Last Updated: 1 January 2026
1. Introduction
Hearts for child Foundation ("Hearts for child," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information when you visit our website, make a donation, sign up as a volunteer, register for our newsletter, or otherwise engage with our organisation.
We process personal data in accordance with the Data Protection and Privacy Act of Uganda and other applicable data protection legislation. By using our website or providing us with your personal information, you consent to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please refrain from using our services.
2. Information We Collect
We may collect and process the following categories of personal information about you:
2.1 Information You Provide Directly
- Contact Information: Your full name, email address, telephone number, and postal address when you make a donation, register for an event, subscribe to our newsletter, or contact us through our website.
- Financial Information: Payment card details, mobile money account information, or PayPal account details when you make a donation. Please note that we do not store complete payment card information on our servers; payment processing is handled by secure third-party payment processors.
- Volunteer Information: Professional background, skills, qualifications, availability, and references when you apply to volunteer with us.
- Communication Records: Records of correspondence when you contact us via email, telephone, social media, or our website contact form.
2.2 Information Collected Automatically
- Technical Data: Your Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access our website.
- Usage Data: Information about how you use our website, including the pages you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers, and other diagnostic data.
- Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience, analyse website traffic, and understand where our visitors are coming from. You can control cookies through your browser settings.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:
- Processing Donations: To process your financial contributions, issue receipts, and maintain accurate financial records in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
- Communication: To send you updates about our programmes, impact stories, newsletters, fundraising campaigns, and information about how your support is making a difference. You may opt out of marketing communications at any time.
- Volunteer Management: To process volunteer applications, match volunteers with suitable opportunities, provide training and support, and maintain volunteer records.
- Improving Our Services: To analyse how our website is used, identify areas for improvement, and enhance the user experience for our supporters and visitors.
- Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes, including tax reporting and regulatory filings.
- Fraud Prevention: To detect, prevent, and address fraudulent transactions, unauthorised access, and other illegal activities.
4. Legal Basis for Processing
We process your personal information on the following legal bases:
- Consent: Where you have given clear consent for us to process your personal data for a specific purpose, such as receiving our newsletter or marketing communications.
- Contractual Necessity: Where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you, such as processing a donation you have made.
- Legitimate Interests: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests. This includes improving our services, preventing fraud, and communicating with our supporters.
- Legal Obligation: Where processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, such as maintaining financial records for tax purposes.
5. 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 perform functions on our behalf, including payment processing, email delivery, website analytics, and data storage. These providers have access to personal information only as necessary to perform their functions and are contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality and security of your data.
- Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities, such as a court or government agency.
- Protection of Rights: We may disclose your information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request.
- With Your Consent: We may share your information for any other purpose with your explicit consent.
6. Data Security
We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure, or access. These measures include:
- Encryption of data in transit using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.
- Secure storage of personal data on protected servers with restricted access.
- Regular security assessments and updates to our systems and protocols.
- Staff training on data protection and confidentiality obligations.
- Access controls limiting who within our organisation can view and process personal data.
While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is one hundred percent secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we are committed to doing everything reasonably possible to keep your data safe.
7. Data Retention
We retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process your data, and whether those purposes can be achieved through other means.
Financial records related to donations are retained for a minimum period required by applicable tax and accounting regulations. Marketing and communication data is retained until you withdraw your consent or unsubscribe from our communications.
8. Your Rights
Under applicable data protection laws, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Right of Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Right of Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.
- Right of Erasure: You have the right to request that we delete your personal information in certain circumstances, such as when the data is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.
- Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
- Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
- Right to Object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances, including for direct marketing purposes.
- Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on your consent to process your personal information, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in Section 12 of this policy. We will respond to your request within the timeframe required by applicable law.
9. Cookies
Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently and to provide information to the owners of the site.
We use the following types of cookies:
- Essential Cookies: These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. They enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility.
- Analytics Cookies: These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously. This helps us improve the user experience.
- Functional Cookies: These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, such as remembering your preferences.
You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website.
10. Third-Party Links
Our website may contain 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 practices. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.
11. Children's Privacy
We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. Our website is not intended for children under the age of thirteen, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under thirteen without verifiable parental consent. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under thirteen without such consent, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.
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 operational needs. When we make changes, we will revise the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information. Material changes will be communicated to you via email or through a prominent notice on our website where appropriate.
13. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data protection practices, please do not hesitate to contact us:
Hearts for child Foundation
Email: privacy@heartsforchild.org
Through our website: Contact Page
We are committed to working with you to resolve any concerns you may have about your privacy. If you believe that we have not adequately addressed your concerns, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority in your jurisdiction.
