Privacy Policy

Updated July 2026

1. About this privacy policy

The Rewilding Collective respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.

This privacy policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, the organisations that may process it on our behalf, how long we retain it and the rights you have in relation to your information.

The Rewilding Collective is a Charitable Community Benefit Society and is the data controller responsible for the personal information described in this policy.

Registered name: The Rewilding Collective

Registered office: [INSERT REGISTERED OFFICE ADDRESS]

Community Benefit Society registration number: [INSERT REGISTRATION NUMBER]

Email: info@rewildingcollective.org

2. The personal information we collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us.

Donation information

When you complete a donation form or make a donation, we may collect:

• your first name and surname;
• your email address;
• your donation amount;
• the date and status of your donation;
• your Stripe payment or transaction reference;
• whether you have made a Gift Aid declaration;
• your home address, including your county and postcode, where required for Gift Aid;
• information confirming your UK taxpayer status for Gift Aid purposes;
• whether you have agreed to receive our newsletter; and
• correspondence relating to your donation, including requests concerning errors or refunds.

During the donation process you may be directed to trusted third-party services including Google Forms and Stripe. These services operate under their own privacy and cookie policies. Once you leave our website, the privacy and cookie practices of those services apply.

Payments are processed securely by Stripe. The Rewilding Collective does not receive or store your full debit or credit card number, card security code or online banking credentials.

Stripe may provide us with limited payment information, such as the amount donated, payment date, payment status, transaction reference and limited card information used to identify the transaction.

Newsletter information

When you subscribe to our newsletter, we may collect:

• your first name and surname;
• your email address;
• the date and method by which you subscribed;
• your marketing preferences;
• the reasons you give for subscribing;
• your interests in The Rewilding Collective and its work;
• records of your consent;
• information about whether newsletters have been delivered, opened or interacted with, where this functionality is enabled; and
• the date on which you unsubscribe or withdraw your consent.

Providing information about your reasons for subscribing is optional unless clearly stated otherwise. We use this information to understand our supporters’ interests and expectations and to improve the relevance of our communications.

Enquiries, co-ownership and Community Shares

When you contact us or express an interest in co-owning land, Community Shares or one of our projects, we may collect:

• your name;
• your email address;
• your telephone number, where provided;
• your approximate location;
• the nature of your interest;
• your questions, preferences and priorities;
• information about the type of involvement you are considering; and
• copies of our correspondence with you.

This privacy policy covers initial enquiries and expressions of interest. If you later apply for or purchase Community Shares, become a member or enter into another formal arrangement with The Rewilding Collective, we may provide additional privacy information explaining how information connected with that arrangement will be used.

Events, volunteering and participation

Where we organise events, workshops, volunteer opportunities or community activities, we may collect:

• your name and contact details;
• the event or activity in which you are interested;
• attendance and booking information;
• relevant accessibility, dietary or practical requirements that you choose to provide;
• emergency contact information where reasonably necessary; and
• records of communications concerning your participation.

We will only collect this information where the relevant service or activity is offered.

Some information about accessibility, dietary requirements or health may constitute sensitive personal information. Where this is collected, we will explain why it is needed and obtain explicit consent or identify another appropriate legal basis.

Contact and correspondence

If you contact us by email, an online form, telephone, WhatsApp or another communication method, we may collect:

• your name;
• your contact details;
• the content of your message;
• any information you choose to provide; and
• records of our response and subsequent correspondence.

Please do not provide sensitive personal information unless it is necessary for us to deal with your enquiry.

Website and technical information

When you visit our website, our website platform and related services may collect technical information such as:

• your Internet Protocol address;
• browser and device type;
• approximate location derived from your IP address;
• pages visited and actions taken;
• referring website;
• date, time and duration of visits;
• cookie identifiers; and
• information used to detect spam, misuse or automated submissions.

More information about cookies and analytics should be provided in our cookie notice and through the website’s cookie controls.

3. How and why we use personal information

We use personal information only where we have a clear reason and a lawful basis for doing so.

Processing donations

We use donation and payment information to:

• receive and administer donations;
• match donation forms with Stripe payments;
• confirm whether a payment has been completed;
• send donation acknowledgements or confirmations;
• maintain financial and accounting records;
• respond to queries, payment errors and refund requests;
• detect and prevent fraud or misuse; and
• comply with legal, regulatory, financial and reporting requirements.

Our lawful bases are:

• legitimate interests, because we have a legitimate interest in receiving, administering and keeping accurate records of donations made to support our work; and
• legal obligation, where we must retain or use information to comply with accounting, tax, fraud-prevention or regulatory requirements.

Administering Gift Aid

Where you make a Gift Aid declaration, we use your name, home address, postcode, taxpayer declaration and donation history to:

• assess whether a donation may be eligible for Gift Aid;
• submit Gift Aid claims to HM Revenue & Customs;
• retain an auditable record of your declaration and donations;
• contact you about your declaration where necessary; and
• comply with HMRC’s Gift Aid requirements.

Our lawful basis is legal obligation, because this information is needed to comply with the rules governing Gift Aid claims and records.

