Privacy Policy

Data Usage and Privacy Policy


What do we mean by personal information?

Personal information is any information that can be used to identify an individual. For example, it can include information such as their name, date of birth, email address, postal address, telephone number, fax number and credit/debit card details, as well as information relating to their health or personal circumstances.

What information do we collect?

We collect personal information from individuals when:

–    Applying for a Special Day (including the beneficiary, responsible companion and medical referrer)
–    Registering with us (eg for an event, to become a volunteer, etc)
–    Ordering products (eg Christmas cards, t-shirts, etc) 
–    Signing up to receive communications (eg e-news)
–    Making a donation to us
–    Fundraising on our behalf
–    Sponsoring people fundraising on our behalf
–    Raffle
–    Lottery
–    They apply for a vacancy with Willow
–    They become an employee of Willow
–    They enter into a Contract for Services (contractor) with Willow

How do we use it?

Applying for a Special Day: We will collect data about the applicant, responsible companion and medical referrer, both personal data (such as their name and contact details) and also sensitive personal data about the applicant (such as information about their mobility requirements and health). The personal data and sensitive personal data will be stored, processed and used in the following ways:
–    Providing and administering our Special Day service 
–    Monitoring the quality of services provided
–    To answer questions and enquiries from the beneficiary, responsible companion or medical referrer
–    To use this information on an anonymised basis to monitor compliance with our equal opportunities policy and to inform funders about the type of people we support. 

Information Requests: We use contact information from web forms, emails, mail and telephone to send individuals information or materials that they have requested or to provide Special Days. Contact information is also used to contact individuals when necessary, for example, to fulfil a query, to provide a Special Day or service, such as a Christmas card order or an event.

Orders and Donations: Any orders and donations made will require personal and financial information. We will collect an individual’s personal information (such as contact details), demographic information (like age, gender), and financial information (such as account numbers).

Contact information and financial information from the order, donation forms or enquiries are used to fulfil orders or provide services. An individual’s contact information is also used to get in touch with them when necessary, for example to be able to fulfil an order. Financial information that is collected is held securely and deleted on an ongoing basis (credit card details are not stored). 

We also retain personal data to supply to HMRC where we are able to claim gift aid on a donation – HMRC require title, first initial, surname, house name or number and postcode for every donation claimed against.

We will not sell or exchange personal details with other organisations other than where we have a duty to share that information with third parties, regulatory or law enforcement agencies if we believe in good faith that we are required by law to disclose it in connection with the detection of crime, the collection of taxes or duties, in order to comply with any applicable law or order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or in connection with legal proceedings.

Applying for a Job or Volunteering Position with Willow: We will collect data about individuals, both personal data (such as name and contact details) and also sensitive personal data (such as information in a CV). The personal data and sensitive personal data will be stored, processed, used and disclosed by us in the following ways:

–    To facilitate the recruitment process
–    To enable individuals to submit their CV
–    To answer your questions and enquiries
–    To third parties where we have retained them to provide services that we have requested including references, , verification of the details that have been provided from third party source, psychometric evaluation or skill test
–    To use their information on an anonymised basis to monitor compliance with our equal opportunities policy.

Further detail is provided in the following privacy notices:
•    Willow employee, worker or contractor privacy notice (insert link)
•    Willow job applicant privacy notice

Profiling, data analysis and updating your contact details: As we are a charity relying on donations, we may analyse the personal information we collect to create a profile of individual’s interests and preferences and we may gather information about you from publicly available sources, for example Companies House and the media, to help us understand more about you as an individual and your ability to support Willow, including financially.  In addition, from time to time, we carry out an analysis of our supporters and the donations they have made. These activities provide us with an indication of the type of support and likely donations that we may receive in the future which allows us to plan  fundraising activities. We may also enhance the data we hold on individuals by receiving information about them from public sources or third parties.

We will carry out research on the demographics, interests and behaviour of our users and supporters to help us gain a better understanding of them and to enable us to improve our service to users and focus conversations with supporters. This research may be carried out internally by our employees. You will always have the right to opt out of this processing.

