Privacy Policy

PGS Privacy Policy

The Parish Giving Scheme (PGS, we, us) is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy notice outlines how the PGS handles your personal information, and is provided to help you understand why and how we collect and use your personal information and what to do if you have any questions or complaints.  It also gives you information about the rights you have in your personal information.

PGS is a data controller. This means that we are responsible for deciding how and why we hold and use personal information about you, and for explaining this clearly to you.

The personal information we collect

This notice is intended for visitors to the website and those who choose to donate through the PGS (Donors).  It also applies to prospective Donors as well as other individuals who come into contact with us such as parish representatives and statement receivers, diocesan representatives, stewards, suppliers and contractors. [We have a separate privacy notice for staff and volunteers.]

The personal information we collect will depend on our relationship with you and may include:

• your contact information – title, name, address, email address, home telephone number and mobile telephone number;
• your business information – job title, job role, company name, address, email address and telephone number;
• information relating to any "MyPGS" account you have created such as your username, password;
• marketing preferences;
• survey response information.

We also collect the following about Donors:

• bank account details;
• a history of your previous donations;
• Gift Aid status.

In relation to our website:

• We collect technical information, including the internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the internet, your login information, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices you use to access our website and in some cases information about how you use our website and services.
• Some of this information is collected through our use of cookies.  Please see our cookies policy here for more details about the cookies we use on our website.

Why do we collect your personal information, and how do we use it?

The PGS uses your personal information in order to:

• manage and encourage participation in the giving scheme;
• correspond with you;
• manage the charity effectively and to meet our regulatory obligations;
• maintain and improve our website and the services that we offer;
• send you information, surveys and updates about the PGS.

In addition, we process personal information of Donors in order to:

• manage your donation to the parishes you wish to support; and
• in relation to Gift Aid and banking.

Marketing: We may also keep you updated on information about Christian Giving, the work we are doing to enhance the ministry of giving within the Church and your parish and to share news on other PGS services. We will only use your information for these purposes where we are allowed to under data protection law.  If you tell us that you do not want to be contacted for any of these purposes then we will of course respect that.  Often we will need your consent before contacting you for these reasons.  If you give us your consent then you have a right to withdraw that consent at any time. 

You can withdraw your consent by contacting us as follows:

• by updating your preferences in MyPGS
• calling the Parish Giving Scheme on 0333 002 1260
• sending us an email (containing the subject heading: Request to withdraw consent)
• or posting a letter to:

The Parish Giving Scheme, 76 Kingsholm Road, Gloucester GL1 3BD.

You can also ask us to stop sending you messages at any time by following the opt-out links on any marketing message sent to you.

Please note, we will still send you service communications even if you tell us that you do not want to be contacted for marketing purposes.  For example, if we need to clarify some of the information you had provided on the giving form in order to process your donation.

If you represent an organisation, for example, if you are an employee of one of our suppliers or if you are a parish or diocesan representative, then we will hold your personal information in order to manage and maintain our relationship with your organisation.  For example, we will hold your contact details so that we can communicate with you. 

We may also communicate with parish, diocese and other church institution representatives in order to promote the work of the PGS.

Regardless of the relationship we have with you, we may need to use your personal information for legal reasons such as fraud prevention and to check that you are complying with our terms and conditions and to enforce our legal rights.

With whom is your information shared?

Along with the details of your donations, the  PGS will disclose your name and address details to the nominated statement receiver of the churches you have indicated that you wish to support. The PGS will also disclose your telephone number and email address but only if you have consented to this.

If  you have told us that you wish to be anonymous to your Parish’s Planned Giving Representative, then  no personal details will be disclosed. If you decide not to remain anonymous, then your parish may contact you in order to send you a thank you and send you updates.

If you are a Donor then we will:

• Share payment and contact details with payment service providers;
• Disclose your name and address details along with details of your donations to HMRC as part of the process of claiming Gift Aid if you have asked us to claim Gift Aid on your donations.

Regardless of our relationship with you, we may also disclose your personal information to external organisations such as: law enforcement bodies; our regulators, our accountants, our auditors, our lawyers and other professional advisors, and in certain circumstances any authorised legal representatives nominated by you.

The third parties listed above use your personal information for their own purposes and are responsible for their own compliance with data protection legislation.

If ever in the future, we are considering restructuring the PGS, we may share your information with the other parties involved and with the relevant professional advisors.  An example would be if we decided to merge with another charity.  This is for our legitimate interest in ensuring that the PGS continues to fulfil its objects.

Data Processors

We also use certain third party processors and we share personal information with these third-party service providers such as data storage providers, our website host server, cloud storage provider and email exchange server and other businesses that provide certain services on our behalf. 

