Our Privacy Policy
Data Protection
Our commitment to care doesn’t stop at our guinea pigs. We care about your personal data and ensuring you’re informed about how we use it. Gertie's Lonely Guinea Pig Rescue (Gertie's) promises to protect your data, and to manage any information you share with us in line with data protection laws.
This Privacy Policy sets out:
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how and why Gertie's will collect and use your personal data
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the legal basis for its use
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how Gertie's will ensure you remain informed and in control of your information.
Please read this policy carefully, to understand how we collect, use and store your personal information.
If you have any questions about how Gertie's processes your information, please get in touch using the Contact Us link at the bottom of this page
Types of Personal Data We Collect
Depending on your interaction with Gertie's, we’ll collect the following types of information about you:
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Your contact details, such as name, postal address and email address
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Your Gift Aid declaration
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A record of our communications with you
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Your communication preferences
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Information collected as part of our rehoming service
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Information about your guinea pig(s), such as their behaviour, medical conditions and treatments as part of the adoption/surrender process
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Photos and video such as images at events, case studies and other marketing materials
Sensitive Information
Under data protection law, certain categories of personal information are recognised as sensitive, including health information, race and religious beliefs. Gertie's will never collect sensitive personal data in connection with our rehoming/adoption services.
Where Does This Information Come From?
Most of the personal data we process is given to us directly by our supporters, people who surrender guinea pigs and people who adopt. It is given in the course of their interactions with us. We may also receive your personal information when you donate to Gertie's through third-party services such as Just Giving or Give as you Live.
We never buy contact details of people from organisations that sell data.
How We Use Your Data
In simple terms, your personal data may be used to help us effectively deliver our charitable services or to help us raise funds for those charitable services.
We have summarised below the different reasons why we do this. How we use your data for these purposes will depend on the nature of our relationship with you.
EXAMPLES OF PURPOSES FOR WHICH WE COLLECT, STORE AND PROCESS YOUR DATA
Adopting a guinea pig(s) from us
If you register to adopt a guinea pig from Gertie's we will use the information you provide us to:
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help us find you the guinea pig(s) for you
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provide you with aftercare services once you have adopted
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contact you regarding our wider work and how you might support Gertie's in other ways.
Taking in Guinea Pigs
If you have contact us to gift us your guinea pig for adoption, we will use the information you give us to:
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establish how we can best look after your guinea pig(s) while it is in our care
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assess how we might safely and permanently rehome your guinea pig(s)
Volunteering
We collect, store and process data so that we can:
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recruit volunteers and foster carers
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support and train volunteers and ensure their safety
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contact volunteers regarding their volunteering work, the wider work of Gertie's and how they might support in other ways
Marketing and Fundraising
We collect, store and process data so that we can:
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send you marketing including behind the scenes news, updates about our guinea pigs, general information about rehoming, volunteering and various ways you can support Gertie's, including fundraising, events and campaigning
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efficiently raise the income we need to be here for every guinea pig that needs us
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manage, facilitate and record financial transactions associated with fundraising
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manage events and fundraising activities
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manage Gertie's pen sponsorship including renewals
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ensure that as many supporters as possible maximise the value of their donation through Gift Aid
Legacies
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If you get in touch with us about leaving us a legacy, we will manage and administrate your legacy pledge
Events
We collect, store and process data so that we can:
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process registration fees and administer events
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To collect and store images and videos for the purpose of future Media & PR promotions.
Donations
We collect, store and process data so that we can:
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process your donation and send you a thank you letter
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We may also use your personal information for the recovery of Gift Aid (where you have completed a Gift Aid declaration)
Enquiries
We collect, store and process data so that we can:
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to record, consider and reply to enquiries
Photos / videos
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To archive and store images and videos for event promotion and use on our website
Rehoming/Adopting
When you rehome one of our guinea pigs we ask you to provide us with information about your home. This allows us to match you with the right guinea pig so that the the needs of the guinea pig, you and or your family will be met.
When you gift us your guinea pig we will ask for certain information about the guinea pig and you.(including the reason or circumstances that led to you needing to rehome your pet, and any information about your pet's behaviour and medical history that will help us with their care or onward rehoming)
We also ask for this information so that we can comply with the relevant legal requirements when rehoming an animal such as establishing the legal ownership of animals.
Volunteering
Volunteers provide invaluable support at Gertie's. Where you have provided us with your information because you want to volunteer, we store this information until we need volunteers. Then we review the applications to recruit volunteers and foster carers (for example, by reviewing volunteering applications), We also hold data to support/train volunteers and communicate with you generally about the work we do to ensure that you are kept well informed about Gertie's, your own volunteering and how you can get more involved.
Marketing And Fundraising
Gertie's marketing activity helps to find permanent and loving homes for guinea pigs.It also helps us to raise the income we need which enables us to do this.
Gertie's will seek your consent to send you marketing via email or post. If you choose to hear from us in this way, you’ll receive behind the scenes news, updates about our animals, general information about rehoming, volunteering and various ways you can support Gertie's, including fundraising, events and campaigning. Examples include an update email, emails inviting you to events, and email updates on our fundraising activity
When you register to attend or take part in one of our fundraising events we will use you information to process the registration fees (if any), administer your participation in the event and provide you with information about the event.
We will never rent, swap or sell your details for marketing purposes.
You’re free to change your contact preferences at any time, just let us know by using the contact us button at the bottom of this page
Financial Transactions
If you donate to us, this is sometimes via a third party payment-processing partner such as pay pal. We don’t store your financial information anywhere.
If you have kindly added Gift Aid to your donation to Gertie's we must record the fact that you are a UK taxpayer and we have to maintain a record of the amount of Gift Aid we have claimed.
