UNA Exchange is committed to safeguarding the privacy and security of the personal data of our volunteers and supporters by meeting our obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018, the Privacy & Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 and the General Data Protection Regulation that came into effect in May 2018. This statement explains how we will collect, use and disclose information.
Our communications contain links to websites owned and operated by third parties. These third parties have their own privacy policies – we cannot accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy practices of such third-party websites.
Why we collect personal data
UNA Exchange will only collect data that is relevant to the carrying out of the legitimate purposes and functions of the charity in a way that is not prejudicial to the interests of individuals.
We collect personal data for the following purposes:
- To process applications for individuals to participate in international volunteering projects (both overseas and in Wales) and fulfil our duty of care to volunteers: ‘sensitive’ data (including health information) will be held only with your knowledge and consent.
- To administer and enhance our website: with your data, we can improve your browsing experience and use of the services available.
- To enable us to communicate with you: with your consent, we may contact you with general information, newsletters and other marketing communications that may be of interest to you (you have the right to opt-out of these communications at any time).
- To provide trusted third parties with statistics to meet the requirements of funders and regulators: personal information is aggregated and anonymised and cannot be traced back to you.
- To deal with enquiries you make to us about our services.
Whenever data is first collected which might be used for any marketing purpose, this purpose will be made clear, and you will be given a clear opt-out option.
As a member of the Alliance of European Voluntary Service organisations, we use PLATO (the official PLAcement TOol for The Alliance), a cloud-based database, to collect and store volunteer personal data. Please follow this link for the full Privacy Notice for PLATO users, which was last updated 24th May 2018.
Where we collect personal data
The data we collect may have come from you directly (in person, by email or telephone), from our website (if you have submitted a form) or from a partner organisation (where required to manage incoming and outgoing volunteers). This can consist of information such as your name, organisation, email address, language preferences and postal address.
We may also use publicly available information to identify people who may be interested in partnering with UNA Exchange. This information may include newspaper or other media coverage, open postings on social media sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn, and data from Companies’ House and the Charity Commission.
Your debit, credit card information and bank details
We use a number of external platforms to process payments you make to UNA Exchange. These platforms are external to UNA Exchange but are reputable within the industry, however we recommend you check their privacy statements for further information.
- PayPal for payment of participation fees (your bank or card details will not be provided to us using this platform).
- Eventbrite for event donations (your bank or card details will not be provided to us).
- CAFOnline for donations. This platform gives members of our finance team access to your bank details to process direct debits.
Will UNA Exchange share my personal information with anyone else?
UNA Exchange will not, under any circumstances, share or sell your personal data with any third party for marketing purposes and you will not receive offers from other companies or organisations as a result of giving your details to us.
We may need to share your information with ‘data processors’ such as service providers, associated organisations or agents who may help us to prepare and send communications to you relating to our activities. These ‘data processors’ will only act under our instruction and we will not allow these organisations to use your data for their own purposes and will take care to ensure that they keep your data secure.
We will also comply with legal requests where disclosure is required or permitted by law (for example to law enforcement agencies for the prevention and detection of crime, subject to such bodies providing us with a relevant request in writing).
How long will UNA Exchange retain my personal information?
We only hold your personal information for as long as is necessary for us to administer our relationship with you and to comply with the law and donor requirements. We will retain a record of any payments for a period of 7 years; for non-financial transactions, we will keep your data for up to 5 years if we are no longer in contact with you.
If you request that we stop communicating with you, we may keep a record of your contact details and appropriate information to enable us to comply with your request not to be contacted by us.
Where you contribute material to us, e.g. user-generated content, we will generally only keep your content for as long as is reasonably required for the purpose(s) for which it was submitted, unless otherwise stated at the point of generation.
When we dispose of your information, it will always be done so securely.
How does UNA Exchange update, correct, or delete my personal information?
The accuracy of your information is very important to us. We want to ensure that we are able to communicate with you in ways that you are happy with, and to provide you with information that is of interest.
Under the Data Protection Act you have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to have any inaccuracies corrected.
You can find out what personal information we hold about you and update this at any time. You can also request the removal of your personal information from our records. To do so, please email [email protected].
Children
If you are under 16 and would like to get involved, please ensure that you have consent from a parent or guardian before giving us your personal information. We collect data from young people under 16 years of age in the following circumstances:
- Young volunteers complete our volunteer enquiry form.
- Basic details about attendees (names and dietary or access requirements) for events.
- Anyone over the age of 13 is permitted to sign up to our mailing list or to engage with us through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Communication
If you are unhappy with our services or something that we have done or failed to do, we want to know about it. We also welcome your views on what we do well. Your comments enable us as an organisation to learn and continuously improve our services.
To do so, please email [email protected].
Further information
Please be aware that some of our web pages contain links to other web sites where we think those sites may provide information of interest to our readers. We have no liability for those sites and users are advised to check the privacy policy on those sites if they have any concerns.
To find out more about your personal data protection rights, please visit the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): https://ico.org.uk/
UNA Exchange is not registered with the ICO since we are a not-for-profit organisation and qualify for exemption.