Cookie & Data Policy

Effective Date: March 7, 2025

Black Wealth Events uses cookies and similar technologies to ensure our website functions properly, to understand how users engage with our content, and to improve your experience. This Cookie & Data Policy explains what cookies are, how we use them, and what choices you have regarding their use. It also covers other data collection tools we employ (such as analytics and tracking pixels) for behavioral data. This policy is intended to be read in conjunction with our Privacy Policy.

What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that a website stores on your device (computer, smartphone, or tablet) when you visit. They are widely used to make websites work or to work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the site owners. Cookies can serve various purposes: remembering user preferences, enabling shopping cart functionality, providing analytics data, and more.

There are different types of cookies:

• Session Cookies: Temporary cookies that remain on your device until you close your browser. They help websites recognize you as you navigate between pages during a single browsing session (e.g., keeping you logged in as you move through a site).
• Persistent Cookies: These remain on your device for a set period or until you delete them. They remember your preferences or actions across multiple sites or sessions (for example, a persistent cookie might store your language preference or keep you logged in between visits).
• First-Party Cookies: Cookies set by the website you’re visiting (in this case, blackwealthevents.com). Only that website can read these cookies.
• Third-Party Cookies: Cookies set by a domain other than the site you’re visiting. These often occur when a site integrates elements from other services – for example, an analytics provider or an embedded video. Third-party cookies can track your browser across multiple sites and are often used for advertising or analytics purposes.

How We Use Cookies

Black Wealth Events uses cookies and related technologies for several reasons:

1. Essential Cookies: These are necessary for our website to function correctly. They enable core features such as secure login, account authentication, and session management. Without these cookies, services you have asked for (like registering for an event or adding a ticket to a cart) cannot be provided. For example, when you log into an account on our site, an essential cookie will keep you logged in as you navigate, so you don’t have to re-enter your password on every page. We do not require your consent for essential cookies, as they are needed to deliver the service you requested.

2. Performance and Analytics Cookies: We want to understand how visitors use our website so we can improve it. For that, we use analytics tools (like Google Analytics) that set cookies to collect information about site usage. These cookies gather details such as which pages are visited most often, how users move around the site, and if they encounter errors. The data is generally aggregated and anonymous – it does not directly identify individual visitors. For instance, we might see that 100 people visited our “Events Schedule” page today and on average spent 2 minutes there. This helps us gauge what content is popular or whether our navigation is user-friendly. Behavioral Data collected via analytics may include: your IP address, browser type, device information, referring site (the site you came from), pages visited, and time spent on pages. We use this data to compile reports and to help us improve the site’s structure and content. (Learn more about how Google Analytics uses cookies and how to opt out in the Your Choices section below.)

3. Functionality Cookies: These cookies allow our website to remember choices you make and provide enhanced, more personalized features. For example, if our site offers an option to save your preferred event category or remembers your username for next time, a functionality cookie might handle that. They may also be used to provide services you’ve requested, like watching a video or using a live chat feature. While not strictly necessary, these cookies improve your user experience.

4. Advertising and Tracking Cookies: (Currently, Black Wealth Events does not host third-party ads on our site, and we do not use advertising cookies for third-party marketing.) However, if in the future we participate in any advertising or cross-site tracking, such cookies would be used to deliver relevant ads or measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns. For instance, a Facebook Pixel or similar technology might track that you visited our site and later show you an ad about an upcoming Black Wealth Events conference on Facebook. We will update this policy and obtain any necessary consents if we introduce advertising cookies. As of the latest update, any tracking is limited to our internal analytics and event-related communications. We do not engage in cross-context behavioral advertising or “sell” data collected via cookies.

5. Third-Party Tools: Besides Google Analytics, we might embed content or features from third-party services that set cookies. Examples include:

• Social Media Integrations: If we have social sharing buttons (e.g., a Facebook “Share” or Twitter “Tweet” button) or if we embed feeds/videos from platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, or Instagram, those services may set cookies to track interactions or remember that you are logged into their platform.
• Payment and Security: When making a payment through Stripe on our site, Stripe may set its own cookies to manage the checkout process and prevent fraud. These cookies ensure your payment is processed securely and can help remember your session if you return to complete a transaction.
• NetWurk.ai Integration: If our site integrates certain features from NetWurk.ai (such as a networking portal or embedded forms), NetWurk.ai may use cookies or local storage to maintain your session or preferences within that embedded service. These would function similarly to essential or functional cookies but are controlled by NetWurk.ai’s systems.

We do not control the cookies from third parties, and their use is governed by those third parties’ own cookie policies. However, we aim to be transparent about any third-party tools in use and ensure they are reputable and compliant with privacy standards.

Your Choices and Control Over Cookies

Cookie Consent Banner: On your first visit to our website (and periodically thereafter), you will see a cookie notice or banner. By clicking “Accept” or continuing to browse the site after seeing this notice, you consent to our use of cookies as described in this policy. You can always change your mind by adjusting your browser settings or using the options below.

