Privacy Policy
Synchronicity Earth is an environmental charity registered in the UK. We act to address overlooked and underfunded conservation challenges for globally threatened species and ecosystems. We do this through independent analysis of conservation action and gaps in funding, using this information to devise conservation programmes to address the most urgent challenges. We also help donors to understand and fund work to conserve wildlife and wild places and engage creatively with others to highlight the importance and wonder of nature.
Our Vision is a world in which biological and cultural diversity are valued, celebrated, and flourishing.
Synchronicity Earth
1 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1LF
Tel: +44 (0)207 5810 100
Email: supporters@synchronicityearth.org
Registered Charity No.1132786.
Registered in England and Wales No.06952204
The purpose of this policy
To fulfil our charitable aims and objectives we need to communicate with a range of people in a variety of ways: face to face, via post, telephone or electronic mail, on social media and through our website. To be effective, we need to collect and store data provided to us by donors, potential donors, supporters of our work, visitors to our website, guests at our events, conservation partners (grantees) and suppliers. This data will always and only be used to further our charitable aim: to conserve threatened species and ecosystems.
This policy explains the nature of the personal data we collect and why we collect it. Our aim is to ensure that we are transparent and honest about the data we collect, and to give users better understanding and control over the data we maintain about them.
Changes to data protection laws for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are designed to better protect an individual’s privacy and rights regarding the use of their data. Synchronicity Earth is fully committed to protecting the privacy and security of everybody we communicate with.
What is personal data?
The Information Commissioner’s Office identifies personal information as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier.’ An identifier could be a name, email address, telephone number, social media handle, photograph, address, payment details, organisational affiliation etc.
What personal data do we collect?
We collect data you knowingly and voluntarily give to us, including information you provide when you register for our newsletter, make a donation, communicate with us – through a face to face meeting or via email or post, attend one of our events, use our website or interact with us on social media. This data may include:
- Personal details (name, email address, telephone contacts and postal address)
- Financial information, such as gift aid information
- Details of your interests and preferences, such as programme and event interests
- Organisational affiliation
We also maintain a record of your activities and involvement with Synchronicity Earth so that we have a history of event attendances, donations, interests and enquiries. This assists us in improving our communications.
Why do we collect personal data?
As an environmental charity, our key goals are to bring more funding into nature conservation and raise awareness of the connections we share with the natural world. To do this, we need to keep our supporters up to date with our work, we need to engage in fundraising and awareness raising activities, which depend on us developing and maintaining open channels of communication with various individuals and organisations. We collect personal data in order to:
- Maintain a list of people who have donated to us before so we can keep them updated on the impact of their donation;
- maintain a record of individuals from whom we are able to claim gift aid;
- keep information on donors up to date;
- keep donors and supporters informed of events we are running which we think will be of interest to them;
- keep a record of donors who we think may wish to donate to our work in future;
- keep supporters, donors and anybody who has shown an interest in our work (e.g. through signing up for our newsletter, adding an email address to a list at one of our events) up to date with our latest news;
- monitor usage of our website and social media output, evaluate and improve the content on our website;
- analysis: We may carry out analysis on our supporters and donors to determine the success of our fundraising and events to inform our approach and understand how we can improve our communications and fundraising strategy;
- maintain a list of people who we are in regular communication with;
- maintain a list of people who have opted out of any of our communications so we know not to contact them.
How we communicate with you
Sending our news updates
So that we can keep supporters and donors informed of our activities we send out a newsletter by email every two months. Our legal basis for the collection and processing of personal data to do this is ‘Legitimate Interest’. Our newsletter gives information on the work we fund, key news and events in environmental conservation and other activities we undertake. We view providing this information as an essential part of serving our donors and supporters. Any recipient can unsubscribe from our newsletter by using the ‘Unsubscribe’ option in the email or by contacting us (contact details above).
If you do not currently receive our newsletter but wish to receive it, you can sign up, either through our website or by contacting us at supporters@synchronicityearth.org.
Sending information on events and fundraising
Our legal basis for processing data to send email invitations for events and information on fundraising is ‘Consent’. We will continue to send information to our donors and supporters who have attended events in the past, however, recipients are free to change their contact preferences at any time by contacting us by telephone, post or email (contact details above) or by using the unsubscribe option in the email they receive. New supporters will be asked if they would like to receive this information in person or can opt in to receive it via our newsletter or through our website.
Communicating with donors
We send information to donors to fulfil our duties as a charity when we receive a donation. This may include information on Gift Aid, updates on funded work and news about the organisation. The legal basis for these communications is ‘Contract Performance’.
Sending information by post
We occasionally send information by post to our donors and supporters, including invitations to events and an annual report. Our legal basis for the collection and processing of personal data to do this is ‘Legitimate Interest’. However, you can ‘opt-out’ of these communications at any time by contacting us by telephone, email or by post (contact details above).
Compliance with Money Laundering regulation and assessing reputation risk
Synchronicity Earth follows guidance from the Charities Commission (‘Know your donor’ toolkit) to ensure that we comply with Money Laundering regulation and assess the potential reputation risk to the charity when receiving a large donation. To do this we undertake recommended checks in verifying the identity and activities of a donor, which may involve research on public information available about an individual or an organisation, or asking additional questions of the donor.
Updating your information
Please let us know if your personal information changes. We would like to make sure we are only sending you the information that you are interested in and that it reaches you in the format you prefer. To update your information please contact us by telephone, email or post (contact details above).