Providing Gift Aid information is optional. However, we cannot claim Gift Aid on your donation without the information and declaration required by HMRC.

You can cancel a continuing Gift Aid declaration by contacting us. You should also tell us if you change your name or home address or no longer pay sufficient UK Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax.

Sending newsletters and marketing emails

We use your name, email address, interests and subscription preferences to send newsletters and updates about:

• The Rewilding Collective’s work and development;
• rewilding and nature-recovery projects;
• Community Share opportunities;
• events, workshops and volunteer opportunities;
• fundraising and donation campaigns; and
• other ways to support or participate in our work.

Our lawful basis is consent.

We will only add you to our marketing mailing list where you have actively opted in. Agreeing to receive newsletters is not a condition of making a donation, submitting an enquiry or expressing an interest in one of our projects.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by:

• selecting the unsubscribe link in an email; or
• emailing info@rewildingcollective.org.

Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of marketing emails sent before consent was withdrawn.

We may retain a limited suppression record of your email address after you unsubscribe. This allows us to respect your preference and avoid accidentally adding you to the mailing list again.

Understanding our supporters

Where you choose to tell us why you subscribed, donated or contacted us, we may use that information to:

• understand supporters’ interests and expectations;
• improve our communications;
• plan future projects and activities;
• identify the subjects that are most relevant to our community; and
• produce aggregated, non-identifying reports.

Our lawful basis is legitimate interests, because we have a legitimate interest in understanding our audience and improving our charitable activities and communications.

We will not use the answers you provide to make decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.

Responding to enquiries

We use contact information and correspondence to:

• respond to questions and requests;
• provide information about The Rewilding Collective;
• discuss co-ownership, Community Shares, volunteering, events or other ways of participating;
• follow up where you have asked us to contact you; and
• keep appropriate records of important discussions and decisions.

Our lawful basis is legitimate interests, because we have a legitimate interest in communicating with people who contact us and responding to enquiries about our work.

Where an enquiry leads to a formal membership, investment, event booking or other agreement, processing may also be necessary to take steps at your request before entering into, or to perform, a contract.

Operating and protecting our website

We may use technical and website information to:

• operate and maintain the website;
• understand how visitors use it;
• improve its content, performance and accessibility;
• protect the website and forms against spam, fraud and misuse;
• diagnose technical problems; and
• produce aggregated website statistics.

Depending on the technology involved, our lawful basis may be:

• legitimate interests, where the processing is necessary to operate, secure and improve the website; or
• consent, where consent is required for analytics or other non-essential cookies.

4. Where we obtain personal information

We normally obtain personal information directly from you when you:

• complete a Google Form;
• make a payment through Stripe;
• subscribe to our newsletter;
• contact us;
• attend an event or activity;
• volunteer;
• express an interest in Community Shares or co-owning land; or
• use our website.

We may also receive transaction information from Stripe after you make or attempt to make a payment.

5. Third-party services

We use trusted third-party services to operate our website, collect information, administer donations and communicate with supporters.

These currently include:

Google

We use Google Forms to collect information and Google Sheets or other Google Workspace services to store and administer form responses and records.

Google may also process technical information through services such as reCAPTCHA, which helps protect forms and the website against spam and automated misuse.

Stripe

Stripe processes donation payments securely.

Stripe collects and processes payment information, which may include your name, email address, billing information, payment card or bank details, device information and fraud-prevention information.

The Rewilding Collective does not receive or store your full payment-card or online-banking credentials. Stripe has its own legal and regulatory responsibilities when processing payment information, and its own privacy information applies to its use of that data.

Mailchimp

We use Mailchimp to maintain our marketing mailing list and send newsletters and other communications to people who have opted in.

Mailchimp may process your name, email address, subscription status, marketing preferences and information about the delivery of and interaction with emails.

GoDaddy

Our website is hosted and managed using GoDaddy. GoDaddy may process website enquiries, technical data, cookie information, website analytics and other information required to provide and protect the website service.

Professional and regulatory recipients

Where necessary, we may also share relevant personal information with:

• HM Revenue & Customs in connection with Gift Aid or tax compliance;
• accountants, auditors and professional advisers;
• banking and payment providers;
• IT, website and data-support providers;
• regulators, law-enforcement agencies or public authorities where required by law; and
• organisations involved in preventing or investigating fraud or security incidents.

We do not sell or rent personal information to third parties.

We require service providers processing information on our behalf to handle it securely and only for authorised purposes.

6. International data transfers

Some of our service providers, including Google, Stripe, Mailchimp and GoDaddy, are international organisations and may process or store information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we take reasonable steps to ensure that an appropriate legal safeguard is in place. Depending on the destination and provider, this may include:

• UK adequacy regulations;
• the UK Extension to an approved international data-protection framework;
• the UK International Data Transfer Agreement;
• the UK Addendum to the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses; or
• another safeguard permitted under UK data-protection law.

You may contact us for further information about the safeguards relevant to your information.

7. How long we retain personal information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting and reporting requirements.

Our usual retention periods are as follows.

Donation and accounting records

Information: Donor name, email address, donation amount, date, payment status, transaction reference and relevant correspondence.

