GIVEWISE FOUNDATION CANADA
(“GWFC” OR “GIVEWISE”)
WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICY
I. PURPOSE & SCOPE
The purpose of this Privacy Policy (“Policy”) is to inform you of the personal information that GiveWise Foundation Canada, and its parents, subsidiaries and affiliates (the “Foundation”, “we”, “our”, or “us”), may collect from you when visiting or using the Foundation websites located at https://www.givewise.ca and https://fund.givewise.ca (together, the “Website”), and how we may use and/or disclose that information. We respect the privacy of donors and staff alike, and are committed to managing personal information in accordance with applicable privacy laws and any other applicable legislation.
The Foundation also collects other types of information, including employee personal information, the terms and conditions of which are covered by the Employee Privacy Policy, and is available through our Privacy Officer.
By accessing and continuing to use the Website, you acknowledge the notices in this Policy and you consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with this Policy.
II. COLLECTION OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
In the course of visiting and using the Website, you may provide information to us voluntarily. For example, when you complete the “Quick Connect Form” for general inquiries on the Website, when you sign up for our E-Newsletter, when you sign up for a Giving Fund (“Account”), or when you e-mail us for information about the Foundation. We collect the personal information to provide you with the information, updates or service that you have requested, as applicable.
During your use of the Website, you may be asked to provide personal information such as your name, e-mail address, telephone number, Account username, and account password information. If you sign up for an Account, then you may be asked to provide financial information for the purpose of facilitating your contribution to a Giving Fund. At that time, you may choose not to provide certain requested personal information, but this may affect your ability to use certain services provided by the Foundation or access or use certain sections of the Website.
We automatically collect certain non-personally identifiable information from visitors to the Website, such as:
- the web browser and operating system you are using;
- the date and time of your visit;
- the sections of the Website you visit, as well as the pages read and the images viewed;
- if you were on another website before visiting the Website and if that website referred you to our Website, the URL (web address) of that previous website; and
- the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your Internet Service Provider.
We do not link any of the above information with information that is personally identifiable to you. We collect this data in an aggregate format for a number of reasons, including to understand the traffic on our Website, how it is used, and how we can improve it. For example, the information about our visitors' browsers tells us what kind of browsers we need to support. Other information lets us know how many visitors come to our site and what sections are the most popular. We do not share this aggregate data with third parties except for the possible use of web analytics companies as described below.
Like most websites, our Website uses “cookies”. A cookie is a commonly used piece of software that tracks user activity on the Website and is capable of enhancing your visit to the site. Cookies enable our Website to save and retrieve information that you enter (for example, user language preference). Cookies may remain on your computer after you leave the Website (until the cookie expires or is deleted by you). You can disable cookies by adjusting the settings on your internet browser, however, disabling cookies may affect your ability to access some pages on the Website.
The Foundation uses Google Analytics to track and analyse your use of the Website and to improve users’ online experience. Google Analytics captures a limited amount of data (including the IP address of the computer, device or network being used to access the pages). This data is used for aggregate reporting purposes. None of this data is used by the Foundation or its service providers to identify you. Google Analytics may use cookies and other tracking technologies to perform their services. To learn more about how Google uses data when you use a partner's site or app please visit: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites
III. USE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Personal information will only be used to fulfill the purpose for which it was originally collected, or for a use consistent with that purpose, unless you expressly consent otherwise. The Foundation may contact you to inform you about products or services in different ways including by mail, e-mail, telephone, or other means to which you have agreed. The Foundation may use the personal information that it collects for the following purposes:
- To contact and correspond with you regarding your use of the Website;
- To send you information about the Foundation’s services, including updates about our projects, news about the Foundation, announcements, event invitations, and other information that we think may interest you, and for other marketing purposes (see below for information on how to “opt-out” of receiving certain communications from us),
- To respond to specific requests and inquiries from you, including to provide you with information and services that you request such as our newsletter, publications, project updates, events information;
- To process suggestions and comments provided by you;
- To improve our Website services;
- To administer our Website and protect the security of the Website when necessary;
- To facilitate and process your contribution(s) to a Giving Fund;
- To issue you with a tax receipt for your contribution(s);
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To facilitate such other services and activities, as we may identify at the time;
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To investigate a breach of the terms of use of the Website; and
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To meet legal and regulatory requirements.
If you provide the Foundation with your e-mail address and “opt-in” to receiving messages from us via the e-mail address provided, you may receive electronic communications from us from time to time. In order to send you electronic communications, your information may be shared with a third party such as a marketing and communications company. These electronic communications will provide you with our contact information and a method to opt-out and unsubscribe from receiving marketing information and/or any further communications from us. You can also opt-out of receiving further communications from the Foundation by adjusting your e-mail preferences in your Account, or by contacting the Privacy Officer via one of the methods noted below.
