Privacy policy

Noah’s Story Charity supports bereaved children, young people, adults and families across Northern Ireland. Many people arrive at this website at a very difficult time, and the care we bring to bereavement support extends to the way we look after any information you choose to share with us.

This policy explains, in plain language, what personal information this website collects, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over it. It applies to this website only.

Who we are

Noah’s Story Charity is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy - that means we are responsible for deciding how and why it is used. If you have a question about this policy, or would like to exercise any of the rights described below, please contact us using the details on our contact page.

The information this website collects

We only collect personal information that you choose to give us, and we ask for no more than we need.

When you contact us

If you send us a message through the enquiry form on our contact page, we receive the details you enter - your name, your email address and whatever you choose to tell us in your message. Your submission is stored securely within this website and a copy is sent to us by email so that we can reply to you.

Because of the nature of our work, a message may include information about a bereavement, or about how you or your family are feeling. We treat everything you share with care, and we use it only to understand your enquiry and respond to it.

When you join our mailing list

If you sign up for our newsletter, we collect your name and email address so that we can send it to you. Your sign-up is stored within this website in the same way as an enquiry. You can ask to be removed from the mailing list at any time by contacting us, and we will take you off it.

When you donate

If you make a donation, we collect your name, email address, postcode and country, the amount and the fund you chose, and (if you pick a Good Grief Kit) which kit. We use this to take your payment, email you a receipt and keep the charity’s financial records. Your card details are entered into Stripe’s secure payment form and go to Stripe, not to us; we never see or store them, and we receive only confirmation that the payment was made, the payment method type and a transaction reference.

When you buy a kit

If you buy a Good Grief Kit, we collect your name, email address and delivery address (street, town, postcode and country), what you ordered and the amount paid. We use this to take payment, send your kit, email your order confirmation and handle any return, and we keep order records as our financial record-keeping requires. We pass your name and delivery address to no one except the postal or courier service that delivers your kit. Card details are handled by Stripe, as described above.

Server logs

Like almost every website, the server this site runs on keeps standard technical logs: the internet (IP) address a request came from, the pages requested, the date and time, and the type of browser used. We use these logs only to keep the website secure and working properly.

Our lawful basis for using your information

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for using personal information. Ours are:

• Enquiries - our legitimate interest in reading and responding to the messages people send us.
• Newsletter - your consent, which you give when you sign up and can withdraw at any time.
• Kit orders - carrying out the sale you asked for, and the legal obligation to keep order and financial records.
• Donations - taking a payment you have asked us to make is necessary to carry out that request, and keeping donation and receipt records is a legal obligation we have as a charity (our legal obligation and contract bases).
• Server logs - our legitimate interest in keeping this website secure and available.

We do not use your information for any purpose beyond the one you gave it to us for.

What this website does not do

This website does not use analytics, advertising trackers or social media tracking pixels. Our payment page loads Stripe’s payment form for security and fraud prevention, as explained in our cookie policy. We do not sell personal information, we do not trade it, and we do not use it to build profiles of visitors. If we ever introduce a tool of that kind, we will update this policy and our cookie policy before it is switched on. For information about the cookies this site itself may set, please see the cookie policy.

How long we keep your information

• Enquiry messages are kept for as long as we need them to deal with your enquiry and any follow-up, and are then deleted.
• Mailing list details are kept until you ask to be removed, or until we close the mailing list.
• Kit order records (name, delivery address, order details) are kept for as long as financial record-keeping and any return or complaint require, then deleted.
• Donation records (your name, email, postcode, amount and date) are kept for as long as the charity’s financial record-keeping requires, then deleted.
• Server logs are kept for a limited period for security purposes and are then deleted.

Who can see your information

The messages and sign-ups you send are seen by the people who run Noah’s Story Charity. The provider that hosts this website, and the email service that delivers our messages, handle that information on our behalf solely in order to provide those services. Stripe, our payment provider, processes donations. It receives the details needed to take and secure the payment, and it is responsible for its own use of your card details under its privacy policy. Stripe may process information outside the UK under safeguards required by UK law. Beyond that, we do not share your personal information with anyone unless you ask us to, or the law requires us to.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have rights over your personal information, including the right to:

• ask for a copy of the information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
• ask us to delete your information;
• object to, or ask us to restrict, a particular use of your information;
• withdraw your consent at any time where consent is our lawful basis - for example, the newsletter.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us through our contact page. We will respond within one calendar month. If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can also raise a concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for data protection.

Changes to this policy

We keep this policy under review and will publish any changes on this page, updating the date shown at the top when we do.