How The Law Applies To Gertie’s Use Of Personal Information
We are required under the law to make sure that we have a valid ground for processing your data. The law sets out six different grounds for when personal data can be processed (plus additional ones where sensitive data is used) The four legal grounds that are most relevant to Gertie's use of your personal information are:
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Consent
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Legitimate Interest
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Contract
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Legal Obligation
Overview
Gertie's will only process your personal information if any of the following apply:
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We have asked you for your express consent and have a record of this (for example, we will ask for your consent to send you marketing communications by email.
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We have a legal obligation to use or disclose information about you (for example, we are required by law to keep a record of Gift Aid declarations for six years).
Consent
In some cases we will rely on consent, for example, to send you a marketing and fundraising email/mail. You can withdraw consent for these channels and activities by contacting us.
Legitimate Interests
This legal ground for processing means that we can process your personal information if we have a genuine and legitimate reason for doing so, and that reason is not overridden by your rights and interests as an individual.
Examples of the legitimate interests processing activities we undertake are:
To allow us to provide the best possible care for every guinea pig
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To assess suitability for rehoming and to follow up with you about your rehoming enquiry
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To capture the information we need when we take in a guinea pig, to allow us to care for that guinea pig and ultimately rehome it
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To provide you with aftercare services once you have rehomed a guinea pig from us
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To conduct home visits to assess suitability as part of the rehoming process
To raise the fundraising income to allow us to be here for every guinea pig
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To process your donations and Gift Aid where you have asked us to do so
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To send you marketing communications by post
For administration purposes
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To provide you with information necessary to an event you have signed up for
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To provide you with information about any fundraising activities you have agreed to take part in
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To follow up with you about your enquiry
To analyse data to better understand our supporters and tailor our communications to them
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To analyse your data in order to better understand your preferences, to improve our services, and to tailor our marketing communications to you
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To use public sources to add to our analysis
To recruit and manage volunteers
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To assess volunteer (including foster carer) applications and recruit volunteers
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To communicate with volunteers about information that is essential to their role, and about the wider activities of Gertie's
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To process volunteers and foster carers data to effectively administer their close relationships with Gerties and provide them with appropriate care and support
We have considered and balanced our legitimate interests against individuals’ privacy rights in these scenarios and we do not believe that any adversely affect our supporters’ rights or interests. If you would like to find out more or ask us to stop processing your data in these ways, you can do this at any time by contacting us.
Contractual relationships
In some cases, we will be under a contractual obligation to provide you with goods and services, which means that we have to process your data in order to fulfil those obligations. Some examples of this include if you are a Friend of Gertie's, or if you are rehoming a guinea pig from us.
A legal obligation
Sometimes we may have a legal obligation to process information about you – for example we are obliged to keep financial records including Gift Aid for six years. We’re required to keep a record of your communication preferences, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation.
Data Retention
We’ll retain personal information for different periods of time depending on your relationship with Gertie's.
For example, if you donate to us, we’ll keep your gift aid declaration for up to seven years after your last interaction with us. If you rehome a guinea pig, we’ll keep details relating to your rehoming for 9 years (the upper limit lifetime of the guinea pig).
If you decide you no longer wish to hear from us, we’ll need to keep a note of that on our suppression list indefinitely.
If you’d like more information on our retention policy, please contact us.
Data Storage
Gertie's operations are based in the UK and we store our data within the European Economic Area (EEA).
Data Sharing
Gertie's will not exchange or sell your personal information to another organisation.
Your Data Protection Rights
When Gertie's is using your personal information on the basis of your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. You also have the right to ask Gertie's to stop using your personal information for direct marketing purposes. Simply contact us and we will amend your contact preferences.
Presuming that these rights are not overridden by our legal obligations, or where our legitimate interests are not overridden by your rights and interests as an individual, you have the following data protection rights:
Right to be Informed
You have the right to be told how your personal information will be used. This policy document, and shorter summary statements used on our communications, are intended to be a clear and transparent description of how your data may be used.
Right of Access
You can contact us asking what information we hold on you and to request a copy of that information. From May 2018 we will have 30 days to comply once we are satisfied you have rights to see the requested records and we have successfully confirmed your identity.
Right of Erasure
From May 2018, you have the right to be forgotten (i.e. to have your personally identifiable data deleted). We’ll be required to keep an appropriate record (such as a suppression list) so that we can make sure you don’t receive future communications. In some instances a legal basis will override the right to erasure. An example of this would be the legal requirement to record financial transactions for six years.
Right of Rectification
If you believe our records are inaccurate you have the right to ask for those records concerning you to be updated.
Right to Restrict Processing
In certain situations you have the right to ask for processing of your personal data to be restricted because there is some disagreement about its accuracy or legitimate usage.
Right to Object
You have an absolute right to stop the processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes.
If you want to exercise any of these rights, please contact us.
Filming and photography at events
Please note that Gertie's may film or photograph participants, volunteers and spectators attending or taking part in events and use such footage or photographs.
We do this in order to publicise the event for commercial and/or fundraising purposes including, but not limited to: publications, marketing material, merchandising, social media, personalised direct mail and other media that may be made available to the public.
No personal details (including names) of any under 16-year-old participants will be used in any publicity materials without the written consent of their parent or legal guardian, but we may use images where children are incidentally included (for example, images of mass participation)
Notifications of changes to this privacy policy
This Privacy Policy may change from time to time. For example, we will continue to update it to reflect new legal requirements. Please visit this website page to keep up to date with the changes to our Privacy Policy.
What to do if you are not happy
In the first instance, please talk to us directly so we can help resolve any problem or query.
You have the right to contact the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) if you have any concerns about Data Protection using their help line 0303 123 1113 or at www.ico.org.uk
Contact us
If you have any questions about this Policy, or about how Gertie's manages your data, please contact us
Email: gertiesrescue@btinternet.com