PRIVACY NOTICE

Grace Church is a UK Charity (a CIO; charitable incorporated organisation) that aims to share the good news about Jesus and relieve people in conditions of need, hardship or distress.

Your privacy is very important to us and so we’re doing all we can to protect it.

Let us explain how...

We will collect your personal data:

• As you engage directly with us

Grace Church only stores and uses personal data when you’ve given us permission to do so. Most often we will collect this data in person during a Grace Church activity (for example at Kidzplay or during a Sunday service). 

• From website interaction

We collect non-personal data every time you visit our website. This information cannot be traced back to you but will help us to improve your experience of our website. No personal data is captured without your permission.

Grace Church does not receive or hold any credit card details used for donations / payments made via this website. 

• From other organisations with your permission

Sometimes we may use your personal data that you have made available on certain social media platforms (like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram). We advise checking their privacy notices to see how they choose to handle your personal data.

• Indirectly through third parties

Every so often we may collect your data from a third part such as SurveyMonkey or Eventbrite when you have chosen to engage with us via their platforms. We advise checking the privacy policy of any third party that you engage with to find out more on how they will use your data.

• From publicly available data

We may collect publicly available data from places such as the Charity Commission.

We collect personal data for the following reasons:

• To communicate directly with you about church news or church events

Grace Church runs various events throughout the year, including social events, Alpha Courses, membership days and other similar events. If you have given us your permission then we would like to keep you updated with information about these events as well as more general Grace Church information. 

• To process any financial donations (including claiming gift aid if relevant)

When you make a non-cash donation to Grace Church then we will use your personal data to process that donation. Whether this is a cheque, a card payment or setting up a standing order, processing your data will be necessary to process the payment. We will also process your personal data to make a gift aid claim if you have given us permission to do so by completing a gift aid declaration. 

• To improve the services, we offer

Periodically we will use your personal or non-personal data to improve your experience of Grace Church Stoke on Trent. Whether this is your experience of our website or your experience of a Grace Church event your feedback is very valuable to us.

• When you have given us your consent

We take your consent seriously which is why we are working very hard to make sure that when we ask for your consent we do so in a way that gives you clarity, choice, benefit and control. Let’s not forget this is your data that we’re talking about.

We also want you to feel like you can choose how we keep in contact with you. You can update us on your preferences or opt out of our communications by contacting the Grace Church office (the contact details are at the bottom of this page).

• If we have a legitimate reason

We may contact you if we believe there is a genuine interest in doing so (either for you as an individual or for Grace Church Stoke on Trent). You can challenge this at any time and we will comply with your preferences. 

• Storage

Grace Church is committed to storing your data securely. For the most part that means that the data we use will be stored digitally on Google Drive or via our secure website. However, every so often we will store data on paper securely in locked filing cabinets that only the relevant people will have access to.

We will continue to review the way we store and use your personal data to ensure that we are doing our best to keep your data secure.

• Timescales

The length of time that we store your data depends on the context you provided us with that data in the first place. For example, if you have signed up to one of our Alpha Courses then we will only process that data for the length of the Alpha Course and then we will delete that data unless you tell us you’re happy for us to continue using your data.

We will continue to review the way we store and use your personal data to ensure that we don’t hold onto data longer than is necessary. Of course, if you have any concerns or questions then please get in touch with us by using the contact details at the bottom of this page.

• Who we pass your data onto

We will never pass on your personal data to any third party unless you have given us express permission or unless we are legally obligated to do so.

Hopefully any questions you might have about how we handle your personal data will have already been answered in the notice above. If you still have any concerns, however, please hit the button below to our contact page and we'll do our best to come back to you as soon as we can.