Privacy Statement

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 23/01/2026
Last Updated: 16.01.2026
Version: V0.2

Who we are?

St. Michael’s House Foundation is a registered charity, the role of the Foundation is to facilitate and attract fundraising to support the work of St. Michael’s House. Our mission is to raise funds and build awareness for the vital projects and services provided by St. Michael’s House. Through our dynamic fundraising efforts and community engagement, we support initiatives that empower individuals and foster a society where everyone can choose their own path. St. Michael’s House Foundation is, for the purpose of the GDPR, the data controller and can be contacted at the e-mail or postal addresses below.

We take your privacy, and our responsibility to you, seriously. St. Michaels House Foundation (SMH) Foundation (also referred to in this Notice as “we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting the personal information of everyone who shares their information with us in the course of our work. We want our supporters and those that we support to have confidence in how we collect and process any personal information shared with us.

This Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, share and protect your personal data when you interact with us, including when you donate, attend events, engage with our campaigns, contact us, or use our website and online channels.

For the purposes of applicable data protection law (including the EU General Data Protection Regulation “GDPR”), SMH Foundation is the data controller of the personal data described in this Privacy Notice.

Address

St. Michael’s House,

Ballymun Road,

Ballymun,

Dublin 9.

D09 DX37

Email: info@smhfoundation.ie

CRA Registered Charity No. 20206494

Data protection contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or how we use your personal data, please contact us using the details above. If SMH Foundation appoints a Data Protection Officer/lead privacy contact separate to the general email, we recommend listing it here:
Privacy contact email: [info@smhfoundation.ie

What this notice covers

This Notice applies when you:

make a donation (including regular gifts);
engage with our fundraising, awareness-raising, advocacy or campaigning;
attend a Foundation event;
request information about volunteering or a job opportunity;
request information about our services or projects by phone, website or via an advice and information centre; and/or
submit your details via our website, social media channels or online advertisements (including web forms).

Key Definitions

Personal data / personal information: information that identifies you or could identify you.
Sensitive personal information / special category data: categories of personal data that are more sensitive (see section 6).
Data controller: the organisation that decides how and why personal data is used (SMH Foundation).
Processor: a third party that processes personal data on our behalf (e.g., some service providers).

Personal Data

Information you provide to us

The personal information we collect may include:

your name;
email address;
postal address;
telephone number; and
donation/payment-related details (for example, donation amount and method; we do not recommend storing full card details).

We collect information from members of the public in several ways, for example when you engage with our campaigns, contact us, or attend a Foundation event.

If you donate by post or online, or make a regular contribution by bank account or credit card, we will ask for information that enables us to effectively administer your donation. This may include your contact details, payment details, and whether you wish us to claim tax paid on your donation (where applicable).

We may also collect your year of birth to confirm you are 18 years or older where required for setting up a regular donation.

Children’s personal data
Our fundraising and online donation services are intended for people aged 18 or over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children in connection with regular donations.
If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child (or from someone under 18) without appropriate parental/guardian involvement where required, we will take appropriate steps to delete the data or restrict its use, and we will not use it for marketing. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us at info@smhfoundation.ie so we can investigate.

If you request information about a job or volunteering opportunity, we collect that information so that we can fulfil your request.

If you request information about one of our services or projects by phone, website or in an advice and information centre, we collect this information so that we can make sure you receive the help you need.

Website, online ads and technical data

Where you interact with our website, social media channels, or online advertisements (e.g., by responding to an ad or completing a web form), we will use the contact data you provide only to contact you about your specific area of interest or the particular event advertised.

We also recommend explicitly addressing technical data (IP address, device/browser info) and cookies where used (see section 10).

Publicly available information

We may append publicly available information to help tailor our communications and better understand supporter preferences (see section 8).

What we mean by “publicly available” for example:

information published on professional or organisational websites (including public LinkedIn profiles);
public registers and directories (where relevant); and
publicly accessible event or charity participation information only where lawfully available and relevant (for example, where organisers publish participant lists).

We use publicly available information in a limited way to keep our records accurate and to tailor communications, and we do not collect more information than we need. We do not use this information to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on individuals.

What do we use your information for and the legal basis for processing?

We process personal data lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner. We adhere to applicable GDPR requirements and we use personal data in the least intrusive way to achieve our aims.

We will only use your personal information where at least one of the following applies:

Consent: where you have given us express consent and we have a record of it.
Legitimate interests: where we have a legitimate interest to support our charitable purposes, and this is fair and balanced and does not override your rights.
Contract: where we have a contract with you or need to take steps at your request (e.g., sending you an item you requested or registering you for an event).
Legal obligation: where we are required by law to keep records (for example, keeping certain donation records for 7 years).

We will always seek to balance our interests with your rights.