Access to your information

We will always try to ensure that the data we hold for you are up to date, reasonable and not excessive. You can check the information that we hold about you by e-mailing us at DPO@willowfoundation.org.uk or writing to Data Protection Officer, Willow, Gate House, Fretherne Road, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire AL8 6NS

Users 17 and under

Other than for the processing of Special Days for applicants aged 16 and 17, or taking part in a challenge event or volunteering, we do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from anyone aged 17 or under or knowingly allow such persons to provide us with their personal information without parent or guardian consent. If you are aged 17 or under, please get the permission of your parent or guardian before using our website. In the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from anybody aged 17 or under and do not have the consent of a parent or guardian, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any information from or about anybody aged 17 or under without the consent of a parent or guardian, please contact our Marketing & Communications team on 01707 259 777 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).

Cookies and IP addresses

We measure visits to our websites in order to improve their usability. The data we collect may contain personal information (an IP address and/or cookies). We do not link IP addresses to individuals. IP addresses are used for internal research and promotion purposes and are not provided to third parties. Cookies issued by us only contain a unique number and therefore contain no personal data. We do not link cookies to individuals other than to recognise repeat visits.

(IP address definition – An IP address is a series of numbers that identify computers on the internet. IP addresses can theoretically be linked to an individual. Such linking requires additional information (particularly from the internet provider who issued the IP address or from the visitor themselves). For that reason IP addresses are considered personal data.)

(Cookie definition – A cookie is a small file that is stored on the computer of a visitor when they visit a website. If they visit the website again, the cookie shows that it is a repeat visit. Because the visitor is recognised though the cookie, cookies are considered personal data. In addition, cookies may contain personal data themselves.)

Cookies on the Willow website and microsites

We employ a number of cookies across our websites in order to enhance the user experience, and ensure that we are able to provide the relevant content that our visitors expect. 

To do this we use a combination of session, persistent and third party cookies. 
Information about the cookies we employ:

Session cookies allow our users to link their actions during browser sessions, they expire after a session and are not stored long term. We use this type of cookie to maintain a user session on the websites, we also use session cookies to collect data on how visitors use our website, for example: what type of browser they are using, what pages are popular.

Persistent cookies are stored on a user’s device in between browser sessions which allows the preferences or actions of the user across a site to be remembered. We use persistent cookies to make our website more accessible to users. These cookies help us to provide the user with the text size and colour options they require.

Third party cookies are set by a domain other than the one visited by the user. We use these cookies for our work with third party organisations, to allow us to understand the journey that our visitors take to get to our website.

If you have any further questions about cookies then please contact communications@willowfoundation.org.uk

What happens when you link to another site?

Our websites contain links to other websites. This privacy policy applies only to our sites, so you should always be aware when you are moving to another site and read the privacy statement of any site which collects personal information.

We do not pass on any personal information about you to any other site when you link to another non-Willow site.

Information Security

We use cloud based systems to process our data and, as such, this data may be processed outside of the EEA. We adopt the Information Commissioners approved measures where we process outside of the EEA which means that all processing conducted in a location outside of the EEA is carried out in accordance with European Data Protection regulations. If you require further information, please contact our Data Protection Officer at dpo@willowfoundation.org.uk

By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy.

All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers. Any payment transactions will be encrypted. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone. Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Your Consent

By providing us with your personal data, including sensitive personal data such as on your health, you consent to the collection and use of this information in accordance with the purposes described above and this privacy statement; and you agree to allow us to share your details with other organisations who may fulfil your Special Day, order or query on our behalf. 

Changes to this privacy policy

If this privacy policy changes in any way, we will place an updated version on this page. Regularly reviewing this page ensures you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances.

What if I do not agree with this Privacy Policy?

If you do not agree to our processing of your data in the manner outlined in the Policy, please do not submit any personal data to us.

You can unsubscribe at any time by emailing unsubscribe@willowfoundation.org.uk or writing to Marketing and Communications, Willow, Gate House, Fretherne Road, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire AL8 6NS.