteration by third parties.

10.  Links to Third Party Websites 

Our Site may contain links to third party websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of third party websites you choose to visit. If you provide any information directly to parties other than us, different rules may apply to the use or disclosure of that information. We encourage you to investigate and ask questions before disclosing your Personal Information to third parties.

In some cases, we offer links to social media platforms (like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X (formerly known as Twitter) and YouTube) that enable you to easily connect with us or share information on social media. Any content you post via these social media pages is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policies for those platforms.

11.  Contacting Us

If there are any questions regarding this Privacy Policy you may contact us using the information below:

ICMA

Attn: Compliance Officer

777 North Capitol Street, NE

Suite 500

Washington, DC 20002

E-mail: privacy@icma.org

Updated June 4, 2025