How we use your personal data

We use personal data for several purposes, including:

Fundraising
Awareness-raising
Advocacy and campaigning
Financial procedures / processing transactions
Marketing
Human resources and recruitment (where applicable)
Sensitive personal information (where applicable and with extra safeguards)

We also use your information to:

keep you informed about events and other information that may be of interest to you;
help improve our services; and
keep a record of our communications with you.

Data	Purpose	Lawful Basis
Name and contact information such as address, email or telephone number, your payment details and whether you wish St. Michael’s House Foundation to claim tax paid on your donation. Year of birth is collected to ensure regular doners are over 18.	Financial procedures. Processing transactions. To provide information that you request about our services.	Legal obligation to retain records of donations made for accounting and tax purposes. Consent to record your details in connection with your donation.
Name and contact information such as address, email or telephone number	Fundraising Marketing Awareness-Raising Advocacy and Campaigning	Consent to receipt of emails. Our legitimate interest to raise awareness and fundraise using postal marketing.
If you have requested information about a job or volunteering opportunity with St. Michael’s House Foundation, we collect contact information and experience so that we can fulfil your request.	Recruitment	For the performance of a contract
In certain circumstances, we may need to share personal data in our control with our insurers for insurance claims or with our legal counsel	Legal claims	Where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.

Sensitive Personal Information (Special Category Personal Data)

We will take extra precautions to safeguard any sensitive personal information we process or store. We treat it with the utmost confidentiality and in accordance with this Privacy Notice.

Sensitive personal information can include information on a person’s health, race/ethnic origin, political opinions, sex life, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs.

We will only process sensitive personal information where necessary and appropriate (for example, to deal with your enquiry, or for training, quality monitoring, or evaluating services).

We will not share sensitive personal information without your express permission except in exceptional circumstances (for example, where there is a risk of harm, threat to others, or child protection concerns).

How long do we store your information?

(i) Financial Supporters of St. Michael's House Foundation

We store financial records of donations for a period of 7 years, as required by Revenue for audit purposes. If a donor has requested to have their contact details removed before this date, this financial information is anonymised where possible.

(ii) Supporters who inform us that they are leaving a donation in their Will to St. Michael’s House Foundation.

For those who so generously pledge a gift in their Will to St. Michael’s House Foundation we will maintain a record of your details indefinitely as proof of your support in case the Will is contested. We will not retain your data for this purpose if do not want us to or if you have asked for the data to be erased.

If you are a legacy pledger and we have not heard from you in 6 years, but you have not opted out of marketing, we will not contact you for marketing purposes beyond this point however we will keep this legacy information solely for the purposes of proof of a legacy gift being made

(iii) Those who request information about a job or volunteering opportunity with the Foundation

Information provided when you request information about a job or volunteering opportunity is normally retained for a period of 6 months.

Supporters demonstrate their support in several ways and so could be in more than one category. We will review and update these categories and the timescales regularly to ensure that we continue to do the best by our supporters.

Marketing, communications, email tracking and profiling

How we communicate with you

We may contact you about services, how your support is helping, and ways to get involved or support us further. This may be by post, email, telephone, or text message, according to your preferences. We may also ask you periodically whether you are still happy to hear from us and in which ways.

Email tracking and unsubscribe

Some emails we send have no tracking (for example invoices). Where consent for tracking has been provided, we may track at an individual level whether an email has been opened and clicked. We use this information to understand open and click rates and improve our emails.

You can unsubscribe from our emails at any time using the unsubscribe option at the bottom of emails we send, or by phoning (01) 884 0200 or emailing info@smhfoundation.ie.

Managing preferences and accuracy

It is always your choice. If you want to change your communication preferences or our use of your information, you can do so at any time by phoning us on (01) 884 0200 or emailing info@smhfoundation.ie.

From time to time, we may contact you to ensure the information you have provided remains accurate and up to date.

Profiling and data analysis

We may carry out research, segmentation and/or analysis of the personal information you have provided to help tailor our communications, understand your preferences, and find cost-effective ways to campaign, fundraise and raise awareness. We do this in a responsible way, balancing research needs with the privacy of donors and supporters.

We do not carry out profiling or automated decision-making that produces legal effects or similarly significantly affects individuals. Any segmentation or profiling we undertake is limited to helping us understand supporter interests and tailor communications. You have the right to object at any time to profiling or processing for direct marketing, and if you object, we will stop using your personal data for that purpose.

To object, contact us at info@smhfoundation.ie

How long we keep your personal data

Financial supporters

Supporters’ patterns of giving can change over time. We store financial records of donations for a period of 7 years, as required by Revenue for audit purposes. If a donor requests that contact details be removed before this date, financial information is anonymised where possible.

Other records (events, enquiries and marketing preferences):

Event registrations: we keep event registration and attendance information for as long as needed to administer the event and for a reasonable period afterwards for reporting, safeguarding and handling queries/complaints.
Enquiries and correspondence: we keep records of enquiries and related correspondence for as long as needed to respond and maintain a record of our communications, and then for a reasonable period afterwards.
Marketing suppression lists: if you opt out of marketing, we may keep minimal information (such as your name and contact details) on a suppression list for as long as necessary to ensure we respect your preferences and do not contact you again for marketing.

