PRIVACY POLICY

West Scarborough Neighbourhood Community Centre (WSNCC) is committed to keeping the personal information provided to us by clients, volunteers, donors, corporate members and community members safe and confidential.
 

We follow strict rules set out by legislation about protecting this information so that:

• it remains private
• it is only collected and used for the purposes described
• it is accurate

This means that WSNCC will ensure that all personal information is properly collected, used only for the purposes for which it is collected, stored securely and disposed of in a safe and timely manner when no longer required.

This Policy applies to ALL means of communication, being it verbal and/or written, in person and/or by telephone, fax, e-mails, texting, instant messaging, social networking sites (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) and any other current and future forms of communication and information technology.

USE OF INFORMATION

With consent, WSNCC collects uses and shares personal information about our clients (including personal health information as required), donors and members in order to:

• provide quality programs and services to clients
• provide information to other people or organizations with client consent (for example, making a referral for service)
• contact clients, donors and members to evaluate WSNCC’s programs and services
• conduct program evaluations and to do research to understand the kinds of issues our clients are facing
• contact individuals about our fundraising and membership activities
• recognize donor contributions
• review client files to ensure high quality of service and documentation.

WSNCC may also collect, use and share personal information with an individual’s consent or as permitted or required by law. WSNCC does not sell, rent or lease this information to third parties.

​CLIENT PRIVACY

WSNCC keeps client files on computers and on paper with information including:

• how to contact clients (e.g., name, address, phone number)
• a description of clients (e.g., age, languages spoken)
• client personal health information (as required)
• information about the issues clients are facing (as required)
• a description of the services WSNCC provides to each client

Only people who are directly involved in providing programs, services and supervision at WSNCC are allowed to look at a client’s record. We have security, passwords and policies to make sure that client information stays private.

There are times when WSNCC is required or permitted by law, to release information about a client without asking for consent. We will release information if:

• we believe someone is in danger of immediate harm
• a child under the age of 16 is at risk of or has been abused or neglected
• we have been subpoenaed by the court
• we have to obey a summons, warrant or similar order and
• other times when we are permitted or required by law

Clients have rights regarding their confidential record. Clients can:

• ask to see a copy of their record
• ask for help in understanding their record
• ask to have errors or omissions in their record corrected
• refuse to give their consent to share or use their information
• change their mind about sharing or using their information
• ask to have WSNCC’s privacy and confidentiality policies explained
• complain to WSNCC’s Privacy Officer if they think their privacy is not being protected
  

If clients want to see their record or discuss some part of it, they can speak to their staff member, a manager or WSNCC’s Privacy Officer.

DONOR AND MEMBER INFORMATION

We collect donor and member contact information (e.g., name, address, phone number, e-mail address) and information about donor/member history (e.g., history of giving; year membership was first obtained). WSNCC does not trade or sell any of its donor information. A list of donors is published annually and donors may remain anonymous if they wish. For more information about our donor information practices, please contact the Executive Director at (416) 755 9215 ext. 256.

INTERNET USE

WSNCC gathers two basic types of information through our Website: “Aggregate Information”, being information from which an individual cannot be identified, and “Personal Information,” from which an individual can be identified.
 

Aggregate Information: When you visit and interact with the website, WSNCC and third parties with whom WSNCC has contracted to provide services to WSNCC, may collect anonymous information from “cookies” or other automated sources.

USE OF COOKIES
 

The WSNCC website uses “cookies” to help you personalize your online experience. A “cookie” is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a web page server. “Cookies” cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. “Cookies” are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.
 

One of the primary purposes of “cookies” is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a “cookie” is to tell the web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize WSNCC pages, or register with WSNCC site or services, a “cookie” helps WSNCC to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses, and so on. When you return to the same WSNCC website, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the WSNCC features that you customized.

You have the ability to accept or decline “cookies.” Most web browsers automatically accept “cookies”, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline “cookies” if you prefer. If you choose to decline “cookies,” you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the WSNCC website or other affiliated websites you visit.

AUTOMATED SOURCES

There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by WSNCC when you visit our website. This information can include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring website addresses. This information is used by WSNCC for the operation of the service, to maintain quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding use of the WSNCC website.

Personal information collected through our website:

You are not ordinarily required to register or provide Personal Information in order to access our Website, though certain functionalities may require you to provide personal information (such as registering for a program or service on-line through the website or our registration software provider, RecDesk). We collect Personal Information from you only when you voluntarily provide it to us – for example, in contacting us through the website or signing up for email updates and announcements concerning our organization.

Personal information may include your contact information (such as your name, address, postal code, telephone numbers and/or e-mail address), as well as your payment information, such as credit card number and expiration date, which we collect if you wish to pay fees for services you have accessed through the Website using a credit card.

WSNCC secures your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. WSNCC secures the personally identifiable information you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When personal information (such as a credit card number) is transmitted to other websites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.

WSNCC may also use your personally identifiable information to inform you of other products or services available from WSNCC and its affiliates. WSNCC may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.

WSNCC may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases, your unique personally identifiable information (e-mail, name, address, telephone number) is not transferred to the third party. In addition, WSNCC may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis, send you email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange for deliveries. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to WSNCC, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.

WSNCC keeps track of the websites and pages our customers visit within WSNCC, in order to determine what WSNCC services are the most popular. This data is used to deliver customized content and advertising within WSNCC to customers whose behaviour indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.

Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personally identifiable information or personally sensitive data through WSNCC public message boards, this information may be collected and used by others. Note: WSNCC does not read any of your private online communications.

WSNCC encourages you to review the privacy statements of websites you choose to link to from WSNCC so that you can understand how those websites collect, use and share your information. WSNCC is not responsible for the privacy statements or other content on websites outside of the WSNCC and WSNCC family of websites.

CHANGES TO THIS STATEMENT

WSNCC may occasionally update this Statement of Privacy to reflect changes in legislation, feedback from clients or improvements to our processes. WSNCC encourages you to periodically review this statement to be informed of how WSNCC is protecting your information.

EMPLOYEE PRIVACY POLICY

WSNCC's privacy practices are in place to provide fair and consistent information for its employees and create a legitimate and enforceable expectation of privacy.

The WSNCC is committed to protect the privacy of individuals with respect to personal information about themselves held by WSNCC and provides individuals with a right of access to such information.

Personal information under the control of the WSNCC shall not, without the consent of the individual to who it relates:

· be used by the institution except for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the WSNCC or for a use consistent with that purpose; or

· be disclosed by WSNCC except for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the institution or for a use consistent with that purpose.

Compliance with this Privacy Policy is taken very seriously. Any violation or potential violation of this Policy should be reported to the Executive Director. The failure by any employee to follow these privacy policies may result in discipline up to and including discharge of the employee.

HOW TO REACH US

To Contact WSNCC’s Executive Director:

If you have any questions or concerns about how your personal information has been collected or used, please call WSNCC’s Executive Director at (416) 755 9215 Ext. 256 or by e-mail at jhood@wsncc.org