Effective Date: 17 June 2025
The Zandvlei Trust is committed to protecting the privacy of our members, donors, volunteers, and website visitors. This Privacy Statement outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information1 in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) of South Africa.
By engaging with the Zandvlei Trust, you consent to the practices described in this statement.
1. Who We Are
The Zandvlei Trust is a community-led, non-profit, public benefit organisation dedicated to the conservation and promotion of the Zandvlei Estuary Nature Reserve and its surrounding catchment area. Our registered address is in Cape Town, South Africa.
2. What Personal Information We Collect
We may collect and process the following types of personal information:
- Contact Information: Your name,2 surname, email address, physical address, and telephone number.
- Membership Information: Details related to your membership status, history, and engagement with the Trust.
- Donation Information: A record of your donations, including the amount and date. Please note that we do not store any credit card or banking details. These are processed by our secure third-party payment gateways.
- Volunteer Information: Information you provide when you sign up to volunteer, including your skills and availability.
- Communication Preferences: Your preferences for receiving communications from us.
- Photographic and Video Material: Photos and videos submitted for our competitions or taken at our events. We will always seek your consent before using images where you are clearly identifiable.
- Website Usage Information: We may collect non-personally identifiable information through cookies, such as your IP address, browser type, and Browse patterns on our website (zandvleitrust.org.za). This helps us to improve our website and your experience.
3. How We Collect Your Personal Information
We collect personal information in the following ways:
- Directly from you: When you become a member, make a donation, sign up to our newsletter, volunteer, enter a competition, or otherwise contact us.
- Automatically through our website: Through the use of cookies and other tracking technologies when you browse our website.
4. How We Use Your Personal Information
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
- To process and manage your membership.
- To process your donations and provide you with donation receipts.
- To communicate with you about our conservation projects, events, and fundraising appeals.
- To coordinate volunteer activities.
- To manage entries for our competitions.
- To improve our website and communications.
- To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.
5. Lawful Basis for Processing
We will only process your personal information when we have a lawful basis to do so under POPIA. This includes:
- Your consent: Where you have given us your explicit and informed consent.
- Contractual necessity: To fulfil our obligations to you as a member or donor.
- Legitimate interest: To further the legitimate interests of the Zandvlei Trust in a way that does not override your rights and freedoms.
- Legal obligation: To comply with applicable laws and regulations.
6. Disclosure of Your Personal Information
The Zandvlei Trust will not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third parties. We may disclose your information to:
- Service Providers: Third-party service providers who assist us with our operations, such as payment processing and email distribution. These providers are contractually bound to protect your information and may only use it for the purposes for which it was disclosed.
- Legal Authorities: When required to do so by law or in response to a valid legal request.
7. Data Security
We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorised access,3 use, disclosure, alteration,4 and destruction. These measures include secure data storage and access controls.
8. Your Rights as a Data Subject
Under POPIA, you have the following rights in relation to your personal information:
- The right to be notified: That your personal information is being collected.
- The right of access: To request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- The right to rectification: To request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
- The right to erasure: To request the deletion of your personal information, subject to certain legal limitations.
- The right to object: To the processing of your personal information for certain purposes, such as direct marketing.
- The right to5 restrict processing: To request a restriction on the processing of your personal information.
- The right to data portability: To receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.6
- The right to complain: To lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe that we have not complied with the requirements of POPIA.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided below.
9. Children’s Information
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian. If7 we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child without8 such consent, we will take steps to delete it.
10. Changes to this Privacy Statement
We may update this Privacy Statement from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or9 for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Statement on our website.
11. How to Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Statement or our data protection practices, please contact us at:10
The Zandvlei Trust
Email: info@zandvleitrust.org.za