GuideStar India Privacy Policy

Last Updated: November 2018

This privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) is intended to inform you of the policies and procedures of GuideStar India, an initiative of Civil Society Information Services India ("GuideStar India ,” “we,” or “us”) and its affiliates, with respect to information we collect. We take the privacy and protection of your Personal Information (as defined below) very seriously. We may collect Personal Information from you in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy when you visit GuidestarIndia.org (the "Website").  We are committed to protecting the privacy of visitors to our Website.

This Privacy Policy is intended to inform the general public and users about the types of data we collect and how we collect it, as well as how we use, process, and disclose your information, including personal information, in conjunction with your access to and use of the Website.  Generally, if we process data (defined below), we will ensure that there is a statutory basis for such processing, or we will obtain consent.  Processing of Personal Information shall comply with all data protection regulations applicable to GuideStar India.

For purposes of any regulations Civil Society Information Services India is a Controller (as defined below). As discussed herein, you can contact us at any time to: request access to information that we have about you; correct any information we have about you; and/or delete information that we have about you.  If you have additional questions about our data collection or storage, please contact us at info@guidestarindia.org.

Definitions

“Account” means a GuideStar India account.

“Anonymous Information” means information not associated with or linked to your Personal Information; Anonymous Information does not permit the identification of individuals.

“Controller” means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are governed by Indian law or if applicable European Law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Indian law or if applicable the European Union.

“Personal Information” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person; an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

“Process” or “Processing” means any operation or set of operations which is performed on Personal Information or on sets of Personal Information, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.

“Services” means the services we offer through the Website, which, in the case of not-for-profit organisations registered with GuideStar India, chiefly comprise public information intended to enhance their transparency, public accountability, visibility and access to resources.

General security

GuideStar India takes commercially reasonable physical, electronic, and managerial precautions to prevent the loss and misuse of Personal Information under our control. Web-based data transmissions may in principle have security gaps, so absolute protection may not be guaranteed.

Personal Information we collect

1. Information you give that is necessary for the Services (required; provided as necessity)

Head of organisation / Charity Administrator - this is the person who is the primary contact for the organisation, and the person who can update the charity record via a given password. We collect the name, email address, title, and location of the person acting in this role. This person’s name and title are publicly displayed. Email address is only displayed at the individual’s option.

We also collect the phone number of the organisation (which in some cases may be an individual’s if the Head of organisation / Charity Administrator so chooses), and the address of the organisation (which in some cases may be an individual’s if the Head of organisation / Charity Administrator so chooses.)

If you wish to use the Website, we require the aforementioned information; if you do not want to provide this information, you should not use the Website.

2. Information you to choose to give (optional; provided with consent)

●      When you enter any information, including Personal Information, into any posting or comments within the Services, we will collect such information and may display it;

o   If you add the names of Board Members or names and contact details of other officers within the organisation, you must ensure that you have the consent of these individuals before entering this information which is clearly marked as optional. 

●      When you respond to one of our surveys, we will collect any information contained in such survey responses; and

●      When you leave us feedback or request support, we will collect any information that is contained in your feedback or support request (including your email address).

If GuideStar India receives Personal Information, it will only use this information for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or in the Terms of Use, and will delete or redact the data upon written or emailed receipt of a request to remove it as per the conditions detailed below, under the section titled “Your choices regarding your Personal Information”.

Information we collect via technology

When you access any part of our Website, our web server software automatically logs information provided by your network connection and web browser software, including the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your network connection and the type of web browser and operating system that you are using. Our web server may also log the URL of the file that you are requesting, the current date and time, and the URL of the last web page requested by your web browser.

We may utilize cookies on our Website to store your login information (if any) and your personal preferences for the Services. We may use both session cookies (which expire once you close your browser) and persistent cookies (which stay on your computer until you delete them).

We may utilize Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses cookies to gather information relating to the usage of our Website. The information generated by cookies (including IP addresses) is transmitted to and stored on Google servers. This information may then be analyzed and compiled into reports on website activity. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where said third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google’s policy is to not associate any data gathered from our Website with any other data held by Google.

You have the option of disabling or not accepting cookies by changing the preferences in your web browser and thus permanently deny the setting of cookies. If you deactivate the setting of cookies in your browser, it is possible that not all functions of our Website may be entirely used.  For example, if you opt to disable cookies, you will still be able to access our Website, but you may not be able to use certain features of the Website.

Use of information we collect

In general, we use Personal Information you submit to us to provide the Services, to you, respond to requests you make, improve the Services, and offer you additional information, opportunities, and functionality. We may also use your Personal Information to provide you with updates about the Services. Finally, we may rely on Personal Information in order to comply with our legal obligations. Personal Information is not used for any additional purposes, such as to profile those who access our Website. None of the Personal Information we collect, other than that which is displayed on the website publicly, consistent with this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use, will be shared with third parties without your express authorization.

1. Providing and improving the Services

●      Enable you to access and use the Website and the Services.

●      Operate, protect, improve, and optimize the Services and experience, such as by performing analytics and conducting research.

●      Provide customer service.

●      Send you service or support messages, updates, security alerts, and account notifications.

●      Send you promotional messages and other information that may be of interest to you based on your preferences (including information about GuideStar India or related programs).

If you provide feedback to us, we may use and disclose such feedback for any purpose, provided we will not associate such feedback with your Personal Information. We will collect any information contained in such communication and will treat any Personal Information included in such communication in accordance with this Privacy Policy. We may create Anonymous Information records from Personal Information by excluding information that makes the Personal Information personally identifiable to you. We may use this Anonymous Information to learn more about how visitors use our Website, to analyze trends, to administer the site, to track visitor movement, and to gather general demographic information for reporting purposes.

We process this information given our legitimate interest in improving the Services and our users’ and members’ experience, and where it is necessary for the performance of the contract with you and/or a legal obligation. You can opt-out of receiving communications from us by following the unsubscribe instructions included in our marketing communications or changing your notification settings within your Account (see also “Your rights” below).

In the case of not-for-profit organisations registered with us, information is provided by the organisation and supplemented by GuideStar India and reliable external sources, chiefly for public display of information so as to enhance the organisation’s transparency, public accountability, visibility and access to resources. If the organisation chooses to remove mandatory information, its record will be removed from public display and will cease to receive the service.

2. Complying with our legal obligations

●      Detect and prevent fraud, spam, abuse, security incidents, and other harmful activity.

●      Conduct security investigations and risk assessments.

●      Verify or authenticate information provided by you (such as to verify your authorization to act as an agent on behalf of a nonprofit organisation).

●      Conduct checks against databases and other information sources, to the extent permitted by applicable laws.

●      Resolve any disputes with any of our users or customers and enforce our agreements with third parties.

●      Enforce our Terms of Use and other policies.

We process this information given our legitimate interest and legal obligation to protect the Website, to measure the adequate performance of our contract with you, and to comply with applicable laws. GuideStar India may process your information if it is necessary for legitimate interests, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data.

Your choices regarding your Personal Information

GuideStar India occasionally sends newsletters and promotional communications to (a) let you know about new features or changes to our Services, (b) offer you opportunities to participate in special promotions, events, and surveys, and (c) notify you about services offered by outside partner organisations. These emails will originate from GuideStar India or its affiliates. You may choose to opt-out from receiving such communications by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in the communication. In case of inability to implement your request due to technical reasons, you have the option to cancel your organisation’s GuideStar India membership or remove yourself as a contact for your organisation’s GuideStar India membership. You understand that any such termination of your Account information may involve deletion of your Personal Information from our live databases. We will not have any liability whatsoever to you for any termination of your Account or related deletion of your information.

You may also occasionally receive administrative site and service announcement updates via email (such as, but not limited to, notice that we have changed the Services or the Privacy Policy) when we believe necessary. You may not opt-out from these announcements (which are not promotional in nature), as they contain important information about changes to our Services. If you do not wish to receive these announcements, you have the option to cancel your organisation’s GuideStar India membership or remove yourself as a contact for your organisation’s GuideStar India membership. You understand that any such termination of your Account information may involve deletion of your Personal Information from our live databases. We will not have any liability whatsoever to you for any termination of your Account or related deletion of your information.

Note that in some cases, you may request that we delete your Personal Information, but we may be required (by law or otherwise) to keep this information and not delete it (or to keep this information for a certain time, in which case we will comply with your request only after we have fulfilled such requirements). When we delete information that we have collected from or about you, it will be deleted from our active databases but may remain in our archives. Also, where publicly displayed information was consumed by visitors to the site, including recipients of data in other formats or communication, prior to its removal from the site, we would not be in a position to ensure that the information is removed from the private servers of such users.

How to change your information

If you would like to change any of your Personal Information in your GuideStar India Account as a registered not-for-profit, you can use the " Login and Update My Profile " link from your GuideStar India homepage or you can send a request to change, correct, or remove information to info@guidestarindia.org.

If you believe that any of the information contained in an organisation record on GuideStar India is incorrect and you cannot amend it yourself through the “Login and Update My Profile ” link, you should contact GuideStar India via email at info@guidestarindia.org (see also “Your rights” below).

Disclosing information to third parties

1.    Service providers

Since GuideStar India is part of a global network, ,GuideStar India may rely on the support of a variety of third parties to help us provide the Service. Service providers may be located inside or outside of the European Economic Area (“EEA”). The EEA unites the EU Member States and the three EEA EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) into a market governed by the same basic rules (such as GDPR).  

For example, service providers may help us: (a) verify your identity or authenticate your identification documents, (b) check information against public databases, (c) conduct background or police checks, fraud prevention, and risk assessment, (d) perform product development, maintenance and debugging, (e) allow the provision of the Services through third party platforms and software tools (e.g., through the integration with our APIs), or (f) provide customer service, advertising, or payment services. These providers have limited access to your information to perform these tasks on our behalf, and are contractually bound to protect and to use it only for the purposes for which it was disclosed and consistent with this Privacy Policy.

If GuideStar India needs to share your information, including Personal Information, with a service provider, in order to ensure the adequate performance of our contract with you, we are permitted to do so.

2.    Business transfers

If GuideStar India  undertakes or is involved in any merger, acquisition, reorganisation, sale of assets, bankruptcy, or insolvency event, then we may sell, transfer or share some or all of our assets, including your information in connection with such transaction or in contemplation of such transaction (e.g., due diligence). In this event, GuideStar India will notify you before your personal information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

3.    Compliance with law, responding to legal requests, preventing harm and protection of our rights

GuideStar India  may disclose your information, including personal information, to courts, law enforcement or governmental authorities, or authorized third parties, if and to the extent we are required or permitted to do so by law or if such disclosure is reasonably necessary: (a) comply with our legal obligations, (b) to comply with legal process and to respond to claims asserted against GuideStar India , (c) to respond to verified requests relating to a criminal investigation or alleged or suspected illegal activity or any other activity that may expose us, you, or any other of our users to legal liability, (d) to enforce and administer our Terms of Use or other agreements with our users and customers, or (e) to protect the rights, property or personal safety of GuideStar India , its employees, its users, customers or members of the public.

4.    Aggregated data

We may also share aggregated information (information about our users that we combine together so that it no longer identifies or references an individual user) and other anonymized information for regulatory compliance, industry and market analysis, insights about the sector, demographic profiling, marketing and advertising, and other philanthropic and charitable purposes. We may share this aggregated data with the public.

Links to outside websites

This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected through the Website. Our Website may contain links to outside websites for your convenience, and such links do not signify our endorsement of such websites or their contents. GuideStar India has no control over, does not review and is not responsible for the privacy practices of or content displayed on other websites. We encourage our visitors to be aware when they leave our Website and to read the privacy policies of each and every third party website that collects information from you.

Regarding minors

The Website is not designed for minors under the age of 13. We do not intentionally gather Personal Information about visitors who are under the age of 13.

Your rights

You may exercise any of the rights described in this section by sending an email to info@guidestarindia.org. Please note that we may ask you to verify your identity before taking further action on your request.

1.  Managing your information.

You may access and update some of your information through your Account settings. You are responsible for keeping your personal information up-to-date.

2.  Rectification of inaccurate or incomplete information.

You have the right to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information concerning you (and which you cannot update yourself within your Account).

3.  Data access and portability.

In some jurisdictions, applicable law may entitle you to request copies of your Personal Information held by us. You may also be entitled to request copies of Personal Information that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and/or request us to transmit this information to another service provider (where technically feasible).

4.  Data retention and erasure

We generally retain your Personal Information for as long as is necessary for the performance of the contract between you and us and to comply with our legal obligations. If you no longer want us to use your Personal Information to provide the Services to you, you can request that we erase your personal information and close your Account. Please note that if you request the erasure of your personal information:

●      We may retain some of your Personal Information as necessary for our legitimate programmatic interests, such as fraud detection and prevention and enhancing safety. For example, if we suspend an Account for fraud or safety reasons, we may retain certain information from that Account to prevent that user or customer from opening a new Account in the future.

●      We may retain and use your Personal Information to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations. For example, GuideStar India may keep some of your information for tax, legal reporting and auditing obligations.

●      Information you have shared with us may continue to be publicly visible on the Website, even after your Account is cancelled. However, attribution of such information to you will be removed. Additionally, some copies of your information (e.g., log records) may remain in our database, but are disassociated from personal identifiers.

●      Because we maintain the Website to protect from accidental or malicious loss and destruction, residual copies of your Personal Information may not be removed from our backup systems for a limited period of time.

5. Withdrawing consent and restriction of processing

Where you have expressly provided your consent to the processing of your Personal Information by GuideStar India, you may withdraw your consent at any time by changing your Account settings or by sending a communication to GuideStar India specifying which consent you are withdrawing. Please note that the withdrawal of your consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing activities based on such consent before its withdrawal. Additionally, in some jurisdictions, applicable law may give you the right to limit the ways in which we use your Personal Information, in particular where (a) you contest the accuracy of your Personal Information; (b) the processing is unlawful and you oppose the erasure of your Personal Information; (c) we no longer need your Personal Information for the purposes of the processing, but you require the information for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims; or (d) you have objected to the processing (see below) and pending the verification whether the legitimate grounds of GuideStar India override your own.

6. Objection to processing

In some jurisdictions, applicable law may permit you to legally object to GuideStar India’s processing. In these instances, you may require GuideStar India not to process your Personal Information for specific purposes (including profiling) where such processing is based on a legitimate interest. If you object to such processing, GuideStar India  will no longer process your Personal Information for these purposes unless we can demonstrate a legal basis for doing so or such processing is required for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

At any time, regardless of applicable law, you may object to GuideStar India processing your Personal Information for direct  mailing and outreach purposes. You may, at any time, ask GuideStar India to cease processing your data for these mailing and outreach purposes by sending an email to info@guidestarindia.org.

7. Lodging Complaints.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to limit your right to file a complaint in the appropriate jurisdiction.

Operating globally

To facilitate our global operations, GuideStar India may transfer, store, and process your information within our family of public benefit organisations in countries both in/out of the EU. Laws in these countries may differ from the laws applicable to your Country of Residence. For example, information collected within the EEA may be transferred, stored, and processed outside of the EEA for the purposes and bases described in this Privacy Policy. Where we transfer, store, and process your personal information outside of the EEA we have ensured that appropriate safeguards are in place to ensure an adequate level of data protection.

Contact us

GuideStar India
c/o Civil Society Information Services India
108, D-Definity
Jay Prakash Nagar Road 1
Goregaon (E)
Mumbai - 400063.

India.

Email: info@guidestarindia.org

Privacy Policy updates

This Privacy Policy is subject to periodic occasional revision. If we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you through this Website or, if you have provided your email address, by email. You agree that such amended Privacy Policy will be effective thirty (30) days after being posted or sent to you, and your continued access to the Website or use of the Services after such time shall constitute your acceptance of the amended Privacy Policy.