Privacy Policy

Part 1: Privacy Policy

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Our Commitment to Privacy

     Hope Connections respects your privacy and is committed to handling personal information carefully, respectfully and securely. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, hold and disclose personal information through this website, our contact forms, email communications, supporter updates, volunteer enquiries and related activities. Where you donate through Global Development Group Australia, your donation, receipt and payment information will also be handled in accordance with GDG’s own Privacy, Donation and Site User Policy.

 

What Information May We Collect

     Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following types of personal information:

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• Supporter and contact information: This may include your name, email address, phone number, postal address, organisation, church or group name, and any other details you choose to provide when contacting us.

• Communication preferences: This may include your newsletter subscription preferences, whether you have opted in or out of updates, and records of messages we send to or receive from you.

• Donation-related information: If you donate through GDG, GDG may collect your donation amount, payment method, receipt details, contact details and other information required to process your donation and issue receipts.

  • ​GDG may provide certain donor information to the approved project contact for the project you support, such as your name, contact details and donation information, unless you choose to give anonymously through GDG’s donation process. 

  • Hope Connections does not store full credit card, banking or payment card details on this website.

• Enquiry, volunteer or partnership information: If you contact us about volunteering, partnering, visiting, fundraising, sponsorship or supporting the work in another way, we may collect information relevant to that enquiry.

  • ​This may include details about your skills, experience, availability, church or organisational connection, and the nature of your interest in the project.

• Website and technical information: When you visit our website, we may collect limited technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, referring website, general location information, and website usage data. 

  • ​This information may be collected through cookies, analytics tools, security tools, form tools or similar technologies.

• Images, stories and consent records: Where we share stories, images, videos or updates from the Philippines, we may hold related consent records and information needed to responsibly manage those stories and images.

  • ​We take particular care when any story, photo or video involves children, women, families, vulnerable people, trauma, poverty, safety concerns, education, housing or personal hardship.

Information About Children and Vulnerable People

     The protection, dignity and safety of children, women and vulnerable people is central to our work. Our website is intended for donors, supporters, volunteers, partners and the general public. It is not intended to collect personal information directly from children. We will not knowingly collect personal information directly from a child through this website without appropriate consent. If we become aware that a child has submitted personal information to us without appropriate consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete that information or obtain appropriate consent where necessary.

 

Images, Videos and Beneficiary Stories

     We are committed to telling stories in a way that protects dignity, privacy and safety. We will not knowingly publish identifying information, images, videos or personal stories of a child or vulnerable person without appropriate consent from a parent, legal guardian, authorized representative or other appropriate person, and, where appropriate, the individual’s own assent. When sharing stories, images or videos, we will take reasonable steps to avoid unnecessary identifying details, including:

• full names of children;

• precise home addresses or locations;

• school names, class details or routines that could identify or locate a child;

• unnecessary family details;

• sensitive trauma details;

• information that could expose a person to shame, exploitation, discrimination or risk;

• geotags or location metadata where reasonably practicable.

     We aim to portray children, women, families and communities with dignity, respect and agency, not as objects of pity or fundraising material. Where a person withdraws consent for an image, video or story, we will take reasonable steps to remove or stop using that material where practicable. Some material may not be fully removable where it has already been printed, shared, archived, cached or published by third parties.

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How We Collect Personal Information

We may collect personal information when you:

• visit or use our website;

• fill in a contact form;

• subscribe to updates or newsletters;

• email, call or message us;

• enquire about volunteering, visiting, fundraising or partnership;

• donate through GDG, and GDG provides relevant donor information to the approved project contact;

• attend an event or meeting connected with Hope Connections;

• provide consent for a story, image or video;

• Otherwise, interact with us.

Where possible, we collect personal information directly from you. In some cases, we may receive information from GDG, project partners, event organisers, churches, supporters, volunteers or local partners, where it is reasonable and appropriate for us to do so.

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How We Use Personal Information

We may use personal information for the following purposes:

• responding to enquiries;

• sending project updates, newsletters and impact reports;

• managing supporter relationships;

• recording communication preferences;

• coordinating volunteers, fundraising, visits, events or partnerships;

• liaising with GDG, project partners and local partners;

• administering story, image and video consent;

• protecting the safety, dignity and privacy of children and vulnerable people;

• improving our website and communications;

• maintaining appropriate records;

• complying with legal, governance, safeguarding or reporting obligations;

• investigating and responding to complaints, safety concerns or suspected wrongdoing.

We will not sell, rent or trade your personal information.

 

Donations through Global Development Group Australia

     Donations for this project are received and processed by Global Development Group Australia for the approved project J1275N Bacolod and Makati Cities’ Youth Transformation. Donations of $2 or more to GDG for approved aid and development projects may be tax-deductible in Australia. When donating through GDG, donors may express a preference for Project J1275N. However, tax-deductible donations must be unconditional gifts. If funds raised exceed the requirements of a project, or where required by GDG’s policies or applicable law, funds may be directed to another approved activity. Donation processing, payment security, tax-deductible receipts and donor transaction records are handled by GDG and its payment providers. Hope Connections does not process credit card payments or issue tax-deductible receipts directly. If you have questions about donation receipts, tax deductibility, payment processing or GDG’s donation terms, please refer to GDG’s own policies or contact GDG directly.

