Privacy and cookies policy

Welcome to the Ronald Mcdonald House Charities (UK)’s privacy and cookies policies.

Ronald McDonald House Charities (UK) (“RMHC”, “we”, “us” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy will inform you as to how we look after your personal data and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

Developing a better understanding of our supporters through their personal data allows us to make better decisions, fundraise more efficiently and, ultimately, continue to provide accommodation for families with children at specialist children’s hospitals.

This policy helps to explain the occasions when and why cookies may be sent to you when you visit rmhc.org.uk and how you can block and/or delete cookies.

“Cookies” are text-only pieces of information that a website transfers to an individual’s hard drive or other website-browsing equipment for record-keeping purposes. Cookies allow the website to remember important information that will make your use of the site more convenient. A cookie will typically contain the name of the domain from which the cookie has come, the “lifetime” of the cookie, and a randomly generated unique number or other value. Like most websites, we use different categories of cookies for a variety of purposes in order to improve your online experience.

Depending on the purpose, we use session cookies, which are temporary cookies that remain in the cookie file of your browser until you leave the site, and persistent cookies, which remain in the cookie file of your browser for much longer (though how long will depend on the lifetime of the specific cookie).

Cookies can be categorised, following the International Chamber of Commerce guide, as follows:

‘Strictly necessary cookies’ let you move around the website and enable you to use features that you have specifically asked for. Without these cookies, these features would not function. Strictly necessary cookies tend to be session cookies which are deleted at the end of the browser session. Accepting these cookies is a condition of using the website, so if you prevent these cookies, we can’t guarantee how our website will perform during your visit.

‘Performance cookies’ collect information about how you use our website such as which pages you visit and if you experience any errors. These cookies don’t collect any information that could identify you – all the information is collected on an anonymous aggregate basis and is only used to help us improve how our website works, understand what interests our users and measure the effectiveness of our advertising. They also enable us to track the total number of visitors to our site. Most performance cookies tend to be session cookies which are deleted at the end of the browser session.

In some cases, some of these cookies are managed for us by third parties, but we don’t allow the third party to use the cookies for any purpose other than those listed above. Some of these third-party performance cookies are not session based and have varying expiry dates. We use Google services, such as Google Analytics, as well as other third-party vendors that place first-party and/or third-party cookies on a browser across our websites. To opt-out of Google tracking, please visit their opt-out page.
If you prevent performance cookies, we cannot use information from your visit to improve our website in future.

‘Functionality cookies’ may be used to provide services or to remember your settings. This may include your user name if you have selected ‘remember me’ at a log in page. These cookies help to customise your web experience. They also assist with the administration of certain other activities. We may associate personal information with a cookie file in those instances.Functionality cookies, by their very nature, are persistent cookies so that we remember your computer when you return to our website. Some of these cookies may be managed for us by third parties – where this is the case, we don’t allow the third party to use the cookies for any purpose other than those listed above. If you prevent cookies, including functionality cookies, this may mean we can’t offer you some services

‘Targeting cookies’ collect the most information about users. These cookies are used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests. We shall not use a targeting cookie without your express consent, which we would usually obtain by asking you to register and/or opt in to a particular service.

Use the options in your web browser if you do not wish to receive a cookie or if you wish to set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie.

You can easily delete any cookies that have been installed in the cookie folder of your browser.

Follow the steps for your specific browser on how to delete cookies:
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Safari

This Policy was last updated in September 2019. From time to time, it may be necessary for us to change this cookie policy. This might be for a number of reasons; for example, it is not currently our policy to enable purchases of merchandise online via any of our website, but if this policy were to change we would wish to use cookies to keep track of your online purchases, to keep your purchases secure and to assist you with making them. So, we suggest that you check here periodically for any changes.

If you have any questions or feedback on our Cookie Policy, please contact us at info@rmhc.org.uk or at the postal address of Ronald McDonald House Charities UK:
11-59 High Road
East Finchley
London
N2 8AW

Important information and who we are :

This privacy policy aims to give you information on how Ronald McDonald House Charities (UK) collects and processes your personal data.

It is important that you read this privacy policy together with any other privacy policy or fair processing notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal data about you so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data. This privacy policy supplements the other policies and notices and is not intended to override them.

Ronald McDonald House Charities (UK) is the controller and responsible for your personal data.

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact us using the details set out below.

Our full details are:

Full name of legal entity: Ronald McDonald House Charities (UK)

RMHC UK person responsible for data protection: Sudarshan Joy

Email address: info@rmhc.org.uk

Postal address: 11-59 High Road, East Finchley, London, N2 8AW

Telephone number: 03000 111 113

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.

This version was last updated on 7 June 2018.

