Last updated: June 22, 2023
Our Commitment
The IWK Foundation is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of its donors, volunteers, potential supporters and other stakeholders. We value the trust of those with whom we deal and of the public, and recognize that maintaining this trust requires that we be transparent and accountable in how we treat the information that you choose to share with us.
Safeguarding Your Personal Information
Our policies meet all legislative requirements with respect to privacy. We keep all personal information in the strictest confidence. We do not disclose it, except in accordance with this Policy. We never share, trade, rent or sell your information with third or outside parties, except as might be required by law.
Online: The security of your Personal Information is extremely important to us and we take every measure possible to protect it. Some functions on our Site (www.iwkfoundation.org), such as online donation processing, are provided by service providers external to the Foundation. The service providers we use do adhere to industry privacy and security standards and understand and recognize the importance of securing an organization’s data. While we always strive to protect your Personal Information by using technical measures, such as firewalls or passwords, we cannot guarantee its absolute security as no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is ever 100% secure.
Offline: In addition to online safeguards to protecting your Personal Information, we also have physical and administrative safeguards in place to ensure that your personal information is always kept safe and secure. All Foundation staff are required to sign a confidentiality agreement on an annual basis and are fully aware of and educated about the importance of protecting personal information. We have physical safeguards in place as well, such as password protected computers, phones and locked cabinets. The only people who see your information are those with a need to do so.
What we collect
The Foundation collects a limited amount of personal information about our donors and potential supporters. For example, when you make a donation, we ask you to provide some personal information which we require in order to process your gift and issue a charitable tax receipt. This information includes your first and last names, mailing address, telephone number, email address, credit card number, expiry date and CVV, and other relevant information. The information is only collected if you provide it to us, and that is a voluntary process.
If you choose to provide your personal information, we will use it to:
- Contact you as needed or to respond to your email inquiries or comments
- Process your donation and issue a charitable tax receipt
- Provide you with updates about the Foundation and its work
- Allow you to register or sign-up for events or to receive products
- Obtain your feedback via surveys
- Promote opportunities for donors and potential supporters to support the Foundation
When an individual has made a donation or participated in one of our programs or events, their personal information becomes part of our database and files. We do not have access to patient records or medical information within the IWK or any part of the Nova Scotia Health Authority.
Periodic mailings or e-mails on IWK Foundation’s services or events may be sent to individuals. If you do not wish to receive these mailings, please let us know by email, phone or a letter.
Our Website
In order to prevent unauthorized access and ensure proper use of information, we use password protocols and encryption software to protect personal and other information. Our software is routinely updated to maximize protection of such information.
We gather information about visits to our website for statistical analysis. The personal information you provide when making an online donation is not recorded in this tracking system nor will your personal information be linked to the tracking data. Information collected will be used to improve the content of the website and will not be shared for commercial purposes.
By using the site, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.
Website Visitor Data
Like many sites, we use third-party services, such as Google Analytics, to collect general information that your browser sends whenever you visit our Site. This information may include information such as your IP address, browser type (Internet Explorer, Safari, etc.), and the pages of our Site that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages and other statistics. This is not considered personal information. This information is used to help us gain a better understanding of user activity on our Site and to evaluate the Site’s content and performance.
Like many sites, we use "cookies" — a tiny file that a browser stores on your computer when you visit a website. Cookies do not identify you and they do not collect personal data from your hard drive. They only contain records of your interaction (what you clicked on, for example) on a website. Cookies are useful and help provide an optimal browsing experience. 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 portions of our Site.
Communications
We may use your address or email address to contact you with newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information that relates to our work; however, we will do so only if you have agreed or opted-in to receive electronic communication materials from us.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We regularly review our privacy practices for our various activities and may periodically update our privacy policy. Please check our website on an on-going basis for information on our most up-to-date practices or request a copy of our most up-to-date Privacy Policy.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about our Privacy Policy or our handling of personal information, please contact us by phone 1-800-595-2266 or by email privacy@iwkfoundation.org.