Privacy Policy

Who are we?

We are Leicestershire Historic Churches Trust (LHCT), a registered charity in England and Wales, charity number 233476. Founded in 1964, our purpose is to raise money and distribute grants to support the preservation, repair, maintenance, improvement, upkeep, beautification and reconstruction of churches, chapels and meeting houses in the city of Leicester and the county of Leicestershire.

This support may also include monuments, fittings, fixtures, stained glass, furniture, ornaments and chattels in such churches, chapels and meeting houses, and the churchyards belonging to such churches.

Data Protection

Your personal data is protected by the General Data Protection Regulation, which came into force on 25 May 2018. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand how we collect, use and store your personal information, and to ensure you remain informed and in control of your information.

If you have any questions about how LHCT processes your information, or would like to change the way we communicate with you, please contact us at chairman@lhct.org.uk.

We may change this Policy from time to time, so please check this page occasionally to ensure that you are happy with any changes. If we make any significant changes to this Policy, we will let you know. By using our website, you are agreeing to be bound by this Policy.

What type of information is collected from you?

Depending on your interaction with LHCT, the personal information that we collect from you may include, but is not limited to:

• Your contact details, such as name, postal address, phone number and email address
• Your date of birth
• If you are supporting us financially, your financial information such as your Gift Aid eligibility declaration
• A record of our communications with you
• Your communication preferences
• Your donation history
• Your interests and reasons for your support

Special Categories

Under data protection law, certain categories of personal information are recognised as special, including health information, race and religious beliefs. If LHCT ever collects such data, we will always obtain your consent to process it.

How do we collect information from you?

We will obtain personal information directly from you in a number of ways when you interact with LHCT, for example when you:

• Sign up for more information about Ride + Stride
• Make a donation
• Enquire to volunteer
• Attend an event
• Fundraise for us
• Communicate with us online, in writing or over the phone

We may also obtain your personal information indirectly, for example when you:

• Make a donation to us through other websites, such as JustGiving
• Sign up to hear from us through other websites, such as Facebook

These independent third parties will only share your information with us when you give consent. These organisations have their own data protection and privacy policies, which you should be aware of before signing up.

How is your information used?

We collect this information in order to process your requests and keep in touch with you about LHCT’s work. Examples include:

• To process donations and Gift Aid transactions
• To send communications in line with the preferences you have told us about
• To record any contact we have with you to help us provide appropriate communications
• To process volunteering enquiries
• To contact you about Ride + Stride
• To check that your communications preferences are up to date
• To ensure that the content from our website is presented effectively for you and your digital device

Legal basis for processing

LHCT’s activities help us to raise the funds which enable us to award grants to churches, chapels and meeting houses in need.

LHCT will seek your consent to send you messages via email and telephone. If you choose to hear from us in this way, you may receive email updates about our work and, from time to time, requests for donations. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

LHCT will use a legitimate interest basis to send you relevant communications by post, if you have provided a postal address. Unless you tell us not to, we may contact you by post with communications we believe you will be interested in. You can opt out of these communications at any time by contacting us.

This legal ground for processing means that we can process your personal information if we have a genuine and legitimate reason for doing so to deliver our charitable aims, and that reason is not overridden by your rights and interests as an individual.

Examples of legitimate interests processing

• Fundraising purposes: to process your donations and Gift Aid where you have asked us to do so, and to send fundraising communications by post.
• Administration purposes: to provide information about fundraising activities you have agreed to take part in, and to follow up with you about your enquiry.
• Research: such as supporter satisfaction research, surveys to improve our services, or desk research to help identify high value supporters.
• Data analysis: to improve our services, understand our supporters and tailor our communications.

We have considered and balanced our legitimate interests against individuals’ privacy rights in these scenarios and do not believe that they adversely affect our supporters’ rights or interests. If you would like to find out more or ask us to stop processing your data in these ways, you can contact us at any time.

Data retention

We retain personal information for different periods of time depending on your relationship with LHCT and the legal requirements relating to certain types of information. For example, there is a legal requirement to retain some types of financial information for up to seven years after your last interaction with us.

We will keep some data indefinitely, such as basic personal details including your name and giving history. If you decide you no longer wish to hear from us, we will mark you on our database as not to be contacted.

It is also important for us to retain a record of donations should we receive a gift in a Will in the future. Sometimes legacies are left many years after a supporter’s last interaction with LHCT. It is important for us to know that the individual was a supporter in the past in case the Will is contested.

If you would like more information on our retention policy, please contact us.

Data storage

LHCT is aware that countries outside the European Economic Area have differing approaches to data privacy laws and that enforcement may not be as robust as it is within Europe’s borders.