Lawful Bases for processing your information

The lawful bases for processing your information are:

Generally:

• If you contact us, for example, with a general enquiry or to check whether your parish accepts donations through the PGS, then our lawful basis is legitimate interests.  Specifically, we have a legitimate interest in facilitating and promoting charitable giving within the Church in accordance with our objects as a charity.
• Occasionally we may be required by law to share information, for example, with our regulator.  In these situations our lawful basis is legal obligation

Donor Information

• In regard to your contact and bank details: it is necessary for our legitimate interests (to provide an effective service for donations to parishes, to notify you of how we are managing the donation). 
• In certain circumstances, for example when sharing information with HMRC, our lawful basis is legal obligation.

Marketing Information

• In many cases our lawful basis is consent.  However, if we have not asked for consent then our lawful basis will be legitimate interests.  Specifically, we have a legitimate interest in promoting the work of the PGS.

Website Visitor information

• It is necessary for our legitimate interests for our website to facilitate engagement with what we do (to study how customers use our website, to maintain it and improve website visitor experience based on the data and to ensure that our website runs smoothly).

Representatives of other organisations

• Where you are an employee or representative of another organisation, we process your personal information for our legitimate interests in connection with our relationship with that organisation.
• If we have a contract with you as an individual, for example if you are a sole trader supplier, such processing is necessary for the performance of the contract between us, or if you ask us to do something prior to entering into a contract. 

Please note that we may process your personal information without your knowledge where this is required or permitted by law.

Where we need to collect personal information by law, or to process your donation and you fail to provide that information when requested, we may not be able to manage your donation and we may have to cancel the service but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.

Further information

Any personal information that you submit to us will be held on secure servers, based within the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA)

Please note: If you are based outside the UK or the EEA we may transfer personal information to the correspondence address you provide to us (outside the EEA) to the extent necessary to correspond with you or to complete your donation. We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that such transfers are secure. By instructing us from outside the UK or EEA you agree that such transfer is necessary for us to complete your donation.

Once you have stopped donating, we will keep information relating to your donation for a minimum of six years + 1 to help us comply with our legal and regulatory obligations and so that the PGS can investigate if there is a complaint.

If you, or the organisation you work for, have a contract with us then we will typically keep information for six or twelve years after the contract is finished. 

We would like to have an ongoing relationship with you and we would like you to be involved with the PGS for many years to come.  For this reason, we may keep information such as your contact details and contact preferences indefinitely.  This is to ensure that we can continue to stay in touch with you but you can of course opt out of this at any time.  We will also need to keep a record if you tell us that you do not want to hear from us anymore, so that we do not inadvertently add you to our mailing list in the future.

The PGS has taken care to simplify the actions needed to secure any information you give to us via our websites, however as a general rule, you need to take measures to protect yourself and your computer to prevent others from gaining access to your computer and the information contained within it. When you use our websites to send us any personal information, you are responsible for your own computer, anti-virus and anti-spyware measures and security precautions.

The PGS' website may contain links to other sites and other sites may also have links to our websites. This notice does not apply to linked websites.

Giving you control

Opting out, access and correction of your personal information

At any time, if you want to change how we communicate with you, request a copy of the personal information that the PGS holds about you or exercise any other of your rights in relation to your personal information, please contact us at the details below.

The GDPR provides you with the following rights with respect to your personal information: -

• The right to request a copy of the personal information that the PGS holds about you;
• The right to request that the PGS corrects any personal information found to be inaccurate;
• The right to request your personal information is erased (a "right to be forgotten" request);
• Where you have given your consent, the right to withdraw that consent at any time;
  Portability: you can request the transfer of your information to you or to a third party in a format that can be read by computer in certain circumstances;
• The right to request a restriction is placed on further processing; and
• The right to object to the processing of personal information.  You may object to us using your information where (a) we are using it for direct marketing purposes; (b) the lawful basis on which we are relying is legitimate interests; or (c) if we ever use your information for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes.  

These rights don't apply in all cases, for example, sometimes the PGS will be allowed to keep hold of your personal information even if you make a right to be forgotten request.

You have a right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority.  The supervisory authority in the UK is the Information Commissioner's Office - ico.org.uk.  If you do have any concerns about how we have handled your personal information we would kindly ask that you contact us in the first instance before you speak to the ICO so that we have an opportunity to put things right. 

Where we need to collect personal information by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you, and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to fulfil your request or perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you.

Requests and complaints about privacy

Please notify us at the details below if you have any queries, requests or complaints relating to the PGS' handling of your personal information. Complaints will be dealt with in line with the complaint handling policy which acknowledges a complaint promptly upon receipt and after investigation a final response will be provided within 10 working days.

Contacting us

The PGS' privacy notice is published on our website at www.parishgiving.org.uk/privacy-policy/ and is also available as a soft or hard copy on request. If you have any questions or comments about this privacy notice or if you have a complaint about a breach of your privacy, we kindly ask that you contact us by calling 0333 002 1260, sending an email to PGS  (containing the subject heading: Privacy notice) or posting a letter to:

The Parish Giving Scheme, 76 Kingsholm Road, Gloucester GL1 3BD.

Changes to this privacy notice

We may make changes to this notice from time to time without notice. Any changes will be reflected on this page.

Version 4.0 October 2020

The information on this page was last updated on 20th  November  2020.