Applying for a job with us
If you apply for a job with us, and you provide personal data such as the information on your CV or Application Form, we will process and store the personal data we collect to:
- Support the recruitment and selection process
- Answer any questions you may have
- Use third parties to provide services such as references, qualifications, verification of information you have provided, health screening and psychometric evaluation or skills tests
- Undertake checks on criminal convictions
- Provide anonymised data to monitor compliance with equal opportunities policy.
If you work for Synchronicity Earth via an agency that Synchronicity Earth has a contract with, we commit to ensure that the agency is also compliant with GDPR regulations.
If you submit your personal information to a job board, online recruitment tool, social media platform, headhunting agency etc. your details could then be passed to Synchronicity Earth. We recommend that you ensure you have given your consent to that organisation who may share your data. If we receive your details via a third party and are unclear about consent, we may either check with you before using your data further or fully delete the information.
If you do not join us as an employee for any reason, your data will be stored for a short length of time in line with our Data Protection Policy to ensure compliance with relevant legislation.
The legal basis we use for processing your data if you apply for a job is ‘Consent’.
Credit, Debit and bank account information
We do not retain credit and debit card details following the purchase of tickets at events, charity auction items or event merchandise.
We keep bank account information for grantees and suppliers so that we can fulfil contractual payments. We also keep bank account details for donors so that we can collect direct debits in accordance with direct debit mandate rules.
The legal basis for processing this information is ‘Contract Performance’.
Funding Partner organisations
Synchronicity Earth funds environmental conservation work by a wide range of organisations around the world. So that we can do this we collect information about these organisations, which will include some personal information on key staff at those organisations. The legal basis for processing this information is Consent.
Data Security
Once we have received your information it will be stored electronically and is managed in accordance with our Data Protection Policy following strict control and security procedures to prevent any unauthorised access. We will keep your data for as long as we consider it necessary to carry out our activities, taking into consideration legal, taxation and accounting requirements.
All data is held securely on servers within the EU that comply with GDPR or on servers that fulfill compliance with GDPR regulation by certifying equivalency.
Sharing data with third parties to fulfil legal or contractual obligations
We may need to pass on information if required by law or by a regulatory body. For example, Gift Aid information to HMRC, or to fulfil an information request by a law enforcement agency.
Use of professional fundraisers and ‘cold-calling’
We never use the services of professional fundraisers or engage in cold-calling. We are not that kind of charity. We aim to build meaningful relationships with our donors and supporters based on mutual respect and shared interests.
Understanding exactly what data we maintain about you
You can contact us at any time to ask what information we hold on you and to update it or ask us to delete it. To do this please contact: supporters@synchronicityearth.org
Or you can write to our Head of Relationships and Operations at our postal address (contact details above).
If you wish to verify the personal details we maintain about you, we require your full name, address and email and your relationship to Synchronicity Earth. Please note that information will only be disclosed on the person making the request, or to someone who is acting on their behalf (such as a solicitor or someone with a verified power of attorney). We will ask for proof of identity before we release any information.
How long do we store your data for?
This depends on the nature or our relationship with you. If you are an ongoing donor, we need to retain your personal data so we can communicate project updates and inform you of the impact of the work you have funded.
We need to communicate with supporters and potential donors about the work we undertake to meet our charitable objectives, through a range of formats, including email communications. We also want to make supporters aware of our events, which encompass awareness raising and fundraising events, via email.
We only collect data through personal contact when someone has expressed an interest in learning more about Synchronicity Earth and supporting the aims and objectives of charity. Processing their data to deliver email content fulfils this.
Those individuals who have given us personal data are interested in the charitable aims and objectives of Synchronicity Earth, which are for the public benefit. The individual’s interests are aligned with those of Synchronicity Earth.
If at any point we get this wrong, we are committed to rectifying our mistake and keeping you informed.
Information collected by our web server
We collect aggregated information on site visitors, which we use to analyse use of our website. We do not identify individual users. We use tools such as Google Analytics to learn what brings visitors to our website and which pages they view.
We retain all information you submit through our website, for example by registering for our newsletter or making a donation. If you have donated via a third party, such as Just Giving, please refer to their Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Use of Cookies
Cookies are small text files that are collected by your browser from websites you visit which are then stored on your device. Cookies are widely used to enable website functionality – they make sites work more efficiently. There is no requirement to log in to the Synchronicity Earth website, so the cookies used are generally for the purpose of analytics. Google Analytics uses cookies to help us understand where the site is being accessed from, the type of browser and operating system being used, the IP address of the user, and the pages being accessed, but it does not identify individuals. Use of Google Analytics enables us to better understand the needs of our online audience and to develop and adapt what we provide on our website accordingly. Read more about the way Google Analytics uses cookies.
Our Newsletter
Synchronicity Earth uses a third-party application called Mailchimp, which is an email marketing tool, to send out our newsletter and occasional communications around our events. This tool allows us to monitor very basic information such as the links subscribers to our newsletter visit, how many times they open the newsletter and when a user unsubscribes. This helps us to understand which stories are of most interest to our supporter base and to adjust the content we include accordingly.
Other websites
Our website contains links to external websites. Synchronicity Earth is not responsible for the privacy practices and content of those sites and cannot guarantee that content linked to will always be available.
Questions and Complaints
If you have a question concerning our Privacy Policy or you wish to make a Complaint, please contact us at supporters@synchronicityearth.org
Or you can write to or telephone the Head of Relationships and Operations (contact details above).
Changes to this policy
Our privacy policy may be updated to reflect any new regulations that may come into effect and will be published on our website.