Privacy Policy

Desert Springs Church
Last Updated: December 8, 2025

Desert Springs Church (“Desert Springs Church”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information that you share with us online.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard information when you visit our website at https://www.visitdsc.org and any other online services that link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Site”).

By using the Site, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

1. Who we are and how to contact us

Desert Springs Church is a church located in the State of California.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, you can contact us at:

Desert Springs Church
43435 Monterey Ave
Palm Desert, CA 92260
Phone: 760-568-3646
Email: info@visitdsc.org

2. Information we collect

We may collect three main types of information:

2.1 Information you provide directly

You may choose to provide personal information to us when you:

• Fill out a contact form or “Plan Your Visit” form

• Register for an event, group, or class

• Submit a prayer request or other request for care

• Sign up to receive email updates, newsletters, or text messages

• Give online through links on our Site (processed by third-party giving platforms)

• Apply to volunteer, serve, or apply for employment

• Communicate with us through email, phone, or other means

The types of information you provide may include:

• Name

• Email address

• Phone number

• Mailing address

• Church affiliation or demographic information that you choose to share

• Information you provide in messages, prayer requests, or forms

• For employment or volunteer applications, information such as work history, education, and references

We do not ask you to provide sensitive personal information through the Site unless it is strictly necessary, and any such information is provided voluntarily by you.

2.2 Information collected automatically

When you use the Site, we and our service providers may automatically collect certain information about your device and usage, including:

• IP address

• Browser type and version

• Device type and operating system

• Pages you visit and the time and date of your visit

• Referring and exit pages

• General location information based on IP address (for example, city or region)

We may collect this information through cookies, log files, and similar technologies. See the Cookies and similar technologies section below for more details.

2.3 Information from third parties

We may receive information about you from:

• Third-party giving or payment processors, when you give online

• Email or text message service providers

• Event registration and church management platforms

• Social media platforms, if you interact with our pages or content there

The information we receive will depend on the privacy settings and policies of those third parties.

3. How we use your information

We may use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To respond to your inquiries, requests, and messages

• To provide pastoral care, prayer support, and ministry services

• To register you for events, groups, or classes and communicate about them

• To process and acknowledge your donations (donation processing is handled by third-party providers)

• To send you church news, updates, devotionals, and other communications you have requested or that are related to your involvement with Desert Springs Church

• To operate, maintain, and improve our Site, including diagnosing technical issues

• To analyze how our Site is used, so we can improve content and usability

• To protect the security, integrity, and lawful use of our Site

• To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal obligations

• For any other purpose that we disclose to you at the time you provide information, or with your consent

We do not sell your personal information.

4. Legal bases for processing (for visitors from the EEA/UK)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, we process your personal information only when we have a valid legal basis, including:

• Your consent

• Our legitimate interests, such as providing ministry services and improving our Site

• Compliance with legal obligations

• Performance of a contract with you, for example, when you register for an event

5. When we share your information

We may share your information with:

• Service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as:

  • Web hosting and maintenance

  • Email and text message providers

  • Church management and event registration systems

  • Online giving and payment processors

  • Analytics providers

• Pastoral staff and ministry leaders who need the information to provide care, follow up, or ministry services

• Legal or governmental authorities, when required by law or in response to valid legal process

• Other parties, when necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Desert Springs Church, our staff, our congregation, or the public

We require our service providers to use personal information only to perform services for us and to protect it in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy.

We do not sell or share your personal information for money or for targeted advertising, as defined under California privacy law.

6. Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. We and our service providers may use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Remember your preferences and settings

• Help the Site function properly

• Understand how visitors use the Site

• Improve performance and content

Types of cookies we may use include:

• Strictly necessary cookies, which are required for the Site to function

• Functional cookies, which remember choices you make

• Analytics cookies, which help us understand how the Site is used

You can usually set your browser to refuse some or all cookies or to alert you when cookies are being used. If you disable cookies, some parts of the Site may not function correctly.

If you are using a cookie consent banner on the Site, your choices there will also control certain categories of cookies.

7. Data retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the context in which it was collected. For example, donation records may be kept longer to comply with tax and financial reporting obligations.

8. Data security

We use reasonable physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to protect personal information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is fully secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your information.

9. Third-party websites and services

The Site may contain links to websites, services, or applications operated by third parties, such as online giving platforms, event registration tools, or social media sites.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites or services that you use.

10. Children’s privacy

Our Site is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under 13 without appropriate parental consent as required by law.

If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without verifiable parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information as soon as reasonably possible.

Parents or guardians who believe their child has provided us personal information may contact us using the contact details above.

11. Your choices

You have choices about how we use your information.

11.1 Email and text communications

You may opt out of receiving promotional or non-essential communications by:

• Clicking the unsubscribe link in an email you receive from us, or

• Contacting us at info@visitdsc.org

We may still send you important transactional or ministry-related communications, such as confirmations for registrations or essential updates related to your involvement with the church.

11.2 Cookies

You can control cookies through:

• Your browser settings, and

• Any cookie consent tools used on the Site

Disabling certain cookies may impact how the Site functions.

12. California privacy rights

If you are a California resident, this section describes additional rights you may have under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), to the extent these laws apply to our activities.

Even though Desert Springs Church is a nonprofit religious organization and may not be directly subject to all provisions of these laws, we choose to describe certain rights as a matter of transparency and good practice.

12.1 Categories of personal information we may collect

In the last 12 months, we may have collected the following categories of personal information:

We do not knowingly collect or use sensitive personal information for the purpose of inferring characteristics about you.

12.2 How we use and disclose personal information

We use and disclose personal information for the purposes described in the sections above, including:

• Providing and improving our ministry services

• Communicating with you

• Operating, maintaining, and securing our Site

• Complying with legal obligations

We may disclose personal information to service providers who perform services on our behalf, as described in the When we share your information section.

We do not sell your personal information and we do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined under California law.

12.3 Your California privacy rights

Subject to certain limitations, California residents may have the right to:

• Right to know and access. Request that we disclose the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the categories of sources, the purposes for collection, and the categories of third parties to whom we disclose personal information.

• Right to deletion. Request that we delete personal information we have collected about you, subject to certain exceptions.

• Right to correction. Request that we correct inaccurate personal information we maintain about you.

• Right to non-discrimination. Not receive discriminatory treatment for exercising any of your privacy rights.

If California law requires additional rights beyond those listed here, we will honor those rights to the extent required.

12.4 How to submit a request

If you are a California resident and wish to exercise your rights, you may contact us by:

• Email: info@visitdsc.org

• Mail: Desert Springs Church, 43435 Monterey Ave, Palm Desert, CA 92260

• Phone: 760-568-3646

To protect your privacy and security, we may need to verify your identity before acting on your request. This may include matching information you provide with information we already have on file.

You may also authorize an agent to make a request on your behalf, in which case we may require proof of authorization and verification of your identity.

13. Visitors from outside the United States

If you access the Site from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States, where our servers and central database are located and where data protection laws may differ from those in your country.

By using the Site, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States and to the processing of your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page.

If we make material changes, we may provide additional notice, such as by posting a prominent notice on the Site or sending you an email, where appropriate.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information.

15. How to contact us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:

Desert Springs Church
43435 Monterey Ave
Palm Desert, CA 92260
Phone: 760-568-3646
Email: info@visitdsc.org