Privacy policy

This statement sets out how Thames Hospice[1] uses and protects your personal information, including data from your use of our website. 

Thames Hospice is committed to protecting your privacy.  This statement describes how we collect and use personal information about people who donate to us or visit our websites.  The terms of this statement may change, so please check it from time to time.

Thames Hospice is the Data Controller for personal data about supporters, (for example, event attendees or newsletter subscribers).  For the purpose of this document we will use the group term ‘supporters’ to describe any one of these groups.  Our ICO registration number is Z9131620. 

We do not trade personal data for commercial purposes and will only disclose it if required by law, if it is necessary to arrange your event attendance, or if it is with your consent.  Thames Hospice uses providers based in the European Economic Area to process supporter data.  

This policy was updated in December 2018 to show that we are adhering to the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force in May 2018.  

Use the ‘Contact Us’ link form or contact our Data Protection Officer for any data protection queries. 

Read more about the data we process and store  

How do we collect information?

We obtain personal information from you when you enquire about our activities, register with us, buy items through our online shop, make a donation to us, or ask a question via our ‘Contact Us’ section. 

What information do we collect?

The personal information we collect might include name, date of birth, email address, postal address, telephone number and credit/debit card details.

We also gather general information about the use of our websites, such as which pages users visit most often and which services, events or facilities are of most interest.  We may also track which pages users visit when they click on links in Thames Hospice emails.  We may use this information to personalise the way our websites are presented when users visit them, to make improvements to our websites and to ensure we provide the best service for users. Wherever possible we use aggregated or anonymous information that does not identify individual visitors to our websites.

How do we use this information?

We will use your personal information: 

• To provide you with the services, products or information you have requested.
• To create an account for you if you register with us.
• For administration purposes.
• To further our charitable aims, including for fundraising activities.(Fundraising and related research may include new prospect identification research and wealth screening.)

As part of this, we may analyse and screen the personal information we collect to create a profile of your interests and preferences so that we can contact you in the most appropriate way and with the most relevant information.  Where relevant, we may also assess your personal information for the purposes of fraud and credit risk reduction.  We may also check or update the address that we hold for you using publicly available information.

Keeping data safe

Your personal information and details of the enquiries received are stored on a secure database.  If for any reason you wish to have your personal details removed from our records, please contact us using the contact details below. 

Your choices

You have a choice about whether you want to receive information about our progress and fundraising activities.  We will not use your personal information for marketing purposes if you have indicated that you do not wish to be contacted.  You can change your marketing preferences at any time by contacting us at any time.

How do we propect personal information?

All of our online forms are protected by encryption.  We also use a secure server when you make a donation or payment via our websites.  We take appropriate measures to ensure that the personal information disclosed to us is kept secure, accurate and up to date and kept only for so long as is necessary for the purposes for which it is used. 

Will we disclose the information we collect to outside parties?

We will never sell your data.  We may pass your information to our service providers e.g.  mailing companies to post our newsletter, agents e.g.  data services to clean our data: and associated organisations e.g.  suppliers for the purpose of completing tasks, such as mailing you or updating your personal information and providing services to you.  Where we use service providers we will make sure there are appropriate controls in place, and they must always sign a confidentiality agreement where your data is kept securely and only used for the purpose of the Thames Hospice project for which they have been appointed.

Changes

If your personal details change, please help us to keep your information up to date by notifying us at supportercare@thameshospice.org.uk

We may change the terms of this privacy statement from time to time.  If we do so, we will post the changes here, so please check from time to time. By continuing to use our websites you will be deemed to have accepted such changes.

Email subscribers 

If you subscribe to our mailing list you will be automatically be subscribed to receive email updates.  You will only receive information that you have opted in to receive. 

Depending on your preferences, we may contact you for the following reasons:

• Thames Hospice newsletters
• Product release and special offers
• Fundraising campaigns
• Fundraising appeals
• Fundraising events
• In Memory Events
• Thames Hospice Lottery or Raffle

We currently use Dotdigital for our email marketing as our email broadcast platform. We transfer all contacts to our own database, Donorfy which is UK hosted.  This system is kept updated with your marketing preferences.  

