Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect information that you provide directly to us, as well as information that is automatically collected when you use our services.

Personal Information You Provide

When you register for a course, subscribe to our mailing list, or contact us, we may collect the following personal information:

• Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, and postal address
• Account Information: Username, password, and account preferences
• Payment Information: Billing address and payment method details (processed securely by third-party payment processors)
• Professional Information: Job title, organisation name, fundraising experience level, and career goals
• Course Data: Progress tracking, assessment results, certification records, and learning preferences
• Communications: Any correspondence you send to us, including support requests and feedback

Automatically Collected Information

When you access our website or learning platform, we automatically collect certain technical information, including:

• Device Information: IP address, browser type, operating system, and device identifiers
• Usage Data: Pages visited, time spent on pages, links clicked, and navigation patterns
• Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to enhance your experience and analyse site performance

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:

Course Delivery and Administration: We process your information to provide access to course materials, track your progress, issue certifications, and communicate important updates about your enrolment.

Payment Processing: We use your billing information to process payments for courses and subscriptions. Payment card details are handled securely by our third-party payment processors and are not stored on our servers.

Marketing and Communications: With your consent, we send you promotional emails about new courses, special offers, and fundraising insights. You may opt out of marketing communications at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in our emails or contacting us at [email protected].

Platform Improvement: We analyse usage data to improve our website functionality, course content, and user experience. This includes identifying technical issues, understanding learning patterns, and optimising our platform performance.

Legal Compliance: We process your information to comply with legal obligations, enforce our Terms of Service, protect our rights and property, and respond to lawful requests from public authorities.

Research and Development: We may use aggregated, anonymised data to conduct research on fundraising education trends and develop new training methodologies.

3. Legal Basis for Processing (UK GDPR)

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), we process your personal information based on the following legal grounds:

Contractual Necessity: Processing is necessary to fulfil our contract with you when you enrol in a course or subscribe to our services.

Legitimate Interests: We process your information for our legitimate business interests, such as improving our services, preventing fraud, and maintaining the security of our platform, provided these interests do not override your fundamental rights.

Consent: Where required by law, we obtain your explicit consent before processing your information for marketing purposes or using non-essential cookies.

Legal Obligation: We process your information to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes.

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share your information in the following limited circumstances:

Service Providers: We engage trusted third-party service providers to assist with website hosting, payment processing, email delivery, analytics, and customer support. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes we specify.

Business Transfers: If Gaign Strategic Fundraising Ltd is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your personal information may be transferred to the acquiring entity. We will notify you of any such change and provide you with choices regarding your information.

Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, court order, or governmental authority, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, prevent fraud, or ensure the safety of our users.

With Your Consent: We may share your information with third parties when you have given us explicit permission to do so.

5. International Data Transfers

Our services are primarily directed at users in the United Kingdom, but we also accept international students. If you are accessing our services from outside the UK, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the UK or other countries where our service providers operate.

We ensure that any international transfers of personal data comply with applicable data protection laws, including the use of Standard Contractual Clauses or other approved transfer mechanisms where required.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

Course Materials and Certifications: As we offer lifetime access to course materials, we retain your account information and certification records indefinitely, unless you request deletion.

Marketing Data: We retain your marketing preferences and contact information until you unsubscribe or request deletion.

Payment Records: We retain payment and billing records for a minimum of seven years to comply with UK tax and accounting regulations.

Inactive Accounts: If your account remains inactive for an extended period, we may contact you to confirm whether you wish to retain your account or have your data deleted.

7. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

As a data subject under the UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

Right of Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

Right to Rectification: You may request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.

Right to Erasure: You may request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain legal exceptions (such as our obligation to retain payment records).

Right to Restrict Processing: You may request that we limit how we use your information in certain circumstances.

Right to Data Portability: You may request a copy of your information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.

Right to Object: You may object to our processing of your information for direct marketing purposes or based on legitimate interests.

Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on your consent to process your information, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond to your request within one month, as required by law.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your browsing experience, analyse site traffic, and personalise content.

Essential Cookies: These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly and cannot be disabled. They include session cookies that enable you to log in and navigate the platform.

Analytics Cookies: We use analytics tools to understand how visitors interact with our website. This helps us improve our content and user experience. These cookies collect aggregated, anonymised data.

Marketing Cookies: With your consent, we use marketing cookies to deliver personalised advertisements and track the effectiveness of our campaigns.

You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

9. Security Measures

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include:

• Encryption of data in transit using SSL/TLS protocols
• Secure storage of data on protected servers
• Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments
• Access controls limiting employee access to personal information
• Staff training on data protection and privacy best practices

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Children's Privacy

Our services are not intended for individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected information from a child, we will take steps to delete it promptly.

11. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including social media platforms and partner organisations. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those external sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or business operations. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the updated policy on our website and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

13. Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Gaign Strategic Fundraising Ltd (trading as Gaign Skills)
Company Registration Number: SC869975
Email: [email protected]

For data protection inquiries, you may also contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent authority for data protection:

Information Commissioner's Office
Website: https://ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113