Privacy Policy
At Al Basar International Foundation, we are committed to protecting your personal information and being transparent about how we use it. We handle your data securely and responsibly, in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and store your personal data when you use our website, make a donation, volunteer with us, or subscribe to our communications.
Who We Are
Al Basar International Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity Number: 1140756).
What Information We Collect
We only collect the information necessary to fulfill our charitable objectives and provide you with the best possible experience. This may include:
- 👤 Personal Details:
Your name, email address, postal address, and telephone number.
- 💳 Financial Information:
Payment details. (Note: We do not store full credit/debit card numbers on our servers; these are securely processed by payment gateways such as Stripe or PayPal).
- 📝 Taxpayer Status:
UK taxpayer status, which we record if you claim Gift Aid, to ensure compliance with laws over HMRC.
- 💼 Volunteer & Employment Data:
Employment history, references, dates of birth, and emergency contact details if you apply to volunteer or work with us.
- 🌐 Website Usage Data:
Non-personally identifiable information collected through cookies, such as your IP address, browser type, and how you navigate our website, to help us improve our digital experience.
How We Use Your Information
We will only use your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so. We use your information to:
- Process and acknowledge your donations (one-off or recurring).
- Claim Gift Aid on your donations from HMRC.
- Process volunteer applications and manage field deployments safely.
- Keep you updated on our latest news, campaigns, and appeals (only if you have opted in to receive marketing via email or SMS).
- Respond to your queries or complaints.
- Analyze website traffic to improve our services and outreach.
How We Keep Your Data Safe
We implement strict physical, technical, and organisational security measures to protect your data from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse:
Our website uses secure SSL encryption to process donations and collect data through web forms.
Only authorised staff have access to personal data, and only when necessary for their roles.
Sharing Your Information
We promise never to sell or swap your personal details with third parties for their own marketing purposes. We will only share your information with trusted third parties when it is absolutely necessary to operate our charity, such as:
- Payment Processors: Such as Stripe or PayPal to securely process your donations.
- Government Bodies: Specifically HMRC to process Gift Aid claims or fulfill legal/regulatory obligations.
- Service Providers: Trusted partners who help us send emails, manage our databases, or host our website (who are legally bound to protect your data).
How Long We Keep Your Data
We retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this policy. For example, we are legally required by HMRC to keep records of Gift Aid declarations and financial transactions for up to six years. If you ask us to stop sending you marketing communications, we will keep a record of your contact details on a "suppression list" to ensure we honor your request.
Your Rights
Under data protection law, you have the right to:
Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Ask us to update or correct any inaccurate information.
Ask us to delete your personal data (subject to legal retention requirements).
Ask us to stop processing your data for certain purposes, including direct marketing.
Request your personal data in a structured, commonly used format.
Object to our processing your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests.
How to Unsubscribe: If you no longer wish to receive communications from us, you can click the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any of our emails, or contact us directly.
Complaints: If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at https://ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to update your details, or want to exercise your data rights, please reach out to our team: