Privacy Policy

This policy was reviewed on 2nd February 2026

PRIVACY POLICY

This policy was reviewed on 6th December 2025

We are committed to protecting your personal information. This page explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights. It should be read alongside our website terms and conditions and our cookies policy.

If you have any questions, please contact us:
📧 [email protected]
📞 01246 540464

Who We Are

The Elm Foundation is a registered charity providing support to victims of domestic abuse.
We are a data controller under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We are a member of the Fundraising Regulator and follow the new Code of Fundraising Practice that came into effect on 1 November 2025.
| Fundraising Regulator

Soft Opt‑In Policy

How We Use Your Information
When you express interest in or offer support to our charity, we may send you emails or texts about our work, campaigns, and ways to get involved. This is permitted under the charitable purpose soft opt‑in, introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act, allowing charities to contact supporters who have shown interest without prior explicit consent, provided key requirements are met. [ico.org.uk]

Our Legal Basis
We rely on legitimate interest to send these communications, as allowed under the new soft opt‑in rules for charity electronic mail marketing. [fundraisin…tor.org.uk]

Your Choices
You will always have a clear and easy opportunity to opt out:

  • when we collect your details, and
  • in every message we send.

If you opt out, we will stop contacting you for marketing purposes. [ico.org.uk]

Who This Applies To
The soft opt‑in applies only to individuals whose details we collect after the new rules come into effect. It cannot be applied retrospectively to people already in our database. [civilsociety.co.uk]

How We Store Your Data
We keep separate records of people contacted under soft opt‑in and those who have given explicit consent, as recommended by the ICO. Your information is used only to further our charitable purposes and is stored securely. [civilsociety.co.uk]

Information We Collect

We may collect:

    • Information you give us (e.g., forms, emails, donations, newsletter sign-up)
    • Your postal address, phone number or email (if you choose to provide them)
    • Website usage data, including IP address, browser type and pages viewed
    • Cookies to help the site run effectively (see our Cookies Policy)

If you provide feedback through our website, we keep your message.

We do not sell your personal information.

How We Collect Information

We may collect information when you:

    • Contact us by phone, email, online form or social media
    • Donate or fundraise for us (including via third-party platforms such as Enthuse)
    • Sign up for events, newsletters or updates
    • Apply for a job or volunteer role
    • Use our website or interact with our digital content

Some information may also come from publicly available sources or trusted partners who help deliver our services.

How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

    • Provide the services or information you request
    • Respond to enquiries
    • Process donations and Gift Aid
    • Improve our website and communications
    • Share updates with your permission
    • Keep accurate records of your interactions with us
    • Comply with legal and safeguarding duties

We do not share your data with other organisations for marketing.

Where We Store Your Information

Your data is stored securely on protected servers.
Payment information is encrypted.

No transmission of data over the internet is completely secure, but we take every reasonable step to protect your information.

Use of Postal Addresses and Phone Numbers

If you give us your postal address or phone number, we may use these to contact you unless you tell us not to.
You can opt out at any time by emailing [email protected].

Disclosure of Information

We may share personal information only when necessary:

    • To comply with the law
    • For safeguarding or law enforcement purposes
    • To apply our terms of use

We will never sell your data.

Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

    • Access your information
    • Ask us to correct inaccurate data
    • Ask us to delete your information (in certain circumstances)
    • Ask us not to process your data
    • Object to some types of processing

Contact Us

To ask questions or exercise your data rights, please contact:

📮 The Elm Foundation, 6 Fairfield Road, Chesterfield
📧 [email protected]

Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to other sites. This Privacy Policy applies only to The Elm Foundation website.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this page from time to time. Any changes will be posted here.