Our commitment to privacy

At Thanda we are committed to protecting your privacy to ensure that your personal information is collected and used properly, lawfully and transparently in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We know that you care how information about you is used and shared, and we appreciate you trusting that we will do so carefully and sensibly. This Privacy Policy demonstrates our firm commitment to your privacy. We do not collect personally identifying information about you when you visit our site, unless you choose to provide such information to us. Providing such information is strictly voluntary.

This guide explains our practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used by Thanda. It applies to donor information that we collect both online and offline.

What information is collected by Thanda?

 

Forms completed by you

We collect and process your personal information when you voluntarily submit it to us.

For example, donors may provide us with personal information (such as name, address, email address, telephone numbers). If a donor, or a website visitor, contacts us by email they may provide us with their email address, and name. Providing data is required in these contexts in order for us to process your donations, requests, or respond to inquiries.

We have a duty to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure your personal information is complete, accurate, not misleading and updated on a regular basis. To enable this, we will always try to obtain personal information from you directly, and we shall appreciate it if you would keep your personal information up to date and accurate.

Website usage

Information is collected using “cookies” which allows us to collect standard internet visitor usage information. This includes information about how you logged on and from our website, including your IP address, information about your visit, your device information and how you use our website. This will include the capture of your approximate location information.

Cookies Explained

What are cookies?

A cookie is a small piece of data sent from our website to your browser on your computer or device, where it is saved. It may contain some personal information including IP address, pages viewed and other technical data. We use anonymous cookies to collect data about how you use our website. By using our website, you agree that cookies may be forwarded to your computer or device.

Types of cookies

Strictly necessary: These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website.

Analytical/performance: These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us, and third parties, to improve the way our website works

Functionality: These cookies are used to recognise you when you return to our website.

Targeting: These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed.

This website uses Google Analytics, which is a web analytics service provided by Google. Google Analytics enables us to recognise repeat visitors to the site and to analyse how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website will be transmitted to and stored by Google. Google uses this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage.

Where do we transfer and store information?

Thanda is based in South Africa, and any information transmitted to us may be stored, accessed, or processed in South Africa. However, we are registered as a 501(c)3 with Even Ground in New York, USA and as a UK Charity in the United Kingdom. Residents of some other countries, including residents of the European Union, should be aware that the laws of South Africa, or the United States, may not offer the same protections as the laws of your home country.

How do we use information?

We collect information primarily to accept donations, complete our projects, and provide you with information concerning our programmes, projects, and activities. We also use information for internal purposes (to better understand our supporter network) and for analytical purposes (to respond to requests for information and to improve our website, donor base, and outreach). We may inform you of other purposes at the time that we collect some forms of information. For example, if you apply for a job we may collect information in order to process your job application.

With whom do we share information?

We do not trade, share, or sell information that you provide to us with other organizations who intend to use it only to market their products or services to you.

There may be instances in which we share your information with others. We may share your information, for example, in conjunction with your sponsorship of a certain project, as required by law, with law enforcement, to comply with legal process, to protect our legal rights, to protect the safety or security of a person, or to protect against fraud, criminal acts, or misconduct. We may also share your information with companies that provide us with services, or with a successor legal entity.

Our commitment to data security

To help prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect. Our donor collection platform, Little Green Light, also complies by the same standards of data protection, as well as, our payment Gateways, such as Stripe, Given Gain, or Virgin Money Giving. Additionally, all sensitive information is stored in secure repositories both in-house as well as secure cloud-based, AES encrypted web apps.

Opt-out or change your information

If you would like to access the data that we received from you, or make corrections to it, you may contact us at the email or mailing addresses provided at the end of this policy.

If you registered to receive communications from us and later change your mind, you may ask that your name and contact information be removed from our distribution list or unsubscribe from our newsletter, that is run by Mailchimp.

Questions about our policies

If you have any questions, concerns, requests, or comments about privacy, you can contact us by email, telephone, or mail at:

[email protected]
+27 (39) 699-1253
P.O. Box 476
Hibberdene, KwaZulu-Natal, 4220, SA

Effective: June 1st, 2018

Revised and Updated: March 28 2025