Browser Settings: Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings preferences. You can typically choose to block or delete cookies. The steps to do this vary by browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc.), but you can find instructions in your browser’s help menu. Be aware that if you disable cookies entirely, our website (and others) may not function properly. For example, blocking all cookies might log you out of sessions or prevent you from adding items to a cart. We recommend allowing at least “essential” cookies to ensure basic functionality, and you can block third-party or non-essential cookies if you wish.

Google Analytics Opt-Out: If you want to opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all websites, Google provides an opt-out browser add-on. You can download and install the add-on for your web browser here: Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on. This add-on instructs Google Analytics not to use your information for analytics. Note that this is a third-party tool and is subject to Google’s terms; using it is at your discretion.

Do Not Track Signals: “Do Not Track” (DNT) is a setting available in most browsers that sends a signal to websites indicating you do not want to be tracked. However, there is currently no industry consensus on how websites should respond to DNT signals. As mentioned in our Privacy Policy, our site presently does not respond differently to browsers with DNT enabled. We will continue to monitor developments around DNT. In the meantime, using the controls described in this section (browser settings, cookie consent tools, etc.) is the best way to manage your tracking preferences.

Cookie Management Tools: Some sites offer dedicated cookie management or consent tools where you can toggle specific categories of cookies on or off. If our site implements a detailed cookie preferences manager, we will provide a link (for example, “Cookie Settings”) where you can adjust your preferences at any time. (This is often included to comply with certain jurisdictions’ requirements, though U.S. law currently does not mandate it as strictly as EU law does under the GDPR. Since we operate under U.S. law, we provide controls but may not have a granular tool unless needed.)

Consequences of Disabling Cookies: If you choose to disable or delete certain cookies, please note:

• You might need to re-enter information that would have otherwise been remembered (e.g., re-logging into your account or reselecting preferences on each visit).
• Some features or services on our site may not function correctly. For example, if you block functional cookies, features like video playback or interactive chat might not work. Blocking analytics cookies will not affect core functionality, but it will make it harder for us to improve our services based on your experience.
• It will not stop all forms of tracking; for example, communications you expressly opt into (like emails) or general device-level tracking (like server logs) will still occur. However, those are covered by our Privacy Policy and are separate from cookie-based tracking.

Behavioral Data and Usage Tracking

Aside from cookies, we may use other techniques to understand user behavior on our site:

• Web Beacons/Pixels: These are tiny graphics or code snippets embedded in a webpage or email that can track when that page or email is viewed. For example, we might include a pixel in our newsletter emails to count how many people open the email. On our website, a pixel might work in conjunction with cookies to track a user’s navigation from page to page.
• Log Files: Our web servers automatically log certain information whenever someone visits the site. These logs include data like IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, and timestamps. We primarily use log data for troubleshooting, security, and compiling usage statistics.
• Session Recording/Heatmaps: To improve usability, we might employ tools that record anonymous interactions, such as where users click on a page or how far they scroll. This information helps us design a better user interface. These tools do not identify you personally and generally mask or exclude any personal information you may input. (We will disclose if such tools are in use; if not mentioned here, we are likely not using them.)

All these behavioral tracking methods are used in accordance with our Privacy Policy. They help us make data-driven decisions to optimize content and layout, ensuring we focus on what users find valuable and fix any pain points in navigation.

Opt-Out of Behavioral Tracking

If you prefer to minimize behavioral data collection:

• Adjust your browser settings to limit cookies as described above (this is the primary mechanism, since many behaviors are tracked via cookies).
• Use browser extensions or privacy modes that reduce tracking (some browsers have built-in features or add-ons that block scripts and trackers).
• If we send marketing emails, you can opt out of those to avoid tracking pixels in emails (though purely informational emails related to transactions may still be sent and could contain minimal tracking for ensuring deliverability).
• Reach out to us if you have specific concerns. We value user privacy and can guide you on steps or consider additional opt-out mechanisms if requested.

Third-Party Websites and Services

Our site may include links to other websites or employ services that we don’t control (as noted above). Those third-party sites and services may also use cookies or tracking technologies. This Cookie & Data Policy does not apply to third-party websites. We encourage you to read the cookie and privacy policies of any external site you visit via links on our website. For example, if you click on a partner organization’s link on our site, that partner may have its own cookie practices.

Updates to This Policy

We may update this Cookie & Data Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legal requirements, or our usage of cookies. If we make significant changes, we will notify users by updating the Effective Date above and, if substantial, by adding a notice on our website or in the cookie consent banner. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about our use of cookies and related technologies.

If you have questions or feedback about our Cookie & Data Policy, please contact us at [privacy@blackwealthevents.com]. We appreciate your interest in how we handle data and are happy to provide additional details or assistance regarding cookie management.