Where possible we use publicly available sources to keep your records up to date; for example, the Post Office’s National Change of Address database and information provided to us by other organisations as described below. However, it is imperative that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current.

Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.

We really appreciate it if you let us know if your contact details change.

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make any significant changes in the way we treat your personal data we will make this clear on the RMHC Website.

This website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).

If you support us (for example make a donation, volunteer, register to fundraise, bid on an auction prize or sign up for an event) we may collect, use, store or transfer different kinds of personal data about you or your child (where you have provided your child’s data to us) which we have grouped together as follows:

Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.

We also collect, use and share statistical or demographic data in an aggregated form for any purpose so that no individual can be identified from such data (Aggregated Data).

For example, we may aggregate your Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature.

Where it is appropriate we may also collect Special Categories of Personal Data about you: information relating to your health (for example if you are taking part in a high-risk event).

We may also ask why you have decided to donate to us. We will never make this question mandatory, and only want to know the answer if you are comfortable telling us.

We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:

Direct interactions. You may give us your Identity, Contact and Financial Data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes the personal data you provide when you:

Please note that if you enter your details onto one of our online forms, and you don’t “send” or “submit” the form, we may contact you to see if we can help with any problems you may be experiencing with the form or our websites.

Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with our website, we may automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies, server logs and other similar technologies. We may also receive Technical Data about you if you visit other websites employing our cookies. Please see our cookie policy [www.rmhc.org.uk/cookie-policy/] for further details.

Third parties or publicly available sources. We may receive personal data about you from various third parties as set out below:
Technical Data from analytics providers such as Google based outside the EU;

In addition, we may combine information you provide to us with information available from external sources in order to gain a better understanding of our supporters to improve our fundraising methods, Houses and services.

Depending on your settings or the privacy policies for social media and messaging services like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram or Twitter, you might give us permission to access information from those accounts or services.

You may choose to tell us about your experiences in our Houses to help further our work.  You may take on a role as an ambassador, attend our events, or sit on our House Boards.  This may include sharing Identity, Contact or other Special Category Data such as biometric data, ethnicity or information relating to your health and family life.

We will also monitor the types of people who are involved to ensure that the views we hear are representative of all people using our Houses.

If we have your explicit and informed consent (from our consent form), or your parent or guardian’s explicit and informed consent if you are under 16, this information may be made public by us at events and in materials and communications promoting our campaigning and fundraising work or in documents such as our annual report. Where your explicit and informed consent (from a joint RMHC and McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd consent form) is given, we may share your information with McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd so they can promote RMHC on their own channels, such as the McDonald’s UK website or their social media pages.

We provide accommodation and support to individuals and families with children receiving treatment in specialist children’s hospitals, and collect Identity, Contact and other Special Category personal data such as biometric data, ethnicity or information relating to your health and family life, in order to provide those services. This information is stored on our database and only ever shared drive in password-protected folders.

RMHC will only share your details in exceptional circumstances to comply with the ‘Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics for Nurses and Midwives’ code or where legally required, for example where a child reports abuse, or someone reports serious self-harm or a serious intention of harming someone else.

We only collect or publish a child’s personal data when we have the explicit informed consent of their parent or guardian.

Usually, we collect the personal data of children when their family are staying in one of our RMHC Houses. However, we may also collect data when children attend our events or fundraise for us. When we collect and manage information from children, we aim to manage it in a way which is appropriate to the age of the child.

Our events have specific rules about whether children can participate, and we‘ll make sure advertising for those events is age-appropriate.

Where we know or have reason to believe a child is under 13 our policy is not to collect personal information from them unless it is necessary for a specific activity and where the child’s parent or guardian has first provided written consent to that specific activity.

Where we know or have reason to believe a child is under 16 we will not collect (nor encourage any child to give) more detailed information than is needed by us to facilitate that child’s selected activities, without first obtaining the written consent of a parent or guardian.

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

Generally, other than as set out above in relation to experiences and children, we do not rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data other than in relation to sending third party direct marketing communications to you via telephone, post, email or other electronic means. You have the right to withdraw consent to marketing at any time by contacting us info@rmhc.org.uk or 03000 111 113.

We have set out below a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so.