IV. DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
The Foundation may disclose certain personal information to third party service providers (including affiliates of the Foundation acting in that capacity), to carry out work on behalf of the Foundation. This may include your name, e-mail address, and financial information. Currently, the Foundation uses third party service providers for providing website server hosting, data storage solutions, sending out electronic communications, payment processing services, and managing digital content. With the exception of our third party service providers, the Foundation will only share your personal information outside the Foundation with your consent, or where we use it to provide you with products and services you request. For example, when it is required to provide you with the information or services that you request such as project information (in which case we will consider you to have given implied consent).
The third party service providers will have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, but are only provided the limited amount of information required to perform their services. When the Foundation uses third party service providers, it requires the providers to protect your personal information in accordance with the law and with the same or more stringent security and privacy standards than the Foundation. Any such disclosure of your personal information by the Foundation to a third party service provider will be conditional upon the information being used solely for the purpose for which it has been disclosed.
The Foundation uses certain service providers that are located outside Canada, which means that your personal information may be subject to being stored and accessed pursuant to the laws of the United States of America. If you have any questions about the Foundation’s policies and practices with respect to service providers outside of Canada, including their collection, use, disclosure, and storage of personal information, you can contact the Foundation’s Privacy Officer at the contact information listed below.
The Foundation may also disclose your personal information where authorized or required by law. For example, we may disclose your personal information to comply with a subpoena, in response to a law enforcement body with the lawful authority to obtain the information, pursuant to an investigation into the breach of a law, or to our legal counsel.
V. PROTECTION & RETENTION OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
The Foundation takes reasonable steps to protect your personal information. We use security arrangements to protect against unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, and disposal, in a manner appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. The Foundation’s employees, independent contractors, and volunteers with access to personal information are required to respect the confidentiality of such information.
The Website may include links to external websites. Once you leave the Website, this Policy does not apply. The Foundation is not responsible for the privacy practices, collection of personal information, or content of external websites.
The Foundation is not responsible for any lost, stolen, or compromised passwords or for any activity on your Account via unauthorized password activity. You should take steps to protect against authorized access to your Account by, for example, choosing a robust password and keeping your login ID and password private.
The Foundation is not responsible for any failure by you to secure your own device and its access to the Internet or your use of public, unsecured networks. The Foundation also is not responsible for any failure by you to eliminate malware. These failures and others can make you vulnerable to privacy breaches and would put you and your data at risk.
Personal information collected by the Foundation will be retained in accordance with applicable privacy legislation and in accordance with the Foundation’s document retention policies. If personal information has been used to make a decision concerning an individual, the Foundation will keep the personal information for at least one year and, if necessary, a reasonably sufficient additional period to allow the individual to have access to the information after the decision has been made.
VI. ACCESS, QUESTIONS, OR CONCERNS
It is your responsibility to provide any updates to your personal information to the Foundation in writing. You may request access to your personal information and/or correction of that information by contacting the Foundation in writing at the contact information noted below, with sufficient detail to enable the Foundation to identify the personal information being sought. When you contact the Foundation, we may ask for further information to confirm your identity and the nature of the information being sought.
Except for employee personal information, the Foundation may charge a reasonable fee according to the cost required to retrieve and provide the requested information. The Foundation may provide an estimate of the fee in advance and in some cases, will require a deposit for all or part of the fee.
Within 30 days of the request, the Foundation will provide you with access to the requested information. If the Foundation is seeking an extension in order to respond to your request, it will provide you with written notice of the extension. Please note that in some cases, the Foundation may not provide access to personal information that it holds about you, such as where the denial of access is authorized by law. There are also cases where the Foundation is legally required to refuse access to personal information, such as where disclosure could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety or physical or mental health of an individual. If the Foundation denies your request for access to personal information, it will advise you of the reason for the refusal, and will provide the name, title, and contact information of the designated person who can address the refusal.
The Foundation is open about its privacy policies and procedures. Information concerning this Policy and procedures is available from the Foundation’s Privacy Officer, who is responsible for ensuring the Foundation’s compliance with this Policy. You can contact the Privacy Officer using any of the methods listed below:
Telephone: 604.302.1760
E-mail: privacy@givewise.ca
VII. CHANGES TO THE POLICY
The Foundation may update this Policy from time to time by posting a new version of the Policy on the Website. The Foundation’s collection, use, disclosure, and retention of your personal information will be governed by the version of the Policy in effect at that time. We suggest that you review this Policy periodically.
POLICY CONTROL:
- Initial Ratification Date: 2019.02.14
- Current Version: 2023.06.23
- Date Policy Approved: 2023.06.23
- Date for Review: 2025.06