As you may be aware, as of the 25^th May 2018 the Government will introduce new guidelines regarding how personal information and data is handled by companies and by organisations such as us.

These new guidelines, referred to as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), affect the way we collect and handle the personal information you give us. It also confers to you certain rights that you have in relation to your personal information that it is important for us to make you aware of.

Please take a few moments to read our privacy policy regarding how your personal information will be handled and used.

What types of personal information do we collect?

We may collect various types of personal data about you, such as:

• Name -Bank Details
• Email -Passport copy or driving license
• Address -Date of birth
• Telephone number -Photo/ Video Image via CCTV

How do we obtain this Information?

We procure your personal data through several sources. You may choose to provide us with personal information:

– Electronically-via enquiring to us via our website or email address

– Paper record: When filling out a donation envelope, standing order donations form

– Via telephone or in person when visiting the monastery by completing our Personal Information Agreement form.

-Recorded images of you are also obtained through use of CCTV when you access the monastery grounds

What is this information used for?

We may use your information to:

• Process a donation or standing order you wish to make to MIMC
• Add to our email/mobile text message list if you wish to receive event notifications and correspondence from us
• Notify you of any changes that may take place to our service
• For gift aid purposes
• If you wish to provide Dhana or alms giving to the monks and would like to procure a date to do so.
• Carry out our obligations arising from any contract entered into by you and us.
• For security purposes to monitor access to the monastery grounds

The personal information you provide will be used solely for the purposes specified above. It will not be sold, rented, used for marketing or statistical purposes or made available publicly.

Who is this information shared with?

The information may be shared with and is accessible to the monks living internally in the monastery, MIMC treasurer, MIMC IT Consultant, MIMC administrative personnel, Barclays Bank PLC, and HMRC Inland Revenue.

Third Party Service Providers working on our behalf: We may share your information with service providers such as online payment operators and marketing automation providers for the purposes of agreed contract with you and providing services to you on our behalf (e.g. to process donations and send you email and mobile text messages). However, when we use third party service providers, we disclose only the personal information that is necessary to deliver the service and we have a contract in place that requires them to keep your information secure and not to use it for their own direct marketing purposes. Please be reassured that we will not release your information to third parties beyond the MIMC Network for them to use for their own direct marketing purposes, unless you have requested us to do so, or we are required to do so by law, for example, by a court order or for the purposes of prevention of fraud or other crime.

Please note that all individuals who have access to and with whom your information is shared with are aware of the terms outlined in this privacy policy, so as to be compliant with GDPR guidelines.

How will this information be stored and how long for?

Paper records will be kept in a secure, locked filing cabinet in the monastery grounds in an area with restricted individual access. The forms will be kept by the monastery until any such time that you ask for it to be removed. We will then either return the form to you or destroy it in a confidential and secure manner- based on your preference.

Electronic records and contact lists are kept on a secure online database provided by a third-party marketing automation service provider, once again with restricted individual access. We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you hold with us.

We review our retention periods for your information on a regular basis. Some information however may have a statutory minimum period of retention for which we will need to comply with, for example information relating to gift aid.

Your rights

Under the GDPR you are conferred certain rights relating to your personal information. These include the following:

• The right to withdraw consent at any time – if you feel your data is being misused or not being used for the purpose it was originally intended

• The right to be informed- you have a right to know how your information will be used, for what purpose, and who it will be shared with

• Right of access- you have a right to access your personal information easily in a concise, transparent and intelligible form. That is, if you require a copy of the donation form you filled we will happily provide it to you upon request.

• Right to rectification- you have a right to rectify or amend your personal information held by us if it is inaccurate or incomplete. If we have disclosed that information to any third parties, we will take reason steps to inform them of the amendments where possible.

• Right to erasure- you have a right to have your personal information erased when it is no longer required for the original purposes it was collected for; or when you object to how your information is being used and have withdrawn your consent for us to use it in such a manner.

• Right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – you have a right to complain to the ICO if you feel that the information is being handled unlawfully and not in compliance with GDPR guidelines.

Should you require more information on any of these rights, please visit https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/  for further information.

All of these rights exist for you in relation to how we handle your personal data; and if for whatever reason, you feel that your rights have not been upheld, then please contact us so we can seek to resolve the issue. Simply speak to our head monk, or alternatively email us at admin@mahamevnawaimc.org with the subject title ‘GDPR Rights Issue’ included in the email heading.

You have a choice about whether or not you wish to receive information from us. If you do not want to receive direct communications from us about events, then you can contact us by email:  admin@mahamevnawaimc.org or unsubscribing  from our mailing list using the appropriate links on our website www.mahamevnwaimc.org.

The accuracy of your information is important to us. If you change email address, or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date, please email us at: admin@mahamevnawaimc.org, or write to us at: Dhamma Land, Hardings Elms Road Crays Hill, Billericay, Essex, CM11 2UH.

What we will do if there is a breach or misuse of your personal data?

MIMC endeavour to ensure that your information is protected and secure from unauthorised access. We have a series of structural and organisational measures in place to ensure data security such as physical locks and restricted individual access to information storage sites

However, in the event of a breach of your information, we are required to inform our supervisory authority, the ICO, without undue delay no later than 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach- unless the personal data breach ‘is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons.

Where data breaches are likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of you as a donor, we will raise the matter with you without undue delay, informing you of the nature of the breach and the steps we are taking to mitigate it effects.

If you have any further queries about this privacy agreement, please do not hesitate to speak to our head monk who will be happy to provide any clarification. Alternatively, you can email admin@mahamevnawaimc.org with the subject title ‘Privacy Policy’ included in the email heading. Please note that this policy will be reviewed and updated annually. Click here to change this text