Reason retained: Accounting, financial reporting, donation administration, fraud prevention, refunds and responding to donor enquiries.

Retention period: Normally six years after the end of the financial or accounting period to which the transaction relates, unless a longer or shorter period is legally required.

Gift Aid records

Information: Donor name, home address, postcode, taxpayer declaration, Gift Aid status, donation history and records of any amendment or cancellation.

Reason retained: Claiming Gift Aid and maintaining records that can be audited by HMRC.

Retention period: For the period during which the declaration remains relevant and for at least the period required by HMRC following the most recent donation or relevant accounting period. This will generally be at least six years after the latest donation covered by the declaration or the end of the relevant accounting period, depending on the legal requirements applying to The Rewilding Collective.

Donation confirmation email address

Information: Email address and related donation correspondence.

Reason retained: Sending confirmation, matching the form to the payment, responding to enquiries and maintaining an auditable donation record.

Retention period: Retained with the relevant donation record, normally for six years after the end of the relevant financial or accounting period.

An email address supplied for donation administration will not be used for marketing unless the person has separately opted in.

Marketing mailing list

Information: Name, email address, subscription preferences, consent record and relevant interests.

Reason retained: Sending newsletters and maintaining evidence of marketing consent.

Retention period: Until you unsubscribe, withdraw consent or we determine that the information is no longer needed.

After you unsubscribe, we may retain the minimum information necessary on a suppression list so that we can continue to respect your preference.

Newsletter interests and reasons for subscribing

Information: Answers about your interests, intentions and expectations.

Reason retained: Understanding our audience and improving our communications and activities.

Retention period: For as long as you remain subscribed or until the information is no longer useful for the purpose for which it was collected.

Where possible, we may convert this information into aggregated or anonymised statistics that no longer identify you.

General enquiries

Information: Contact details and correspondence.

Reason retained: Responding to your enquiry, maintaining appropriate records and following up where requested.

Retention period: Normally up to two years after the enquiry has been concluded, unless it leads to an ongoing relationship or needs to be retained for legal, governance or safeguarding reasons.

Community Share and co-ownership enquiries

Information: Contact details, location, interests, priorities and correspondence.

Reason retained: Responding to the enquiry and developing potential projects or groups.

Retention period: Normally up to two years after the last meaningful contact, unless you ask to remain involved, the enquiry develops into an active project, or a longer retention period is required for legal or governance reasons.

Event and volunteer records

Information: Registration, attendance, contact and participation information.

Reason retained: Administering the activity, communicating with participants and maintaining necessary organisational records.

Retention period: Normally up to two years following the relevant event or activity, unless a longer period is required for financial, insurance, safeguarding or legal reasons.

Website analytics and technical records

Information: Cookie, device, access and website-usage information.

Reason retained: Website operation, security, troubleshooting and analysis.

Retention period: According to the settings and retention periods applied by our website, security and analytics providers. Further information should be provided in our cookie notice.

When a retention period expires, information will be securely deleted, anonymised or archived where continued retention is legally required.

8. How we protect personal information

We use appropriate organisational and technical measures to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.

These measures include:

• requiring two-factor authentication for systems containing supporter or donor information where the service supports it;
• limiting access to people who need the information to perform their role;
• using password-protected accounts and access controls;
• using reputable website, communication and payment providers;
• using Stripe rather than collecting or storing full payment-card information ourselves;
• reviewing who has access to personal information;
• sharing only the information necessary for a particular purpose; and
• taking appropriate action if a suspected personal-data breach occurs.

No online service or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. However, we take reasonable steps appropriate to the nature of the information we hold.

9. Automated decision-making

The Rewilding Collective does not currently use personal information to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on individuals.

Our service providers may use automated systems to detect fraudulent or suspicious payments, spam or security threats.

10. Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• ask for confirmation that we process your personal information;
• request a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
• ask us to delete your information;
• ask us to restrict how your information is used;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• object at any time to the use of your information for direct marketing;
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
• request that certain information be transferred to you or another organisation; and
• complain about how we have used your information.

These rights are not absolute and may not apply in every circumstance. For example, we may need to retain donation, accounting and Gift Aid records even after receiving a deletion request.

We will normally respond to a valid request without undue delay and within one calendar month. We may ask for information needed to confirm your identity before disclosing, changing or deleting personal information.

To exercise any of these rights, email: info@rewildingcollective.org

Please describe the information or processing your request relates to. We will deal with the request manually and tell you what action has been taken or explain why information must continue to be retained.

11. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we collect or use your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to investigate and respond.

Email: info@rewildingcollective.org

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator responsible for data-protection matters.

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

You can find further information through the Information Commissioner’s Office website.

12. Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to external organisations, documents, payment services and other websites.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites. You should review the privacy information provided by those organisations when using their services.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy when our activities, services, technology or legal obligations change.

The date at the top of the policy shows when it was last updated. Where a change materially affects how we use personal information, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of affected individuals

.

14. Contact us

Questions about this policy or The Rewilding Collective’s handling of personal information should be sent to: The Rewilding Collective, [INSERT REGISTERED OFFICE ADDRESS]

Email: info@rewildingcollective.org