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MESA Privacy Policy

United MESA Foundation ("MESA," "we," "us")
Effective date: July 31, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how MESA collects, uses, shares, and protects information when you visit www.mesacamp.us, use the MESA member platform, apply to camp with us, pay dues or make donations, or communicate with us (together, the "Site" and "Services"). MESA is operated by United MESA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, 22 Amicita Avenue, Mill Valley, California 94941.

By using the Site, you agree to this Privacy Policy and to our Terms of Service. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information you provide.

  • Application and membership information: name, email address, phone number, city/country, emergency contact, dietary needs and allergies, skills and camp-role preferences, Burning Man history, social media handles, photos, and anything else you include in an application or member profile.
  • Payment information: when you pay dues, cost-shares, or donations, our payment processors collect your payment card or bank details. MESA does not receive or store your full card number. We receive and keep transaction records: payer name, email, amount, date, payment method type, campaign (e.g., dues, power/pump services, donation), and receipt identifiers.
  • Communications: emails, form submissions, dispute submissions to info@mesacamp.us, and survey responses.
  • Platform account data: login credentials (stored in hashed form by our providers), RSVP and logistics selections (e.g., arrival dates, RV details, shift signups), and budgeting-tool inputs.

1.2 Information collected automatically.
When you use the Site, we and our service providers may collect technical data: IP address, approximate location derived from it, browser and device type, operating system, referring pages, pages viewed, time on page, and interactions. This is collected through cookies, local storage, pixels, and server logs (see Section 5).

1.3 Information from others.
We may receive information about you from other camp members (for example, when a member pays for a shared RV or refers you), from Burning Man's placement systems where relevant to camp organization, and from partner camps with whom we share infrastructure services — limited to what is needed to run the camp.

1.4 Photos and media.
Camp life is documented at events and gatherings. Photos and videos that include members may be collected and used as described in Section 12 of the Terms of Service and Section 8 below.

2. How We Use Information

We use information to:

  • process applications and manage camp membership, placement, and rosters;
  • collect dues, cost-shares, and donations; issue receipts; and maintain accurate financial records;
  • plan and run camp logistics — meals, power, water, sanitation, RV services, shifts, build and strike;
  • communicate with you about the camp, the event, payments, and safety;
  • prevent, investigate, and respond to fraud, payment disputes, and chargebacks — including maintaining records that demonstrate a payment was authorized and producing them to payment processors, card networks, and banks when a transaction is disputed;
  • operate, secure, debug, and improve the Site and member platform;
  • comply with law, tax, and nonprofit reporting obligations; and
  • with your consent, share camp photography and recruitment materials.

We do not use your information for third-party advertising, and we do not sell it.

3. Payment Information

Payments are processed by third-party processors (such as Stripe and nonprofit payment platforms). These processors are responsible for the card data they collect, and their privacy policies apply to that processing. MESA retains transaction metadata and receipts as financial records of the organization, including for dispute handling under our Terms of Service.

4. When We Share Information

We share information only as needed to run the camp:

  • Service providers: payment processors, email and communications tools, form and survey tools, spreadsheet and document tools, hosting and analytics providers — bound to use the data only to provide their services to us.
  • Burning Man organization: limited camp and roster information as required for placement, event operations, or event compliance.
  • Partner camps and shared-infrastructure vendors: where you purchase or use shared services (for example, RV power or pump services coordinated with a neighboring camp or vendor), we share the details needed to deliver that service (e.g., name, RV location, service dates).
  • Camp leadership and organizers: membership information is visible to the camp leads and volunteers who need it to organize the camp.
  • Legal and safety: when required by law, subpoena, or governmental request; to enforce our Terms of Service; to respond to payment disputes and chargebacks; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of MESA, its members, or others.
  • Corporate events: if United MESA Foundation reorganizes or transfers camp operations to a successor nonprofit, records may transfer with it, subject to this Policy.

We never sell personal information, and we never share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

5. Cookies and Analytics

The Site uses cookies and similar technologies that are necessary for it to function (such as login sessions) and, where enabled, analytics that help us understand how the Site is used. You can control cookies through your browser settings; disabling necessary cookies may break parts of the Site. If we adopt analytics tools, they are configured for aggregate usage measurement, not advertising.

6. Data Retention

We keep information only as long as needed for the purposes above:

  • Application and membership data: retained while you are a member or applicant and for a reasonable period afterward so returning members don't start from zero; you may request deletion sooner (Section 9).
  • Payment and dispute records: retained for up to seven (7) years to satisfy tax, audit, nonprofit-compliance, and payment-dispute obligations.
  • Communications: retained as operationally useful, then deleted in the ordinary course.
  • Technical logs: retained for short periods for security and debugging.

7. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate for a volunteer-run nonprofit: reputable hosted providers, access limited to camp leadership who need it, encrypted transmission (HTTPS), and processor-managed card handling. No system is perfectly secure; if we learn of a breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

8. Photos and Media

We use camp photos and video for camp albums, recruitment, and social channels (e.g., @mesa.camp on Instagram). If a camp-controlled post includes you and you want it removed, email info@mesacamp.us — we will act in good faith to take it down. Media captured by other attendees or by Burning Man is outside our control.

9. Your Choices and Rights

  • Email: you can opt out of non-essential camp emails by replying with a request or using an unsubscribe link where present; operational messages (payment receipts, safety, dispute responses) still apply while you are a member.
  • Access, correction, deletion: you may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, by emailing info@mesacamp.us. We will respond within a reasonable time and honor requests except where we must keep records (e.g., financial and dispute records under Section 6, or where retention is required by law).
  • Account: you may update platform profile details directly or by emailing us.

We do not discriminate against anyone for exercising privacy rights.

10. California Privacy Rights

California residents have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), including the rights to know, access, correct, and delete personal information, and the right to opt out of "sale" or "sharing." MESA does not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined in the CCPA. As a nonprofit, MESA is generally outside the CCPA's scope, but we honor these rights voluntarily. To exercise them, email info@mesacamp.us with "Privacy Request" in the subject line. We may need to verify your identity before acting.

11. International Members and Visitors

MESA has members around the world. The Site is operated from the United States, and information is processed and stored in the United States, which may have different data-protection laws than your home country. If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland: we process your data to perform our agreement with you (membership and payments), for our legitimate interests in running the camp and preventing fraud, to comply with law, and with your consent where applicable; you may have rights to access, rectify, erase, restrict, or port your data and to object to processing, exercisable by emailing info@mesacamp.us.

12. Children

The Site and MESA membership are intended for adults 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18 through the Site. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.

13. Third-Party Links

The Site links to third-party services (Instagram, payment pages, Burning Man systems). Their privacy practices are their own; review their policies.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Effective date" above reflects the latest version. Material changes will be posted on the Site, and continued use of the Site after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

15. Contact Us

United MESA Foundation
22 Amicita Avenue, Mill Valley, California 94941
info@mesacamp.us · www.mesacamp.us

For payment disputes, see the Dispute Resolution Process in our Terms of Service: submit disputes to info@mesacamp.us; MESA responds within 5 business days, with a renewed-dispute or Secondary Review path (3 business days) after that.