Privacy Policy

This privacy notice covers all personal data that is gathered by Henshaws Society for Blind People, a registered charity in England (Number 221888) acting by its trustee, Henshaws Society for Blind People Trustee Limited (English company number 8313313) It also covers our subsidiary Sight Loss Innovation Ltd (English company number 10796703)

There are minimum levels of information we need to obtain for different purposes – such as donating money or signing up to Gift Aid.

We always ask for your name and title so we know how to talk to you. We need to be able to confirm any transactions you make on the Henshaws website by sending you an email, which is why this field is mandatory on all our web forms. We will seek your permission to use this for our wider marketing communications separately.

We may use your information in a number of ways and for a number of purposes including:

• To process donations and set up Direct Debits and one-off card payments;
• To claim Gift Aid;
• To deliver items to you (items you have purchased or event materials for example);
• If you have agreed to receive post from us, we will use your postcode and address to send you relevant information;
• To provide you with information on products or services that you have requested from us or that we feel may be of interest to you where you have consented to being contacted;
• To provide you with information about our work or our activities where you have agreed to receive communications from us;
• To fundraise in accordance with our internal policies and procedures and to tell you about how your support and donations help us;
• For administrative purposes (for example, we may contact you regarding an event for which you have registered or with a query regarding a donation you may have made to us);
• For internal record keeping relating to any donations, feedback or complaints;
• To analyse and improve the operation of our website;
• When it is required or authorised by law.

When you give us your personal details – for example, when you make a donation, sign up for a newsletter or to receive email or phone updates, register for event or training, or become a Henshaws’ service user or volunteer – you may receive follow up information from us that is directly relevant to this activity, including how your support is helping.

Where you consent to us sending you marketing information, we will treat this as lasting for 2 years unless we tell you otherwise at the time (or unless you contact us to change or remove it within that time). We may also send you marketing letters where we think you do not object. When you purchase or download items from the HenshawsGifts shop, The Knowledge Village or play the Henshaws lottery we may send you emails about other relevant offers. We provide easy ways to stop our marketing, and you can opt out at any time.

We will always respect and act on your instructions and we want you to be in control of your relationship and communications with us. Our aim is to communicate with you in a way that is enjoyable and sustains a long term relationship so you see the value and impact of your support.

• Henshaws is committed to providing the best customer service to all our supporters and the individual preference of donors will take precedent in all communication journeys.
• Henshaws supporter promise, privacy statement and complaints process is on our website.
• Henshaws fundraising staff will read Henshaws supporter promise, privacy statement and complaints process as part of induction and data protection is part of ongoing mandatory training for all staff. Henshaws fundraising staff also agree to follow the Fundraising Code of Conduct and best practice.
• Henshaws is signed up to the Fundraising Preference Service and acts promptly to update any and all requests for changes in contact preferences.
• All direct marketing will include a contact preference question where supporters can update how we communicate with them. It will also include clear and simple information about how to opt out from any type of contact.
• Where possible new supporters will be asked their preferences for contact when first engaging with Henshaws and consent information is stored on our database.
• Henshaws will only send direct marketing to individuals by email or text if we hold clear consent from the individual to do so in this method.
• Henshaws will consider consent as valid while a supporter is still active (see definition below). Once no longer active consent will only be valid for 12 months.
• Henshaws believes it has the following justifications for using legitimate interest (for post and live calls) and will clearly state which of the three individuals meet when agreeing mailing requirements.
  • Individual is supported by Henshaws, is a family member or legal guardian of someone supported by Henshaws or is a current volunteer, trustee, patron/ambassador or staff member and so has a strong interest in Henshaws work and continued success.
  • Individual is an active supporter (meaning in the last two years they have given a donation or a gift in kind, attended an event or actively engaged with Henshaws or are registered as a legacy pledger or major donor) or lapsing support (for 12 months after active).
  • Where we have been pass the details of a potential supporter by a current stakeholder. Legitimate interest in this instance will only apply for 3 months.
• Contact preferences stated by individuals will always take precedence over legitimate interest.
• A privacy impact assessment will be used for each group under legitimate interest to clearly show how Henshaws has ensured fairness and transparency and balanced the rights of the individual and legitimate interest needs of Henshaws.
• Henshaws fundraising database is regularly cleaned to ensure data we hold is accurate and consistent.
• Telephone numbers held on the database are screened yearly against the Telephone Preference Service and before any telephone campaign.
• Legitimate interest and consent processes and policies are reviewed and updated annually.

