Our Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Policy

Introduction

This privacy policy sets out the way we hold and process your personal information. We will always refer to this page when we ask you for your consent. We will keep this page updated, so that you can be confident when sharing your information with us, that it will be only used for what we say here.

Who we are

National Forest Gardening Scheme

We are registered with company’s house as a CIC (Company number 12072766).

Any electronic communications will be made in accordance with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

Members, workers and donors: What information do we collect about you?

We collect the personal data that you may share with us directly as part of completing a donation form, attending a National Forest Gardening Scheme AGMs and other meetings, e-newsletter sign-ups, ticket bookings, product and services sales such as forest garden in a box, etc.

Personal information we collect may include:

  • your name, title;
  • postal address, email address and phone number;
  • relationships to relevant organisations such as donors, partner agencies;
  • current relevant work, interests and activities.
  • contact preferences;
  • gift information, including Direct Debit bank details where applicable;
  • Gift Aid status;
  • details of correspondence sent to you, or received from you;
  • where relevant, selected media coverage;
  • any other information provided by yourself to National Forest Gardening Scheme, that we feel is relevant to your relationship with us. If it is potentially sensitive information, we promise to check with you first before recording it.

When we ask you to provide your personal information we will let you know why we are asking, and how we will use your data, by directing you towards this notice.

If you donate to National Forest Gardening Scheme through Virgin Money Giving (the fundraising site we use for our online donations), the personal information you give will be shared with us indirectly. As an independent third party they will only do so when you have indicated that you wish to support National Forest Gardening Scheme and with your explicit consent. You should check their Privacy Policy when you provide your information to understand fully how they will process your data.

What we do with your information

Personal information provided to us will be used for the purposes outlined at the time of collection in accordance with the preferences you express. This may include:

  • Administration of donations and legacies;
  • Communication about our work, events, fundraising and other activities that we think may be of interest to you;
  • Data cleansing, to check if we have accurate contact details for you please email us.
  • To send you surveys, and for market research purposes;
  • Tools may be used to monitor the effectiveness of our communications with you, including email tracking, which records when an e-newsletter from us is opened and/or how many links are clicked within the message. The data from this tracking is generally used in an aggregated and anonymised form;
  • Occasionally we may also conduct additional research to understand you better and the areas of our work that you may be interested in supporting.

We have an ‘opt-in only’ approach to how we communicate with you, which means that we will only send you marketing that you have explicitly consented to receiving via your preferred channels (email and post). You can opt out of any / all of our communications at any point simply by contacting info@Nationalforestgardening.org

There are some communications that we are required to send regardless of your contact preferences. These are essential communications, deemed necessary to fulfil our contractual obligations to you.  This would include Direct Debit confirmations and advanced notices, thank you letters, Gift Aid confirmation letters and querying returned mail or bounced Direct Debit payments with you.

How we update, screen and analyse your information

We regularly review records of supporters to ensure your data is as accurate as possible. Occasionally we may also conduct additional research to understand you better and the areas of our work that you may be interested in supporting. We may consult alternative sources such as:

  • Royal Mail National Change of Address database (NCOA);
  • BT Operator Services Information System (OSIS);
  • Newspaper articles, publications and company websites;
  • Companies House and other company information databases;
  • Charity Commission and Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) registers;
  • Any other publicly available sources.

You can opt-out of your data being used in this way simply by contacting info@Nationalforestgardening.org

Who we might share your information with?

Personal information collected and processed by us may be shared internally with the following groups where necessary: National Forest Gardening Scheme directors, members and workers.

We do not disclose personal data to any third parties or external organisations, other than data processors carrying out work on our behalf.

Examples of such data processors would be bulk email distribution services such as MailChimp. Any such companies are acting as approved data processors for National Forest Gardening Scheme, and we retain full responsibility for your personal data. Data processors will act only on our instructions.

Your data will never be sold or passed to any third party for any other purpose.

How we keep your information secure

We have implemented security procedures, rules and technical measures to protect the personal data that we have under our control from:

  • unauthorised access;
  • improper use or disclosure;
  • unauthorised modification.

All our directors, workers and data processors, who have access to, and are associated with the processing of personal data, are legally obliged to respect the confidentiality of our service-users’ and supporters’ personal data.

How long we keep you information for

We do not retain your personal data longer than is either reasonable or legally permissible. We have different retention periods for different categories of data. Please contact us if you would like more information on our retention periods.

How can I access the information about me, correct information you hold, or withdraw consent?

You can ask us if we are keeping any personal data about you and you can also request to receive a copy of that personal data – this is called a Subject Access Request.

Subject Access Requests should be sent to:

Paul Pivcevic < Paul@Nationalforestgardening.org >

You may be asked to provide the following details:

  • The personal information you want to access
  • Where it is likely to be held
  • The date range of the information you wish to access.

We will need you to confirm your identity. If we hold personal information about you, we will give you a copy of the information in an understandable format together with an explanation of why we hold and use it. We will aim to respond to any requests for information promptly, and in any event within the legally required time limits (30 days). This timeframe may be extended by up to two months if your request is particularly complex.

At any time you may request that we delete or correct your personal information. If you wish to correct any information on you held by National Forest Gardening Scheme, simply contact hello@Nationalforestgardening.org

Cookies

Our website uses Cookies – these are small text files on your device (your smartphone, computer, tablet etc.). They are made by your web browser when you visit a website. Every time you go back to that website, your browser will send the cookie file back to the website’s server. This improves your experience of using a website, for example, by remembering your preference settings and by measuring your use of a website to ensure that it meets your needs. 

Changes to our privacy notice

We regularly review our privacy notice, and may make changes time to time. Any changes made will be posted to this page, and will apply from the time we post them. This privacy notice was last changed in Nov 2019.

How to contact us

If you have any comments on our privacy notice, or information we hold about you please contact us:

  • by email to hello@Nationalforestgardening.org