Type of data:
(a) Identity
(b) Contact
Legal basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest:
Performance of a contract with you

Type of data:
(a) Identity
(b) Contact
(c) Financial
(d) Transaction
(e) Marketing and Communications
Legal basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest:
(a) Performance of a contract with you
(b) Necessary for our legitimate interests (to pursue our mission)

Type of data:
(a) Notifying you about changes to our services, terms or privacy policy
(b) Asking you to leave a review or take a survey
(a) Identity
(b) Contact
(c) Profile
(d) Marketing and Communications

Legal basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest:
(a) Performance of a contract with you
(b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation
(c) Necessary for our legitimate interests (to keep our records updated and to study how supporters engage with our charity)

Type of data:
(a) Identity
(b) Contact
(c) Profile
(d) Usage
(e) Marketing and Communications

Legal basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest:
Necessary for our legitimate interests (to study how customers engage with our charity, to develop and grow our supporter base)

Type of data:
(a) Identity
(b) Contact
(c) Technical

Legal basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest:
(a) Necessary for our legitimate interests (for running our charity, provision of administration and IT services, network security and to prevent fraud)
(b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation

Type of data:
(a) Identity
(b) Contact
(c) Profile
(d) Usage
(e) Marketing and Communications
(f) Technical

Legal basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest:
Necessary for our legitimate interests (to study how supporters engage with our charity, to develop and grow our supporter base and to inform our engagement strategy)

Type of data:
(a) Technical
(b) Usage

Legal basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest:
Necessary for our legitimate interests (to define types of supporters, to keep our website updated and relevant, to develop our charity and to inform our engagement strategy)

Type of data:
(a) Identity
(b) Contact
(c) Technical
(d) Usage
(e) Profile

Legal basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest:
Necessary for our legitimate interests (to develop our services and grow our supporter base)

Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out below.

We may use profiling techniques to ensure communications are relevant and timely, and to provide an improved experience for our supporters.  Profiling also allows us to target our resources effectively, which donors consistently tell us is a key priority for them.  We do this because it allows us to understand the background of the people who support us and helps us to make appropriate requests to supporters who may be able and willing to give more than they already do.  Importantly, it enables us to raise more funds, sooner, and more cost-effectively, than we otherwise would.

When building a profile we may analyse geographic, demographic and other information relating to you in order to better understand your interests and preferences in order to contact you with the most relevant communications.  In doing this, we may use additional information from third party sources when it is available.  Such information is compiled by our corporate or trust fundraisers using publicly available data about you, for example addresses, listed Directorships or typical earnings in a given area.

We strive to provide you with choices regarding certain personal data uses, particularly around marketing communications.

With your consent, we will contact you to let you know about the progress we are making and to ask for donations or other support.  Occasionally, we may include information from partner organisations or organisations who support us in these communications.

We may use your Identity, Contact, Technical, Usage and Profile Data to form a view on what may be of interest to you. This is how we decide which events and services may be relevant for you.

You will receive communications from us if you have requested information from us, donated to us, or if you provided us with your details when you registered for a promotion and, in each case, you have not opted out of receiving communications.

We will share Identity, Contact and Technical Data with third parties including Facebook, provided that you have consented to this through your advertising preferences.  For more details about advertising preference please see our cookie policy above.

We use your information to improve your experience, this data sharing enables us to create custom audiences.

Some of those third-party recipients may be based outside the European Economic Area — for further information including on how we safeguard your personal data when this occurs, see ‘International transfers’.

If you don’t want to see our targeted advertising, you can set ad preferences in your Facebook settings or you can adjust your advertising preferences in your browser settings.

We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law.

If we run an event in partnership with another named organisation your details may need to be shared. We will clearly set out what will happen to your data when you register for a specific event.

We will never sell your personal data.

You can ask us or third parties to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by contacting us.

Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of a product purchase, event registration, donation agreement or other transactions.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.

If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

We may have to share your personal data with the parties set out below for the purposes set out in the table in the table above. Third Parties such as:

Event organising companies based in the UK who help us deliver fundraising events like Gala Dinners and Golf Days, including Four Impact.
Marketing platforms, such as Facebook, to help us deliver content to let you know about news from the charity and ways you can get involved.

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

We may need to disclose your details if required to the police, regulatory bodies or legal advisors.

Some of our external third parties are based outside the European Economic Area (EEA) so their processing of your personal data will involve a transfer of data outside the EEA.

Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the EEA, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

Please contact us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your personal data out of the EEA.

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, volunteers, agents, contractors and other third parties who strictly need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

In addition, our online forms are always encrypted and our network is protected and routinely monitored.

Where we use external companies to collect or process personal data on our behalf. We do comprehensive checks on these companies before we work with them, and put a contract in place that sets out our expectations and requirements, especially regarding how they manage the personal data they have collected or have access to.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

We ensure that there are appropriate technical controls in place to protect your personal data.

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data: see Request erasure below for further information.

In some circumstances, we may anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. You have the right to:

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us.

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

We may offer links to sites that are not operated by RMHC. If you visit one of these linked sites, you should review their privacy and other policies. We are not responsible for the policies and practices of other companies.