Legacy pledges and gifts in wills

For those who pledge a gift in their Will, we may maintain a record of details indefinitely as proof of support in case the Will is contested. We will not retain data for this purpose if you do not want us to or if you have asked for the data to be erased.

If you are a legacy pledger and we have not heard from you in 6 years, and you have not opted out of marketing, we will not contact you for marketing purposes beyond that point; however, we may keep legacy information solely for the purpose of proof of a legacy gift being made.

We keep a record of information for supporters who inform us they are leaving a donation in their Will, so that we communicate in an appropriate way (for example, refraining from sending further information about charitable bequests), unless they inform us otherwise.

We will review and update these categories and timescales on a rolling basis.

Recommended expansion (best practice): Add additional retention statements for event registrations, enquiries, and suppression lists (kept to ensure opt-outs are respected).

Sharing your Data:

Service providers (processors)

To communicate, fundraise and campaign effectively, we work with vetted service providers which may include fundraising agencies, marketing agencies, researchers, and direct mailing providers. In some circumstances it is necessary to give relevant staff at those providers access to personal information, only to the extent necessary for them to perform services for us. We require providers to comply with strict rules to protect your information.

SMH Foundation does not, and will never, share, sell or swap your information with other organisations for their own marketing purposes or commercial gain.

Legal disclosure and advisers

We comply with requests for disclosure of personal information in line with data protection legislation and best practice. This can include requests from law enforcement, Revenue, or tax agencies, and may require a written request in accordance with relevant legal requirements.

In certain circumstances, we may need to share personal data with our insurers for claims or with legal counsel, where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

International transfers and website cookies

Transfer outside the EU/EEA

During legitimate business activities, SMH Foundation may transfer data outside the EU/EEA (including to the United Kingdom). In such cases, we will have appropriate transfer mechanisms and additional safeguards in place to protect the data.

This may occur, for example, where we use service providers whose operations, support teams or data hosting are located outside the EU/EEA/UK, such as email distribution platforms, supporter relationship management/CRM systems, website hosting providers, or analytics providers.

Where personal data is transferred internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as transfers to countries recognised as providing an adequate level of protection and/or the use of approved contractual protections (such as Standard Contractual Clauses) together with additional measures where required.

Cookies and similar technologies (recommended addition)

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to make the site work, keep it secure, and (where used) to analyse usage and improve performance. You can manage cookies through our cookie banner/settings and your browser controls.
Cookie Notice:

Keeping your information safe:

We have implemented appropriate physical, technical and organisational measures to protect the personal information we control, both on and offline, to prevent improper access, use, alteration, destruction and loss.

We use secure systems and agreements/contracts with external service providers. Our CRM service provider is Donorfy, which maintains and updates secure storage. Where information needs to go to an external supplier (for example, to process a donation through our website), the information is encrypted, transmitted securely and stored within the EU/EEA.

Transfer outside of the EU/EEA

During our legitimate business activities St. Michael’s House Foundation may from time-to-time transfer data outside of the EU/EEA (including to the United Kingdom). In such cases, we will carry out transfer impact analyses and have the appropriate transfer mechanisms in place as well as additional safeguards to protect that data as required by the GDPR.

Your Rights

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA2018) you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. You have the right to request from us:

access to your personal data
rectification of your personal data where it is incorrect
erasure of your personal data in certain circumstances,
the right to restrict processing, object to processing as well as the right to data portability in certain circumstances.
the right to data portability

If you have provided consent for the processing of your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time which will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before your consent was withdrawn.

If you wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact us using the details provided above. We will seek to deal with your request without undue delay, and in any event within one month (subject to any extensions to which we are lawfully entitled). Please note that we may keep a record of your communications to help us resolve any issues which you raise.

You have the right to lodge a complaint to the data protection regulatory authorities if you believe that your personal data has been inappropriately processed. The Data Protection Commission is the regulatory authority in Ireland.

Contact Details for the Office of the Data Protection Commission:

Address: Data Protection Commission, 21 Fitzwilliam Square South, Dublin 2 D02 RD28

Telephone: +353 57 8684800 / +353(0)761 104 800 / Lo Call No. 1890 252 231

Email: info@dataprotection.ie

How to contact our Data Protection Officer

If you have any questions as to how your personal data is gathered, stored, shared or used, or if you wish to exercise any of your data rights please contact our Data Protection Officer as follows:

By Email: dpo@smhfoundation.ie

By Phone: 01 8840200

By postal Address:

Data Protection Officer, St. Michael’s House Foundation, Ballymun Road, Ballymun, Dublin 9 D09 DX37

Changes to your personal information or preferences

From time to time, we may contact you to ensure that the information you have provided us with remains accurate and up to date. Should you wish to change your preferences you can do this any time:

By Post: