Manitoba Habitat Trust ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website or engage with our conservation programs. Please read this policy carefully.
1. Information We Collect
We may collect information from you in various ways, including:
- Personal Information: Name, email address, phone number, mailing address, and other details you provide when contacting us, making a donation, or participating in our programs.
- Donation Information: Details about your contributions, including amount, frequency, and payment method (processed securely through third-party payment processors).
- Volunteer Information: Data related to your volunteer activities, availability, and interests.
- Usage Data: Information about your visit to our website, including IP address, browser type, pages visited, time spent, and other analytics data.
- Cookies: We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience and analyze website traffic. You can disable cookies through your browser settings.
- Communications: Records of correspondence if you contact us via email, phone, or through our contact form.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- To process and acknowledge your donations
- To respond to your inquiries and provide information about our conservation programs
- To send periodic newsletters and updates (with your consent)
- To manage volunteer relationships and event registrations
- To analyze website usage and improve our online presence
- To comply with legal and regulatory requirements for charitable organizations
- To protect our rights and prevent fraud
🔒 Your Privacy Matters
We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information with service providers who assist with our operations (e.g., payment processors, mail houses) under strict confidentiality agreements.
3. Legal Basis for Processing (PIPEDA/PIPA)
Under Canadian privacy laws (PIPEDA and provincial equivalents), we process your personal information based on:
- Consent: Where you have given explicit or implied consent for a specific purpose (e.g., receiving newsletters, processing donations).
- Contractual Necessity: To fulfill agreements with you, such as processing donations or volunteer commitments.
- Legal Obligation: To comply with applicable laws, including requirements for charitable organizations to maintain donor records and issue tax receipts.
- Legitimate Interests: For our legitimate operational interests in running our conservation programs, provided such interests are not overridden by your privacy rights.
4. Data Retention
We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Typically:
- Donor records: 6-7 years (for tax and audit purposes)
- Volunteer information: Duration of involvement plus 2 years
- Newsletter subscribers: Until you unsubscribe
- Website analytics: 26 months
- General inquiries: 2 years
5. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include:
- SSL encryption for data transmission on our website
- Secure servers with firewalls and access controls
- Regular security assessments and updates
- Employee and volunteer training on data protection
- Limited access to personal data on a need-to-know basis
- Secure disposal of records when no longer needed
While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
6. Your Rights
Under Canadian privacy laws, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Right to Access: Request copies of your personal information we hold.
- Right to Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time for future uses, where consent is the basis of processing.
- Right to Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information under certain circumstances.
- Right to Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format where applicable.
- Right to Complain: File a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada if you believe your privacy rights have been violated.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@manitobahabitattrust.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days.
7. Third-Party Service Providers
Our website may contain links to third-party websites or use third-party services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.
We may use the following third-party services that collect data:
- Google Analytics: For website traffic analysis
- Payment Processors: For secure donation processing (e.g., Stripe, PayPal)
- Email Service Providers: For newsletter distribution and communications
- Cloud Hosting: For website and data storage
8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track activity on our website and store certain information. Cookies are files with a small amount of data that may include an anonymous unique identifier.
We use cookies for:
- Essential Cookies: Necessary for the website to function properly
- Analytical Cookies: To understand how visitors interact with our website
- Functional Cookies: To remember your preferences (e.g., language settings)
You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some features of the website may not function properly without cookies.
9. International Data Transfers
Manitoba Habitat Trust is based in Canada. Your information is primarily processed and stored in Canada. In limited circumstances, we may use service providers that store data outside Canada, but we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with Canadian privacy laws.
10. Children's Privacy
Our services are not directed at individuals under the age of majority in their province of residence (typically 18 or 19). We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors without appropriate parental consent. If we learn we have collected personal information from a minor without consent, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.
11. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. You are advised to review this policy periodically for any changes.
12. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:
You may also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada with any privacy concerns.
