Terms of Service

Passwords to the BPO Elks Members-Only web site are for paid-up members of the BPO Elks of the USA only. By registering and using a password, you are agreeing to the following:

• That you are a paid-up member in good standing of the BPO Elks of the USA.
• That you are obligated for the regulations established by the BPO Elks of the USA for the use of this web site and the message boards contained therein.
• That the password issued to you is for your use only; that you will maintain its confidentiality; and that you are responsible for damages caused by breach of this confidentiality or negligence that allows others to breach the required confidentiality.
• You further agree to indemnify and hold harmless the BPOE of the USA, Inc., its state associations and other subordinate Lodges from any claims or expense arising out of your use of this password, your violation of the established regulation for the use of this web site, or for the actions of other parties who gained access to this web site due to your negligence or lack of care in maintaining the confidentiality of the password.
• You agree that a violation of these terms could result in the withdrawal of your access privileges to the Elks.Org web site.

Elks.Org Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy lets you know how the personal information that you submit to the Elks.Org web site is processed and used. We promise that we will take steps to use your personal information only in ways that are compatible with this Policy. The following policies are in effect for the Web pages, newsletters, message boards and opt-in announcement lists operated by the Elks.Org web site. Other Departments, Committees, Associations, and Lodges of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks may have different Policies.

What information are you collecting and how are you collecting it?

Every computer connected to the Internet is given a domain name and a set of numbers called an "IP address." When a visitor requests a page from the Elks.Org web site, our web servers automatically recognize that visitor's domain name and IP address. The domain name and IP address reveal nothing personal about you other than the IP address from which you have accessed our site. We use this information to examine our traffic in aggregate. We also use "cookies" to track individual usage patterns on the Elks.org web site. Our web servers do NOT record e-mail addresses of our visitors.

What are cookies?

From time to time, Elks.Org may send a "cookie" to your computer. A cookie is a small piece of data that is sent to your browser from a web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. A cookie can't read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. Cookies do not damage your system. We use cookies to identify which areas of the Elks.Org's web site you have visited or customized, and to confirm your identity when visiting restricted-access pages.

What other information do you request?

During our registration process we request your email address as well as additional "off-line" contact information. We maintain a strict "No-Spam" policy, that means that we do not intend to sell, rent, or otherwise give your e-mail address to a third-party without your consent.

In addition, Elks.Org will not send you email that you have not agreed to receive. We may from time to time send e-mail announcing new Elks.Org services.

Credit Card Transactions

Elks.org Memorial Building donations and Convention Pre-Registration transactions are processed by PayPal.com, a company that specializes in highly secure credit card transactions conducted via the Internet. Credit card numbers are NOT stored on the Elks.org servers, and are not available for future transactions. Credit card numbers and other transaction details are not shared with any company or organization other than PayPal.com, which maintains its own strict privacy policy.

Online donations to the Elks National Foundation are processed by Blackbaud Merchant Services, a Level 1 PCI service provider and payment gateway. Blackbaud meets the industry’s toughest data security standards for transactions conducted via the Internet. Credit card numbers are NOT stored on the Elks.org servers, and are not available for future transactions. Credit card numbers and other transaction details are not shared with any company or organization other than Blackbaud.com, which maintains its own strict privacy policy.

Will you disclose the information you collect to outside third parties?

Elks.Org will disclose personal information when required by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to:

1. Conform to the edicts of the law or comply with a legal process served on the Elks.Org web site or the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,
2. Protect and defend the rights or property of the Elks.Org web site or the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, or the visitors of the Elks.Org web site,
3. Identify persons who may be violating the law, the legal notice, or the rights of third parties,
4. Cooperate with the investigations of purported unlawful activities.

Elks.Org uses reasonable precautions to keep the information disclosed to us secure. However, we are not responsible for any breach of security or for any actions of any third parties which receive the information. Elks.Org also links to a wide variety of other sites and contains advertisements of third parties. We are not responsible for their privacy policies or how they treat information about their users. Please check with those sites to determine their privacy policy.

Your Consent To This Agreement

By using our Web site, you consent to the collection and use of information by the Elks.Org web site as specified above. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.

By using our web site, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the B.P.O. Elks of the USA, Inc., from any claim, demand or expense arising out of your use of the website except for occurences caused by the sole negligence of the B.P.O. Elks of the USA, Inc.

Elks Online Guidelines

The Elks.Org web site is best experienced when members observe a few simple rules. Here are some key guidelines that apply to this web site in addition to those set forth in our Terms of Service.

1. The Elks.Org web site is a service of the B.P.O. Elks of the U.S.A., and as such is governed by the Statutes of the Order. Please observe all applicable statutes as you participate in our online services.
2. The opinions expressed in our online message boards and on our Virtual Home Pages are those of the individual authors, and do NOT necessarily represent the official opinion of the Grand Lodge, the headquarters staff, or any of the Order's Committees, State Associations or subordinate lodges.
3. Those posting messages to our online message boards and Virtual Home Pages grant the BPO Elks of the USA, Inc., an irrevocable license to republish and use such messages at the organization's discretion. The organization also explicitly reserves the compilation copyright on the collected messages posted to this web site. Individual messages are copyrighted by the original authors. By participating in these message forums, you explicitly agree that you will not reuse these messages outside of this web site.
4. The Elks.Org web site is provided by the Grand Lodge as a service to the Members of the Order, but since Internet access is not yet universal, our online services should NOT be seen as the Order's official means of communication with its membership. If you have a problem or concern of an official nature, please send a letter by regular mail to your District Deputy, Special Deputy, Grand Exalted Ruler, or the Past Grand Exalted Ruler who sponsors your state.
5. The Elks.org message boards are intended to facilitate the exchange of positive, constructive information between members of the Order. The message boards should not be used to air private grievances, or to post submissions that reflect poorly on the Order, its policies, or on any particular member, officer, or employee of the Order. Matters of concern in these areas should be addressed "offline", through the customary channels of the organization. Messages and topics deemed inconsistent with this guideline will be removed from the elks.org message boards at the discretion of the forum administrators. Members who violate these guidelines will be subject to immediate 30-day revocation of their elks.org access privileges. Second time offenders will be subject to 90-day revocation and third time offenders will be subject to a 6 month restriction on access to elks.org.

Thank you for observing these simple guidelines!