Your privacy matters to us.

Shelter Community is committed to protecting your personal information and respecting your privacy. Any information you share with us is stored securely and handled responsibly.

We collect information when you:

• use our services

• visit our website

• contact us

• take part in our work, campaigns, or activities

This allows us to provide safe accommodation for young people, improve our services, and communicate effectively with supporters.

We will never sell your information, and we will never share it with another organisation for their own marketing purposes.

If you have any questions about this notice or how we handle your personal data, please contact us:

📧 wiedmer@sclondon.org
📍 Shelter Community, 62A Elliott Road, Chiswick, London, W4 1PE

Changes to this privacy notice

We regularly review this notice to ensure it stays up to date and reflects how we use personal data.

Please let us know if your personal details change so we can keep your information accurate.

What information we collect and why

Our main reason for collecting information is to help us deliver our charitable work by providing safe accommodation and support for young people.

We also use personal data to:

• raise funds for our work

• manage staff and volunteers

• communicate with supporters

• meet our legal and regulatory responsibilities

We aim to be clear and transparent whenever we collect and use personal data.

Our lawful bases for processing

We only use your information when the law allows it. The main lawful bases we rely on are:

1. Consent

We ask for your consent when:

• sending marketing emails, SMS, or similar communications

• calling you for fundraising purposes

• collecting sensitive personal data (e.g., health information)

• contacting referees or carrying out DBS checks during recruitment

You can withdraw your consent at any time.

2. Contract

This mainly applies to our staff and, in some cases, volunteers.

3. Legitimate interests

Most of our data processing is based on legitimate interests because it helps us run the charity effectively and responsibly.

Our legitimate interests include:

Charitable delivery

• Providing safe accommodation

• Responding to safeguarding issues

• Working with law enforcement where required

Compliance

• Internal and external audits

• Statutory reporting

• Following legal instructions from authorised bodies

Publicity and income generation

• Sending postal fundraising or marketing

• Contacting churches and partner organisations

• Personalising communications with supporters

• Conducting analysis to improve fundraising and engagement

Operational management

• Recruiting and managing staff and volunteers

• Workforce planning, safety, and performance

• IT, network, and building security

• Research and statistical reporting

Financial management

• Managing donations and other financial transactions

• Preventing fraud or misuse of funds

• Handling legal claims

Administrative tasks

• Responding to enquiries

• Sending requested materials

• Managing direct debits

• Administering Gift Aid

• Maintaining opt-out lists

We always consider whether our use of your data is fair, balanced, and within your reasonable expectations.

Your data rights

You have several rights regarding your personal data. These include:

✔ Right to be informed

To know how your data is used (through this notice).

✔ Right of access

You can request a copy of the data we hold about you.

✔ Right to rectification

You can ask us to correct inaccurate information.

✔ Right to erasure

In certain cases, you can ask us to delete your data.

✔ Right to restrict processing

You can ask us to limit how we use your data if there is a disagreement about accuracy or use.

✔ Right to object

You can object to direct marketing at any time.

✔ Right to withdraw consent

You can withdraw consent whenever we rely on it.

Some of these rights apply only in specific circumstances, depending on our legal obligations.

To exercise your rights, contact us at:
📧 wiedmer@sclondon.org

When we share your data

We will never sell your information or share it with another organisation for their own marketing.

We may share data:

• with trusted third-party providers who support our work (e.g., email or database services)

• with your consent if you receive our charitable services and sharing is needed for your support

• when we are legally required to do so

We ensure all third-party providers meet strong data protection standards.

How long we keep your data

We keep personal data only as long as needed, in line with legal requirements:

• Service user enquiries: up to 6 months

• Third‑party referrals: up to 6 months unless the person becomes a client

• Client records: up to 6 years after leaving our service

• Staff and volunteer records: up to 6 years after leaving

• Donor records: up to 6 years after last donation

• Supporter/marketing contacts: until consent is withdrawn

• Recruitment information: 6 months unless the person becomes staff or a volunteer

After these periods, data is deleted or anonymised.

Cookies

We use cookies to understand how visitors use our website and to improve your experience.

Cookies may gather anonymous information such as:

• pages visited

• date and time of visit

• browser and device type

• general location

You can turn off cookies in your browser settings.

Some third-party services (e.g., YouTube or Vimeo) may also set their own cookies. We recommend checking their privacy policies for more details.