Room to Read’s Privacy Policy & Cookie Policy

  1. Introduction

    1. The websites www.roomtoread.org and www.literacycloud.org (collectively, “website” or “websites”) are owned and operated by Room to Read, with global headquarters at 465 California Street, Suite 1000, San Francisco, CA 94104. We also have regional development offices in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, India, Japan, Australia, Singapore, the Netherlands, Canada and Hong Kong, which you can contact here.
    2. Room to Read values your privacy. We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use the information that we collect about you lawfully. Room to Read will NOT sell, share, rent or trade a donor’s or user’s information or personal data with anyone else, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations. This policy is intended to give you an understanding of how and why we use the information you give us.
    3. If you have any questions about this policy, please contact Room to Read at info@roomtoread.org or europe@roomtoread.org.
    4. Please read the following carefully to understand our practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. By using our website or providing us with your personal information you agree to your personal information being used and stored in the manner set out in this policy. We may update this policy from time to time without notice to you, so please check it regularly.

  2. How we collect information about you

    Information you give us

    1. We may collect information from you in the following ways:

      (a) Our use of cookies (please see the Cookies section below);

      (b) You make a donation to us (which may be financial or non-financial/ in-kind), or respond to our mailings and appeals;

      (c) You contact us in relation to volunteering for us or fundraise on our behalf;

      (d) You attend a Room to Read sponsored event;

      (e) You volunteer with or participate in a Room to Read Chapter;

      (f) You apply for a job with us or become an employee or provide services via an agency or provide consultancy services directly to us;

      (g) You request and/or receive a copy of the Room to Read Annual Report;

      (h) You sign up for an account on Literacy Cloud;

      (i) You contact us with inquiries or other correspondence (including via social media, signing up for our newsletter, etc.) or become involved with us in another way.

    2. If you interact with us in one of the ways listed above, we may collect and process personal information about you such as:

      (a) Your name, address, email address, telephone number, your age, your employer;

      (b) Information you enter onto our website or in other hard copy forms at an event;

      (c) Records of your correspondence with us, if you have contacted us;

      (d) Details of your visit to our website, including your IP address;

      (e) Financial information such as your bank or credit card details;

      (f) Whether you have a relationship to another supporter (e.g. spouse, employer).

    3. We may also collect sensitive personal information about you, such as details about a health condition or disability, where it will mean we can communicate with you appropriately in the future. We may also collect this information if you plan to attend an event.
    4. Room to Read does not intend to collect information from children under the age of 18 via this website. If you are under 18 years old, you should not provide personal information on our website or use this site without the supervision or authorization of an adult.

      In addition, please note that children under the age of 18 may not make donations on this website without parental consent.

      Information we receive from other sources

    5. Your information may be given to us by third parties, for example fundraising sites like Just Giving and Classy. They will do so pursuant to their own policies on data protection and privacy. It is recommended to check their privacy policy when you provide your information to them to fully understand how they will process your data and may share it with others.
    6. Please refer to paragraph 3.2 for further details on information we receive from other sources.
  3. Why and how we use your information and on what basis
    1. We will process your personal information in accordance with this policy and our obligations under applicable data protection laws and regulations, for one or more of the following reasons:

      (a) To administer your purchase or donation or support your fundraising;

      (b) To provide you with the services, activities or information you have indicated you are happy to receive or which you have asked for;

      (c) To comply with applicable laws and regulations, and requests from statutory agencies;

      (d) For our own internal administrative purposes and to keep a record of your relationship with us;

      (e) For marketing purposes, to provide you with information about us, our fundraising campaigns, the opportunity to leave a gift in a will, our events, our services, and any other information, products, activities or services that we provide or provide access to (e.g. investor updates);

      (f) To provide you with information about volunteering opportunities;

      (g) To provide you with details about our campaigns;

      (h) To provide essential event information where you have signed up to attend;

      (i) To manage your communication preferences with us generally;

      (j) To provide you with information about goods or services we feel may interest you;

      (k) To notify you about changes to our service and/or donor/sponsorship opportunities;

      (l) To enhance your user experience on Literacy Cloud;

      (m) To ensure that content from our website is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer/mobile device.