 

Disclosure of Personal Information

We may disclose personal information where reasonably necessary to:

• GDG, in connection with donations, project administration, reporting, safeguarding, compliance or donor communications;

• approved project contacts or authorised local partners in Australia or the Philippines;

• service providers who help us operate the website, email, cloud storage, forms, analytics, security, events or communications;

• professional advisers, where reasonably necessary;

• regulators, law enforcement, courts, tribunals or government authorities where required or authorised by law;

• relevant safeguarding, child protection or complaints bodies where necessary to protect a person’s safety or respond to serious concerns.

We will only disclose personal information where there is a proper purpose and where reasonable steps are taken to protect privacy, confidentiality and security.

 

Overseas Disclosure

     Because this project supports work in the Philippines, personal information may be disclosed to or accessed by authorised people or organisations located in Australia, the Philippines, and other countries where our service providers store or process data. This may include GDG, authorised project contacts, local project partners, website providers, email platforms, cloud storage providers, form providers, analytics providers, payment providers and other technology services. Where we disclose personal information overseas, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the information is handled securely and confidentially, and only for authorised purposes.

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Data security

     We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

These steps may include password protection, access controls, secure cloud services, limited access permissions, secure donation links, website security tools and internal procedures for handling sensitive information. However, no method of internet transmission or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we will take reasonable steps to protect the information we hold.

• Data Breaches: If we become aware of an actual or suspected data breach involving personal information, we will take reasonable steps to respond promptly and appropriately. This may include taking steps to contain the breach, assess what information may have been affected, reduce the risk of harm, notify affected individuals where appropriate, notify GDG or relevant project partners where required, and notify regulators or other authorities if required by law. We will also review the incident and consider whether changes are needed to our systems, processes, training or information-handling practices to reduce the risk of a similar breach happening again.

 

Data Retention

     We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required for legal, tax, governance, safeguarding, reporting or legitimate record-keeping purposes. When personal information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to securely delete, destroy or de-identify it. Some information may need to be retained for longer where it relates to donations, financial records, safeguarding, consent, complaints, legal obligations or project accountability.

 

Cookies and Analytics

     Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to improve site functionality, understand visitor behaviour, protect the website, analyse traffic and improve communications. Cookies may collect technical information such as device type, browser type, pages visited, approximate location and referring website. You can usually turn off cookies through your browser settings. Some website features may not work properly if cookies are disabled.

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Email Communications and Unsubscribe Rights

     If you subscribe to our updates, we may send you newsletters, prayer points, project updates, fundraising updates, event invitations or impact reports. You may unsubscribe from marketing or update emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link in the email or contacting us directly. We may still send essential administrative, safety, donation-related or relationship-related communications where appropriate.

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Accessing or Correcting Your Information

     You may request access to the personal information we hold about you. You may also ask us to correct information that is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date. To make a request, please contact us at hello@hopeconnections.com.au. We may need to verify your identity before responding. In some cases, we may not be able to provide access to certain information, such as where doing so would affect another person’s privacy, compromise safety, breach confidentiality, prejudice an investigation, or where access may be refused under applicable law.

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Privacy Complaints

     If you have a privacy concern or complaint about how Hope Connections has handled your personal information, please contact us first at: hello@hopeconnections.com.au Please include enough information for us to understand and respond to your concern. We will take privacy complaints seriously and aim to respond within a reasonable time. If your concern relates to GDG’s handling of donor information, donation receipts or payment information, you may also contact GDG directly through its website or complaints process. If you are not satisfied with how a privacy complaint is handled, you may have the right to contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

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Safeguarding, Child Protection and Serious Concerns

     If your concern relates to the safety, dignity, abuse, exploitation, neglect or mistreatment of a child, woman or vulnerable person connected with this project, please report the concern promptly.

Safeguarding and child protection concerns may include concerns about:

• child safety;

• abuse, neglect or exploitation;

• sexual abuse, exploitation or harassment;

• unsafe conduct by staff, volunteers, partners or visitors;

• misuse of images, stories or personal information;

• fraud, corruption or financial wrongdoing connected with the project;

• any conduct that may place a vulnerable person at risk.

You may contact Hope Connections at: hello@hopeconnections.com.au

You may also contact Global Development Group through its Feedback/Complaints process. Safeguarding concerns may be reported to: safeguarding@gdg.org.au

Other complaints may be reported to: complaints@gdg.org.au

Where a person is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services or the relevant local protection authority immediately.

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Links to Third-party Websites

     Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including GDG, donation platforms, social media platforms, churches, partners or other organisations.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, accuracy, security or policies of third-party websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies and terms of any third-party sites you visit.

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Updates to this Privacy Policy

     We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Updated versions will be posted on this website with a revised effective date. Your continued use of the website after an update means you accept the updated policy.

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