If at any time you wish to stop or change how we communicate with you, or update the information we hold, please do get in touch, using one of the following options:

• Write to Freepost RTHX-HXYA-CBAU, Henshaws
• Email info@henshaws.org.uk
• Call 0300 222 5555 (Mon-Fri 0900-1630) or 00 44 161 872 1234 if you are calling from outside the UK.

You can also update or change any of your marketing and fundraising preferences at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link on the bottom of our emails.

We will not give your information out to any third party, other than those who are engaged in providing an agreed service or where there is a legal/safeguarding need.

We will not share your data for others’ marketing purposes.

In order to ensure that the data we hold about you is accurate and up to date, we may occasionally use information sources that are in the public domain to verify your details, such as your postal address. Where you have given permission we may use third parties to supplement the information that we hold to help us send you information which we believe you will be interested in.

If you make a donation online or purchase a product from us, your card information is not held by us, it is collected by our third party payment processors, who specialise in the secure online capture and processing of credit/debit card transactions.

We use a number of third party digital tools that may process your data such as website forms which collect and send us the details you provide. We have additional data security measures in place to protect that data as well as automatic deletions of data after a set retention period. Although we have put additional security measures in place, Henshaws cannot be responsible for third party processors data breaches.

Any social media posts, comments or messages you send to us (on the Henshaws Facebook page, for example) will be shared under the terms of the relevant social media platform (e.g. Facebook / Twitter) on which they are written and could be made public.

Other parties, not us, control these platforms. We are not responsible for this kind of sharing. We recommend you should review the terms and conditions and privacy policies of the social media platforms you use. That way, you will understand how they will use your information, what information relating to you they will place in the public domain, and how you can stop them from doing so if you are unhappy about it.

We may use your email address and phone number to match to your account on Facebook or other social media sites in order to show you Henshaws content while you are using these services. We will only do this where you have opted in to our marketing emails or phone calls, and your personal data is kept secure at all times.

Henshaws also uses cookies. Cookies are small text files on your digital devices (computer, smart phone etc). They are created by your web browser when you visit a website. They improve your experience of using a website, for example, by remembering your preference settings, account logins and by measuring your use of a website to ensure that it meets your needs.

For website users, the personal information we collect might include your name, address, email address, IP address, and information that you have indicated you’d like to receive from us. The Henshaws site sets and reads cookies for anonymous session data only, to record things like pages visited.

Henshaws recognises that its customers are increasingly concerned about how companies protect personal information from misuse and abuse and about privacy in general. We review and enhance our technical, physical and managerial procedures and rules to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, accidental loss and/or destruction.

Please be aware that communications over the Internet, such as emails/webmails, are not secure unless they have been encrypted. Your communications may route through a number of countries before being delivered – this is the nature of the World Wide Web/Internet. Henshaws cannot accept responsibility for any unauthorised access or loss of personal information that is beyond our control.

You can check the information that we hold about you by emailing us at dataprotection@henshaws.org.uk. If you find any inaccuracies we will delete or correct it promptly.

To find out about our complaints process or to tell us if you’re not happy with how we’ve handled your personal information, then please get in touch with us.

We’re committed to protecting the safety and privacy of children and vulnerable people.

We pledge to make it clear and easy for you to choose how you hear from us. We will only use your personal data for marketing or fundraising purposes as outlined above, if you have actively ticked a box telling us that it is OK to do so. We will also give you a number of options to tick to let us know which particular type of format you would like to receive.

You can change your mind at any time about how we contact you or ask us to stop contacting you.

We have created a simple document to explain what your rights are – GDPR: What are Your Rights.