Privacy Policy

MALAWI SCHOOLS TRUST maintains a database of supporters in order to keep you updated about news, events and fundraising activities.
 
We collect and store personal information (or “data”) about you. We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and this Policy sets out what information we collect about you, where and how we use (“process”) it.
 
We may change this Policy from time to time. If we make any significant changes we will advertise this on the website or contact you directly with the information. Please check this page occasionally to make sure you are happy with any changes.
 
If you have any questions about this Policy or concerning your personal information, please contact Sarah Conway at info@malawischoolstrust.org
 
For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and any additional UK legislation covering data protection, the Data Controller is MALAWI SCHOOLS TRUST.
 
What type of personal information we collect
 
The information we have about you depends on where we collect it, but may include:

• First name
• Last name
• Email
• Address
• Photographs
• Participation in our events, emails and other activities
• Donations made to Malawi Schools Trust
• A record of payments made via the website (but we do not store your credit/ debit card details as these are processed securely externally by a third-party payment provider) which could include event tickets, shop purchases or online donations
• Consent options and communication preferences

 
Where we collect information from
 
We collect personal information when you:

• take part in an event
• attend a meeting with us and provide us with information
• contact us in any way including online, email, phone, SMS, social media or post
• open an email sent from this website

 
How we use your information
 
We will use your personal information in a number of ways, always with a legal basis for processing your data. These may include:

• providing you with the information or updates that you have asked for
• sending you communications (with your consent if required) that may be of interest, including invitations to events, newsletters and fundraising campaigns
• updating our database records and ensuring we know how you prefer to be contacted
• analysing your engagement with our website and other content to help us improve our services for you

Our legal basis for processing your information
The use of your information for the purposes set out above is lawful because one or more of the following applies:

• you have given us your consent for the information to be used
• it is necessary for us to hold and use your information to carry out our obligations under a contract entered into with you
• it is necessary for our legitimate interests to hold and use your information and we are not impacting your privacy by doing so

Updating your consent preferences
  
If we are using consent as our legal basis for processing your data, we must have an explicit “opt-in” from you for this specific type of processing.
 
If we are using legitimate interests as our legal basis for processing your data, we will process your data responsibly in a way that you would reasonably expect, and you can opt-out at any stage.
 
If you click ‘unsubscribe’ at the bottom of one of our emails sent you will be automatically opted-out of these types of email communication in the future.
 
If you want to contact us about your consent preferences please contact us by email at info@malawischoolstrust.org.
 
How we keep your information safe
 
We understand the importance of keeping your personal information secure and take appropriate steps to safeguard it.
 
Your data may be stored on Mailchimp, Gmail and Microsoft Onedrive. If you make a donation via paypal or bank transfer, your data will also be stored with Paypal and/or with our bank (Lloyds Banking Group).

We always ensure only authorised persons have access to your information, which means only our approved members, and that everyone who has access is appropriately trained in data management. 

No data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure. So, while we strive to safeguard your information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you provide online and you do this at your own risk.
 

Who has access to your information?
Third parties who provide services for us, for example mailchimp, who provide our newsletter mailing service. We select our third-party service providers with care. We provide these third parties with the information that is necessary to provide the service and we will have an agreement in place that requires them to operate with the same care over data protection as we do.

Third parties if we run an event in conjunction with them. We will let you know how your data is used when you register for any event.

Web hosting, email hosting, analytics and search engine providers that enable us to run our community database and improve our website and its use.

Other than this, we will not share your information with other organisations without your consent.
 
Keeping your information up to date
 
Please let us know if your contact details change by contacting us at info@malawischoolstrust.org.
 
Cookies
 
Some information and data may be automatically collected through the use of cookies on this website. Cookies are small text files employed on the website to recognise repeat users and allow us to observe behaviour and compile aggregate data in order to improve the user-experience we provide for our website visitors.
 
The law states that we can store cookies on your machine if they are essential to the operation of the website, but that for all others we need your permission to do so.

We only use cookies if you login to the website to manage content. We use privacy friendly analytics tool which does not set cookies. 3rd party cookies may be used by social media platforms (eg Youtube or X) and you should refer to their cookie policies if necessary.  

Opting out of cookies
 
If you do not wish to receive cookies from us or any other website, you should be able to turn cookies off on your web browser: please follow your browser provider’s instruction in order to do so.  Unfortunately, we cannot accept liability for any malfunctioning of your computer or its installed web browser as a result of any attempt to turn off cookies.
 
To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.
 
How long we keep your information for
 
We will hold your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the relevant activity.
 
Where we rely on your consent to contact you for direct email / fundraising purposes, we will treat your consent as lasting only for as long as it is reasonable to do so. This will usually be for two years. We may periodically ask you to renew your consent.
 
If you ask us to stop contacting you, we will keep a record of your contact details and limited information needed to ensure we comply with your request. If you ask us to remove your personal data from our database we will delete all the information we hold.
 
Your rights
 
You have the right to request details of how we use your personal information through making a subject access request.  Such requests have to be made in writing by contacting [details].
 
You also have the following rights:

• to request rectification of information that is inaccurate or out of date;
• to erasure of your information (the “right to be forgotten”);
• to restrict the way in which we are dealing with and using your information;
• to request that your information be provided to you in a format that is secure and suitable for re-use (the “right to portability”);
• in relation to automated decision making and profiling.

All of these rights are subject to certain safeguards and limits or exemptions.  To exercise any of these rights, you should contact us at info@malawischoolstrust.org
 
If you are not happy with the way in which we have processed or dealt with your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.  Further details about how to complain can be found here.
 
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This Policy was last updated in December 2023