If we work with organisations that process data outside the EU, we ensure data security is in line with the law. International organisations we work with who process data must verify that their data processing standards meet the relevant legal safeguards and transparency responsibilities.

Data sharing with third parties

LHCT will never sell your personal information or exchange it with another organisation for their marketing purposes.

However, there are some situations where we may have to share your personal information with other organisations, for example with HMRC to reclaim Gift Aid.

We may also disclose or use personal information if required to do so by law, or use external data for the purposes of fraud prevention, for example to comply with money laundering regulations or otherwise to protect the rights, property or safety of individuals.

We may use other companies to provide services and process your personal data on our behalf, including delivering mail, sending emails, making telephone calls and processing credit card payments. We will only provide those companies with the information they need to deliver the specific service and ensure that your data is treated with respect and integrity.

In these situations, the relationship between LHCT and the third-party data processor will be governed by a contract and strict security requirements will be in place to protect your personal information.

Analysing your information

It is important for us to know why you choose to support LHCT, as this helps us to give you the information that is most relevant for you. We may analyse your data in order to better understand your preferences, improve our services and tailor our communications to you.

The information we use may include your interests, preferences and level of potential donations so that we can see who may be interested in supporting us or who may be able and willing to give more.

We may also use your giving history to inform our decisions and may use donor profiles to find supporters with similar interests to you.

In some instances, we may add publicly available information to our analysis. This might include information from Companies House, the Charity Commission Register, press and web articles and LinkedIn.

Your data protection rights

When LHCT is using your personal information on the basis of your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. You also have the right to ask LHCT to stop using your personal information for direct marketing purposes. Simply contact us and we will amend your contact preferences.

Presuming that these rights are not overridden by our legal obligations, or where our legitimate interests are not overridden by your rights and interests as an individual, you have the following data protection rights:

Right to be informed

You have the right to be told how your personal information will be used. This policy document and shorter summary statements used on our communications are intended to provide a clear and transparent description of how your data may be used.

Right of access

You can contact us asking what information we hold on you and request a copy of that information. We have 28 days to comply once we are satisfied you have rights to see the requested records and we have successfully confirmed your identity.

Right of erasure

You have the right to be forgotten, meaning you can ask for your personally identifiable data to be deleted. We will be required to keep an appropriate record so that we can make sure you do not receive future communications. In some instances, a legal basis will override the right to erasure, such as the legal requirement to record financial transactions for up to seven years.

Right of rectification

If you believe our records are inaccurate, you have the right to ask for those records concerning you to be updated.

Right to restrict processing

In certain situations, you have the right to ask for processing of your personal data to be restricted because there is some disagreement about its accuracy or legitimate usage.

Right to object to direct marketing

You have an absolute right to stop the processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes.

Right to object to automated decisions

In a situation where a data controller is using your personal data in a computerised model or algorithm to make decisions that have a legal effect on you, you have the right to object. LHCT does not undertake complex computerised decision-making that produces legal effects.

To exercise any of these rights, please email chairman@lhct.org.uk or write to:

What to do if you are not happy

In the first instance, please talk to us directly so we can help resolve any problem or query. You can contact us by emailing chairman@lhct.org.uk or by writing to:

You can also register with the Fundraising Preference Service. This service is run by the Fundraising Regulator and allows you to stop email, telephone, addressed post and/or text messages from selected charities. You can use the online service at www.fundraisingpreference.org.uk or call 0300 303 3517.

Once you have made a request through the Fundraising Preference Service, we will ensure that your new preferences take effect within 28 days.

You can also contact the Information Commissioner’s Office if you have any concerns about data protection by calling 0303 123 1113 or visiting ico.org.uk.

Tracking technologies and cookies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track activity on our website and store certain information. Tracking technologies used may include beacons, tags and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyse our service.

You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some parts of our website.

Cookies can be persistent or session cookies. Persistent cookies remain on your personal computer or mobile device when you go offline, while session cookies are deleted as soon as you close your web browser.

Necessary / Essential Cookies

Type: Session Cookies

Administered by: Us

Purpose: These cookies are essential to provide you with services available through the website and to enable you to use some of its features. They help to authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use of user accounts.

Cookies Policy / Notice Acceptance Cookies

Type: Persistent Cookies

Administered by: Us

Purpose: These cookies identify if users have accepted the use of cookies on the website.

Functionality Cookies

Type: Persistent Cookies

Administered by: Us

Purpose: These cookies allow us to remember choices you make when you use the website, such as remembering your login details or language preference. Their purpose is to provide a more personal experience and to avoid you having to re-enter your preferences every time you use the website.

Children’s Privacy

Our service does not address anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13.

If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from anyone under the age of 13 without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our records.