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Privacy Policy
The Edmonton Social Planning Council (ESPC) is committed to protecting the privacy of its donors, volunteers, award applicants and recipients, employees, and other stakeholders. The ESPC values the trust of these stakeholders and of the public and recognizes that maintaining this trust requires that the ESPC be transparent and accountable in how it treats the information that is shared with it.
1) Legislation
The ESPC is governed by the Personal Information Protection Act. (The federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) does not apply because the provincial legislation has been declared substantially similar to PIPEDA.) As a non-profit, PIPA applies to ESPC only when personal information is used for commercial activities. Although this applies to very few of the Council’s activities, this policy reflects the importance we place upon the protection of privacy.
2) What is Considered Personal Information?
Personal information is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify, or contact a specific individual, such as an individual’s name, address, birth date, email address, phone number, Social Insurance Number, or credit card information. Personal information does not include business contact information when it is collected, used, or disclosed for the purposes of enabling the individual or organization to be contacted in relation to business responsibilities and for no other purpose.
3) Collection and Use of Personal Information
Personal information will only be collected and used by authorized staff consistent with the activities of ESPC. Personal information is collected for the following reasons:
To process gifts, award payments, and payroll and benefits;
To acknowledge donors;
To comply with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requirements;
To keep donors and other stakeholders informed about Edmonton Social Planning Council activities;
To promote opportunities for donors and potential donors to support Edmonton Social Planning Council;
To build and maintain relationships with donors and other stakeholders;
To acknowledge and communicate with volunteers;
To protect against fraud; and
To review and assess applications for grants, scholarships, bursaries, and awards.
Personal information collected by the ESPC will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of living individuals, existing corporations or as required by law.
4) Consent
The manner in which ESPC obtains consent for the collection of personal information varies with the sensitivity of the information being collected. Because of the nature of the information ESPC collects, in many cases, consent is considered to be implied at the time of collection. ESPC will make a reasonable effort to ensure that individuals are aware of the purposes for which information is collected at the time of collection. Individuals may withdraw consent by contacting the ESPC unless personal information is required to fulfill our legal obligations.
The ESPC acknowledges donors from time to time in publications and on the website. In accordance with notice given to donors in correspondence, consent is assumed unless specifically withdrawn. Donors who do not wish to be listed may opt out as indicated above. Explicit consent is sought from living donors and existing corporations in donor recognition opportunities, such as plaques, special profiles included in publications like magazines and newsletters, and/or special profiles included on the website.
5) Protection of Personal Information
Personal information gathered by the ESPC is kept in confidence. ESPC staff are authorized to access personal information based only on their need to deal with the information for the reason(s) for which it was obtained. Measures are taken to ensure the integrity of this information is maintained and to prevent its being lost or destroyed. Personal information is collected and used only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in light of the circumstances.
The ESPC makes reasonable security arrangements against risks such as unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, or disposal. Security measures have been integrated into the day-to-day operating practices of the ESPC and are outlined in various procedural documents. Employees are made aware of the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of personal information. All employees and volunteers having access to personal information are required to sign an oath of confidentiality.
Methods of protection include physical measures (e.g. locked cabinets, shredders), organizational measures (e.g. limitations on access, scheduled destruction of old information), and technological measures (e.g. security system, passwords).
ESPC makes reasonable effort to ensure that personal information is accurate and complete. ESPC relies on individuals to notify it if there are any changes to their personal information. ESPC will update records promptly.
6) Sharing of and Access to Personal Information
In general, personal information will not be rented, sold, or shared with any third party. However, as a regular course of business, it may be provided to those third parties that provide the ESPC with contracted services (such as funders, designers, printers). In cases where such transfers take place, the ESPC will ensure that the third party has comparable privacy safeguards in place.
Donors, employees, and volunteers may at any time request access to their personal information. Full access will be given, subject to reasonable timelines for information retrieval, and regular business hours.
Award applicants and recipients may request access to the information on their files. Access will be given to all information which was provided by the applicant. The release of information relating to decisions made by the ESPC or its committees or panels will be at the discretion of the ESPC.
7) Website and Electronic Information
The ESPC uses password protocols, encryption software, and firewalls to ensure privacy and to protect personal and other information received online. Our software is routinely updated to maximize protection of such information.
The ESPC is committed to protecting the privacy of those who use the website. This site compiles conventional log files to monitor and assess activity including traffic and visits. This activity does not specifically identify any individual user without prior notice to the user through use of the site.
ESPC does not disclose information about individual visits to www.edmontonsocialplanning.ca. Neither is information given on our website given to outside companies. The information collected is used to improve and enhance the content and services of the website.
8) Contact Information
The ESPC is open about privacy policies and procedures with respect to the management of personal information and is open to reviewing any breech of this privacy policy or other reasonable standards.
Questions or concerns relating to ESPC’s privacy practices or the treatment of personal information should be brought to the attention of the ESPC’s Executive Director.
