Privacy policy

New Hampshire Business Mentors ("nhbm," "we," "us," or "our") provides business mentoring and educational programs. This policy explains how we handle personal information when you visit nhbusinessmentors.org, request mentoring, apply to volunteer, register for a workshop, or contact us.

For privacy questions or requests, email support@nhbusinessmentors.org.

Information we collect

We collect information you provide through our forms, your nhbm account, and your communications with us. The information depends on how you participate:

• When you request mentoring, we collect your name, email address, location, business stage, the challenge you want help with, and any scheduling preferences you provide. For an operating or growing business, we also ask for its name, website, business type, year established, and employee range.
• When you apply to become a mentor, we collect your contact details, location, languages, areas of expertise, and professional biography. You may also provide a photograph and a LinkedIn profile link. We record your choice about publishing a mentor profile separately from your privacy acknowledgement.
• When you register for a workshop, we collect your name, email address, registration details, and any phone number you provide. We also record your newsletter and text-message choices.
• When you contact us, we collect your name, email address, topic, message, and any information you choose to share.

As you participate, we keep program records such as assignments, session dates, attendance, mentoring notes, follow-up actions, and communications. For volunteers, records can also include profile updates, availability, volunteer time, and acceptance of nhbm agreements.

Please limit what you submit to information relevant to your request. Do not include passwords, Social Security numbers, payment-card details, or bank account numbers in our forms or mentoring notes.

How we use your information

We use your information to respond to requests, review mentor applications, arrange mentoring assignments, schedule and administer sessions and workshops, and follow up with you. Our staff and volunteers also use program records to maintain continuity when more than one mentor supports a client.

We use account and technical information to provide access to the nhbm hub, protect our systems, prevent spam, troubleshoot problems, and keep records of activity and permissions. Program records help us understand participation and improve our services.

When you choose to receive newsletters or workshop promotions, we use your contact information for those communications. Privacy acknowledgement, newsletter signup, text-message consent, and permission to publish a mentor profile are separate choices.

Confidential mentoring information

Your business plans, challenges, financial information, and mentoring discussions may contain confidential information. Our Code of Ethics requires volunteers to protect confidential client information, prohibits its use for personal benefit, and restricts disclosure without your explicit consent unless the law requires disclosure.

Authorized program administrators and mentors assigned to support you can access the records they need for that work. Mentoring notes are shared program records and may be available to the assigned mentoring team. A mentor may send you a note or follow-up summary through our program communications.

Session and workshop recordings

If we plan to record a mentoring session or workshop, we will tell you beforehand what we intend to record, why, and who will have access. We will obtain any consent the law requires before recording. Contact us before the event if you have questions about participating without being recorded.

Information we share

We do not sell your personal information.

We share information with authorized staff and volunteers to provide the services described above. We also use service providers for website hosting, data storage, account access, email delivery, and protection against spam. These providers receive the information needed to perform those functions. Our website uses Supabase for data and authentication and Resend for program email delivery. Forms may use Cloudflare Turnstile for spam prevention.

We may disclose information when the law requires it, including in response to a valid legal demand.

Mentor profiles appear in our public directory only with the mentor's permission. Published information can include a mentor's name, photograph, biography, location, languages, and expertise. Search engines and other visitors can view and copy public profiles. Contact us if you want to withdraw publication permission. Removing a profile from our website may not remove copies held by search engines or other websites.

Cookies, technical information, and optional dictation

Our website uses cookies for functions such as maintaining an authenticated session in the nhbm hub. Your browser allows you to block or remove cookies, although doing so may prevent you from signing in or using account features.

Our hosting and security providers may receive technical information, including your IP address and information about your browser or request. When a form uses Cloudflare Turnstile, Cloudflare processes verification information, and our server may send your IP address to verify the submission.

Some browsers let you dictate your answer on the mentoring request form. If you choose this option, your browser's speech-recognition service processes your speech and may send audio to its provider. nhbm receives the text you submit and a record that you used dictation, rather than an audio upload through that form. You can type your answer instead.

Communications and your choices

We send communications needed to handle your request or participation, such as confirmations, scheduling messages, and follow-ups. Choosing not to receive newsletters does not stop these program messages.

You can ask us to stop sending optional promotional communications by emailing us. You can also ask to change your contact details, correct program information, withdraw newsletter or text-message permission, or remove a public mentor profile.

Retention and protection

We retain information for as long as we need it to provide and administer our programs, maintain necessary records, address disputes, or meet legal obligations. The appropriate period depends on the information and its purpose. We review deletion requests against those needs and any applicable legal requirements.

We use account authentication and access permissions to restrict access to program information. Our volunteers must follow nhbm's confidentiality and information-protection requirements. No website or storage system can guarantee complete security.

Requests about your information

Email support@nhbusinessmentors.org to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information, or to raise a privacy concern. Include your name, the email address you used with nhbm, and a description of your request. Please do not send identification documents unless we ask for them through an appropriate channel.

We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. Some information may need to remain in our records for legal or program-administration reasons. We will explain any limitation that applies to your request. Additional rights may apply depending on your location and the law governing your information.

Information about children

If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child has provided personal information to nhbm, contact us so we can review the circumstances and address the information as required by applicable law.

Other websites and changes to this policy

Our website may link to resources or services run by other organizations. Their privacy policies govern how they handle information you provide to them.

We will post updates to this policy on this page and revise the date above. Contact support@nhbusinessmentors.org if you have questions about a change or how we handle your information.