    2. Where the law allows us to do so, in order to improve the quality and accuracy of the information you have provided to us, we regularly check the accuracy of the data we already hold about you (such as your telephone number, email address or address) against external data lists which are in the public domain (e.g. Wealth Engine (in the U.S.), 192.com or using the Royal Mail’s National Change of Address database and postcode validation (in the U.K. or EU)). We may also use third parties to check this on our behalf. We will only check the accuracy of the existing information we hold. If, for example, you have not provided us with a telephone number, we will not obtain a telephone number for you and use it to contact you. If we obtain updated details, we would combine this with the information we currently hold about you.
    3. While generally we will seek consent to process your data at the point we collect it, in some cases we may process data without consent where we are legally allowed to do so, and where we have legitimate reasons for doing so (e.g. to process a donation you have made or in accordance with this policy), provided we respect your legal rights.
    4. If you request to receive no further contact from us, we will keep some basic information in order to avoid sending you unwanted materials in the future, and to ensure that we do not accidentally store details for the same person multiple times. If we did not retain this information then this could result in us contacting you again as we would no longer have a record of your request not to be contacted.
    5. We will keep your personal data for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed, in accordance with our internal policies.

  4. Where is your information stored

    1. Room to Read uses cloud-based platforms for storage of all information.

      The information we collect from you may be transferred to and stored at a destination outside the European Economic Area ("EEA"). It may also be processed by persons operating outside of the EEA. If we send your personal data outside the EEA we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient implements appropriate measures to protect your information. By submitting your details you agree to this use of your data.

    2. Online payments are processed by third party processors, including PayPal. All transactions will be encrypted.

      Donations made through our website are in compliance with PCI data security standards. We do not store or retain your credit/debit card information after the transaction is processed.

      At your option, Room to Read makes available PayPal to process donations. When you make a donation via PayPal on the Room to Read web site, your personal information is subject to PayPal's data collection practices. For a full description, please read PayPal's privacy and security statements.

    3. The transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure (though note that online payment transactions are securely encrypted). Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorized access.

  5. Who has access to your information / who we share your data with

    1. Room to Read values our relationship with you and seeks to provide you with a seamless, experience, wherever in the globe your travels and life takes you. Room to Read’s relationship personnel are located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, and India, and are able to provide support. Our relationship personnel have access to the personal information you provide to Room to Read. We only provide them with the information they need to deliver the relevant service or it is relevant to their work, and we make sure your information is transferred securely.
    2. Room to Read uses the Classy fundraising platform to create our fundraising webpages and campaigns. Classy has its own Privacy Policy, which you can access here You can also learn more about Classy and contact them at www.classy.org.
    3. Room to Read uses the Salesforce Marketing Cloud to send emails. Salesforce Marketing Cloud has its own Privacy Policy which you can access here. You can also learn more about Salesforce at www.salesforce.com.
    4. When you make a donation via credit card, that donation is serviced and processed by third party processors.
    5. We do not sell your data to third parties for the purposes of marketing. In other cases we will not share your personal data with third parties except in accordance with this policy or when we have your permission.
    6. We may disclose your information to other organizations and agencies if we are under a duty to disclose or share it in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply any agreements; or to protect the rights, property or safety of us or others. For example, we may share your information pursuant to a court order.

  6. Your rights

    1. To request details of the information we hold about you, if you have provided us with your personal information, but decide at a later date that you no longer want to receive information from us, or if you wish to update us that your contact details have changed or change your preferences, simply let us know.

      In the United States, India, Japan, Australia, Singapore, the Netherlands, Canada and Hong Kong, you may contact us at info@roomtoread.org.

      In the United Kingdom, Switzerland or elsewhere in the European Union or EEA, you may contact us at europe@roomtoread.org.

    2. Instructions for unsubscribing from emails will also be included in each email communication we send.

      3. Information for persons in the EU, EEA or EU citizens:

    3. Users in the EU or EU citizens are granted a number of additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation. These include:

      (a) The right to rectification;

      (b) The right to erasure;

      (c) The right to restrict processing;

      (d) The right to data portability;

      (e) The right to object;

      (f) Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling.

    4. For more information on these rights please read the relevant guidance issued by the ICO: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-reform/overview-of-the-gdpr/
    5. If you are unhappy with the way we have processed your personal data, please contact us at europe@roomtoread.org.

      If you remain unhappy with how your complaint is dealt with you should contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (https://ico.org.uk/). Alternatively, you are entitled to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office without first referring your complaint to us.

  7. Cookies

    1. For more information on how cookies are used on our website, please see our cookies policy below.

  8. Changes to our privacy policy

    1. We may make changes to this policy from time to time, so we encourage you to check it frequently. By continuing to use our website you will be deemed to have accepted those changes.