YMCA Taunton (UK registered charity number 1152585) is committed to protecting your privacy. At all times, we aim to respect any personal information you share with us or that we receive from other organisations and keep it safe. This Privacy Notice (“Notice”) sets out our data processing practices and your rights and options regarding the ways in which your personal information is collected and used.

This Notice contains important information about your personal rights to privacy. Please read it carefully to understand how we use your personal information. The provision of your personal information to us is voluntary. You may, for example, provide personal information by making a donation, participating in our programmes, or using our website to access information about our services. In some circumstances, your use of our services or your interaction with us may be impaired without the provision of your personal information; for example, we would be unable to provide feedback on the impact of your support or the benefit to young people that your donations have achieved.

The terms “YMCA Taunton”, “we”, “our” and “us” shall refer to YMCA Taunton.

Delivering the services we do is something we cannot do without the help of people who share our passion for working with young people to enable them to truly belong, contribute, and thrive. Supporting the work of YMCA Taunton—whether through employment, fundraising, volunteering, or campaigning—is hugely important to us.

In order to carry out our work, YMCA Taunton may need to use your personal information. Where we do so, we are the controller of your personal information and therefore have certain obligations under data privacy law relating to how we use your personal information. One of those obligations is to let you know how and why we use your personal information, and your related rights and options. This is the purpose of this Notice

How We Collect Personal Information

We collect your personal information in the following ways:

  • Directly from you: When you donate, apply to volunteer, or contact us by email, phone, or letter.
  • From third parties: When fundraising platforms (e.g., JustGiving) or event organisers (e.g., London Marathon) share your information with us, only if legally permitted. You can opt out by contacting us.
  • Publicly available sources: If your information is publicly accessible, such as through social media, depending on your privacy settings.
  • When you visit our website: We collect technical data like your IP address, browser details, and how you interact with our site. We also use cookies to improve your experience.

What Personal Information We Collect

We may collect and store details such as:

  • Name, address, email, and phone number
  • Contact preferences and social media identity
  • Payment details (for donations)
  • Employment details (for payroll giving) and taxpayer status (for Gift Aid)
  • Date of birth, gender, and marital status
  • Qualifications, experience, and photographs
  • Immigration/emigration details
  • How you interact with our services and communications

We may also track donations, event participation, and your engagement with YMCA Taunton.

Processing Special Categories of Personal Information

Some types of personal information—such as health details, racial or ethnic origin, and religious beliefs—require extra protection under UK data privacy laws. YMCA Taunton may collect and use this sensitive information only when absolutely necessary, such as:

  • If you share your YMCA story for our website, and health details are relevant.
  • If we need health information to make reasonable adjustments for you.

We will always clearly explain what we collect and why before processing sensitive information.

How We Use Your Personal Information

We may use your personal information to:

  • Provide services, products, or information you request.
  • Process donations and manage supporter relationships.
  • Respond to questions and communicate with you.
  • Improve our services, website, and internal records.
  • Register and administer your participation in events.
  • Process job or volunteer applications.
  • Manage employment matters (e.g., salary and pension).
  • Comply with legal obligations, prevent fraud, and protect rights.
  • Refer you to partner Will-writing services (upon request).
  • Send event invitations and materials if you plan to leave a gift in your Will.

Legal Basis for Using Your Data

We process personal information under UK GDPR when:

  • You give us consent (e.g., to send newsletters or collect sensitive data).
  • It’s necessary for a legal obligation (e.g., tax or anti-money laundering).
  • We need it for a contract (e.g., employment or volunteer agreements).
  • It’s in someone’s vital interest (e.g., medical emergencies).
  • We have a legitimate interest (e.g., fundraising, donor communications).

We always consider the impact on your privacy before using your data for legitimate interests.

Supporter Research

We may analyse your personal information to understand your interests, improve communications, and make fundraising more effective. This can involve:

  • Using profiling techniques to tailor messages.
  • Checking publicly available sources (e.g., Companies House, news articles).
  • Validating your contact details with external sources (e.g., postal address checks).

You can opt out anytime by contacting us.

Communications for Marketing & Fundraising

We may use your contact details to share updates about our work, events, services, and fundraising efforts that may interest you—such as appeals you’ve previously contributed to or volunteering opportunities similar to past experiences.

For emails and SMS, we will only contact you if you’ve given prior consent (unless permitted by law). If you no longer wish to receive updates, you can opt out anytime by:

Donations

When making an online donation, your financial information is processed securely by a specialist payment provider. We only share the necessary details to complete your transaction and do not store card details.

Children’s Personal Information

We take extra care when processing children’s data. If required by law, we will seek consent from the child or their parent/guardian before collecting or using their information.

How Long We Keep Your Information

We retain personal data based on our data retention policy, depending on legal requirements and how long it’s needed.

  • Once no longer needed, data is either deleted or anonymised.
  • If a supporter pledges a legacy gift, we keep their details until necessary for administration and family communication.
  • For safeguarding purposes, we may securely retain data for up to 50 years based on insurance and legal guidance.

Sharing Your Personal Information

We do not sell or rent your personal information. However, we may share it with trusted third parties when necessary, including:

  • YMCA branches, shops, gyms, and nurseries to fulfil services or requests.
  • Healthcare professionals for care services.
  • IT and payment service providers to process donations or manage our website.
  • Insurers, accountants, and lawyers for regulatory and legal purposes.
  • Fundraising platforms and event organisers that support our work.
  • Will-writing schemes (upon supporter request).

We may also disclose personal information in cases such as:

  • Business asset sales or acquisitions.
  • Legal obligations or regulatory requirements.
  • Protecting YMCA Taunton’s rights, staff, visitors, and users.

When sharing data, we ensure third parties comply with strict security and UK GDPR regulations.

Security & Data Storage

We prioritise the security of your personal information with robust technical and organisational measures. Access is restricted to trained staff, volunteers, and contractors, and data is stored on secure servers to prevent unauthorised access.

Exercising Your Rights

If we rely on your consent to process your personal information, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. This includes requesting that we stop using your information for marketing or fundraising or unsubscribing from emails.

You also have the following rights:

  • Right of access – You can ask us to confirm what personal information we hold about you and request a copy of it.
  • Right of erasure – You can request that we delete your personal information, where required. In most cases, we will suppress further communications rather than completely erase your records.
  • Right of rectification – If your information is incorrect, you can ask us to update or verify it.
  • Right to restrict processing – You can ask us to limit processing of your data if its accuracy or use is disputed.
  • Right to object – You can object to us processing your personal information for legitimate interests, direct marketing, or statistical purposes.
  • Right to data portability – If we process your data based on consent or contractual necessity via automated means, you can ask us to provide it in a machine-readable format.
  • Rights related to automated decision-making – You can request not to be subject to purely automated decisions that significantly affect you, unless permitted by law or necessary for a contract.

We may ask for further identity verification before disclosing personal information. Some rights apply only in specific circumstances.

If you have concerns about how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk.

Changes to This Notice

We may update this Privacy Notice occasionally. The latest update was on 9 April 2025.

Links & Third-Party Websites

Our website contains links to external sites. This Privacy Notice does not cover them, and we are not responsible for their content or policies. We encourage you to read their privacy notices before providing any personal data.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about your personal information, please contact us:

01823 274667
info@ymcataunton.co.uk