This document acts as a general statement and overview of information for Stakeholders of Beacon Centre for the Blind in accordance with General Data Protection Regulation 25th May 2018.

At Beacon Centre for the Blind we are committed to respecting and protecting your privacy. This policy is concerned with how we collect information, what we do with it and what controls you have.

We may change this document from time to time so please check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes.

1. Who we are & what we do

Beacon Centre for the Blind is a registered charity (Charity Number 216092). We are committed to making a visible difference to people living with sight loss. We do this through our commercial and retail activities, fundraising activities, promoting sight loss conditions and the importance of eye health. We provide a wide array of services including employment, accommodation based care, domiciliary care, community and in house services as well as a wide range of technology focussed solutions to those who have a visual impairment.

2. How we collect information

We collect your information in a number of ways.

Information you give us

  • You may give us information via our website when; purchasing an item in our online shop, registering for one of our events, completing an online donation form, signing up for our lottery, or filling out a feedback form.
  • You may give us information when completing a paper-based form to; sign up to Gift Aid, order an item, apply to become a volunteer, register for one of our events, sponsor an individual, become a regular giver, give a donation, sign up to our lottery, purchase raffle tickets, enquire about community events or talks.
  • You may give us information in person or over the phone when; registering for Gift Aid, signing up for one of our events, making a donation, expressing an interest in fundraising for us, sharing an experience of our work for publicity purposes, signing up to our lottery, or purchasing raffle tickets, arranging or enquiring about a community talk or event.

Information we receive from other sources

  • We may receive information from fundraising websites such as Justgiving or Virgin Money if you are using these portals to fundraise for us or have sponsored someone who is fundraising for us.

Information that we collect automatically

  • When you visit our website, we may collect certain information automatically from your device.
  • Specifically, the information we collect automatically may include information like your IP address, device type, unique device identification numbers, browser-type, broad geographic location (e.g. country or city-level location) and other technical information. We may also collect information about how your device has interacted with our website, including the pages accessed and links clicked.
  • Collecting this information enables us to better understand the visitors who come to our website, where they come from, and what content on our website is of interest to them. We use this information for our internal analytics purposes and to improve the quality and relevance of our website to our visitors.
  • Some of this information may be collected using cookies and similar tracking technology.

3. What information we collect

We will usually collect basic personal data about you such as:

  • Name
  • Postal address
  • Telephone number
  • Email address
  • Bank details (if you are supporting us financially)

Sometimes we will collect other information about you such as:

  • Date of birth/Age
  • Gender
  • Medical conditions
  • Emergency contact details of a friend/relative

We will only collect this ‘sensitive personal data’ if there is a clear reason for doing so, such as participation in a strenuous event, where we need this information to ensure we provide appropriate facilities and can give support in case of emergency. Sensitive personal data may also be collected to enable us to provide the appropriate level of care to our customers.

4. How we use the information we collect

We collect your personal information in connection with specific activities, such as product purchases, donations, registration requests etc. The information is either needed to fulfil your request or to enable us to provide you with a more personalised service.

We may use information held about you in the following ways:

  • For administration purposes (for example, we may contact you to provide a receipt for a donation you have made, to send out materials for an event you have registered for, to process an order you have placed, to chase sponsorship payment, to provide relevant information if you have signed up to volunteer with us, or notify you of details relating to your raffle entry including sending out prizes).
  • To take a payment from you (for example, if you have purchased an item from us online, if you have booked a place on one of our events, if you have made a donation using your debit/credit card)
  • To claim Gift Aid from the government if you have signed up to the scheme with us. If you have registered for our Retail Gift Aid scheme, we are also legally required to email or write to you if we make a claim.
  • For holding records that we are legally required to keep, for example regarding Gift Aid.
  • To contact your next of kin in case of emergency if you are an events participant or a volunteer with us. If you are taking part in an event, we may also hold details of any pre-existing medical conditions you provide us with for health and safety reasons.
  • To code and record transactions against your supporter record on our databases so that we can keep a record of the financial support you have given us (e.g. dates and values of donations).
  • To keep a note of your preferences on what and how you want to engage with us. This includes keeping a record of all those supporters who have notified us they do not want any contact from us.
  • To raise funds (for example we may send you information about how you can support us, for example, by purchasing raffle tickets, donating to an appeal or volunteering with us).
  • To provide you with information about our work and activities.
  • To analyse the personal information we collect to create a profile of your interests and preferences so we can better understand our supporters and make appropriate requests to our supporters who may be able and willing to give more than they already do.
  • To contact you about upgrading your support for Beacon Centre for the Blind (for example, by changing payment method or donation amount).
  • To keep your information up to date and accurate.

5. If you are a supporter will you be contacted for marketing purposes?

Sometimes, with your explicit consent, we will contact you using your email address to provide you with information about our work and/or ways you can support us.

Where you have provided your postal address we may send you information about our work and/or ways you can support us by post unless you have told us that you do not wish to receive such information in this way.

We will only contact you for marketing purposes by telephone if you have not opted out from receiving such communications.

We rely on the legitimate interest legal basis for some of our processing for marketing purposes. This applies to the following:

  • Where you are an existing supporter and we are contacting you by post and/or telephone about our news, appeals and other ways you can support our work.

6. Sharing your information

Beacon Centre for the Blind does not process or share any information without the express permission of the individual concerned.  No personal data from our internal systems is shared to other organisations or third parties without the individual’s permission.

We may share your information with selected third parties such as suppliers including professional fundraisers, printers and mailing houses and sub-contractors for the performance of any contract we enter into with them or you. We require such suppliers and any third party that processes data on our behalf to sign a legally binding contract that requires them to hold in the strictest confidence any and all Beacon Centre for the Blind information they deal with, and confirms their compliance with GDPR Regulations.

7. How we keep your data safe and who has access to it

All data collected is stored in safe locations, with access restricted to only those who need it. All our security is regularly tested and audited to make sure that your data is safe and secure.

8. How long do we keep your information for?

We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary and in accordance with applicable legal requirements and tax and accounting rules. Where your information is no longer required we will ensure it is disposed of securely.

9. Data Access

Should you have a data subject access request, change of consent request, or you have any questions in relation to the personal data held by Beacon Centre for the Blind, you can contact us by:

Email : enquiries@beaconvision.org

Post: please address your envelope to: Data Processing, Beacon Centre, Wolverhampton Road East, Sedgley WV4 6AZ

Please include your name, address, reference number given on any correspondence if possible and a contact telephone number in your email or letter so that we can get back in touch with you easily.

Or you can call us on 01902 880111

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are not processing your personal data in accordance with the law you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).