You can change your email marketing preferences at any time, by clicking ‘unsubscribe’ on any of our emails or by contacting supportercare@thameshospice.org.uk

Donors and Fundraisers

As we get to know you, we will collect the following types of information:

• Name, title/s and full postal address
• Bank, credit card and payment details
• Contact details such as email addresses, social media links and telephone numbers
• Your date of birth
• Information relating to events you may organise such as the event date, the donation collection method, records of the money raised
• How you heard about us
• What kind of connection you have with our charity
• Why you have decided to donate to us - we will never make this question mandatory, and fully understand if you are not comfortable telling us
• Your motivations
• Your feedback from our services or dealings with us
• Contact notes relating to your involvement with the charity or are considering having with our cause

How much of this information we collect depends on the type of relationship you have with us and the information we build in the course of your relationship with us. 

We do not store personal information that you share with us unless there is a clear and valid reason for doing so.  

We will use your information to:

• Provide you with the services, products or information you asked for
• Administer your contact details and give you the opportunity to change your preferences as well as amend errors and update your data
• Manage donations (including processing Gift Aid)
• Support your fundraising activities
• Help with your activities online Keep a record of your relationship with us (including your feedback)
• Ensure we know how you prefer to be contacted
• Understand how we can improve our services, products or information
• Screen and analyse our supporters against a demographic database for the purpose of segmentation, so that we can efficiently and cost-effectively fundraise, and ensure the most suitable level of marketing is carried out across our entire supporter base
• Flag your data record – for example if you request to be removed from certain mailing lists, opt out of any specific data processing, or if you have special requirements
• Conduct surveys so that we can be sure our customer care and services are maintained to a high standard

We may also use your personal information to detect and reduce fraud and credit risk, or for due diligence purposes. 

We need to keep the details of financial transactions for seven years after the financial year of a donor’s last gift, in the event of a tax or banking enquiry.  We will only contact you to thank you.  If you say that you would like to hear from us, you will be added to our email subscriber list and will receive regular updates and fundraising asks.  You can change your preferences on these updates at any time.  

Stay connected form users

If you get in touch with us via our 'Stay connected' form, we may save the details you share with us on our database. This way, if you get in touch with you in future we can refer to our previous conversations.  We will not contact you or share your details without asking for your consent. 

Social Media users

You may come across Thames Hospice on Social Media through your own networks, or you may be presented with an advertisement from us.  We target advertisements at audiences that look like they have an interest in Thames Hospice.  We do this to inform, educate and engage new potential supporters.

Social Media is a hugely valuable tool for us and for the community that we serve, which is why we use the platforms. Social Media companies such as Facebook however are commercial companies.  We want to remind our users that information that shared on timelines, on our page or in private messages may be used or sold by Social Media providers for commercial purposes. 

Third Party Cookies
The only third party cookies used on our site are known as 'performance cookies'.  These take no personal information, but collect website usage statistics anonymously to help us monitor how our website performs.  Anything that is not directly on our website is not applicable to our Cookie Policy.  For more information see our use of Cookies and extended Third Party Cookies information.

Your Rights

As an individual whose personal data is processed by Thames Hospice you have the following rights:

• The right to be informed – which is what this privacy notice is for
• The right to access the data we hold about you the right to object to direct marketing
• The right to object to processing carried out on the basis of legitimate interests
• The right to erasure (in some circumstances)
• The right of data portability
• The right to have your data rectified if its inaccurate
• The right to have your data restricted or blocked from processing

To exercise any of these rights, please contact the Thames Hospice Data Protection Officer.

If you are not happy with the way we have handled your data, and are unable to resolve the issue with us personally, you can complain to the ICO. 

FURTHER INFORMATION

If you would like to know more about how Thames Hospice uses your information please contact the Thames Hospice Data Protection Officer. 

Phone: 01753 842121 or at: dataprotectionofficer@thameshospice.org.uk

Letter: Thames Hospice Data Protection Officer, Thames Hospice, Pine Lodge, Hatch Lane, Windsor SL4 3RW

For independent advice contact The Information Commissioner:

Helpline number 0303 1231113 or at www.ico.org.uk