Privacy Policy

1. Commitment to Privacy & Statutory Compliance

The Ershad Julekha Foundation ("the Foundation", "we", "us", or "our") is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and fiduciary responsibility. We are committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of our donors, volunteers, members, program beneficiaries, and website visitors.

We strictly adhere to the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 and its 13 Information Privacy Principles (IPPs), as well as the governance standards established under the Charities Act 2005.

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal information only when reasonably necessary to fulfill our charitable objectives, process transactions, or maintain communication with our community:

• Donors: Name, email address, telephone number, mailing address, donation amount, allocation preferences, and bank transaction references for issuing official charitable receipts. (Note: We do not store credit card numbers or banking passwords on our servers).
• Membership & Volunteer Applicants: Full name, date of birth, contact details, residential address, emergency contacts, professional skills, volunteer availability, and relevant background information.
• Youth Program Participants & Beneficiaries: Student name, age, educational background, guardian/parental contact details (for participants under 18), and specific requirements necessary for workshop safety and delivery.
• General Inquiries: Name, email address, subject, and message content submitted via our contact channels.
• Technical Data: Anonymized website analytics, IP address, browser type, and interaction metrics to optimize site performance and security.

3. How We Use Your Personal Information

Personal information collected by the Foundation is used strictly for legitimate charitable and administrative purposes, including:

• Processing charitable donations and issuing official receipts.
• Reviewing and processing applications for foundation membership and volunteer registration.
• Delivering, coordinating, and evaluating our youth skills workshops, educational grant distributions, and humanitarian aid.
• Communicating foundation announcements, field reports, and annual impact publications (where opted in).
• Complying with statutory reporting requirements under the Charities Act 2005 and Inland Revenue guidelines.

4. Protection of Youth & Minor Information

The safety and wellbeing of young people are paramount to the EJ Foundation. For participants under 18 years of age taking part in our Youth Life Skills Labs or receiving educational support:

• Explicit parental or legal guardian consent is obtained prior to registration and program participation.
• Personal details of minors are stored securely with restricted access accessible only to authorized workshop administrators and vetted mentors.
• Photographs or media featuring youth are published only with explicit, written consent from parents or legal guardians.

5. Strict Non-Disclosure & Zero Commercialization

Information is only disclosed to external parties when required by law (e.g., statutory compliance under New Zealand law, Department of Internal Affairs inquiries) or to trusted service providers (such as encrypted email gateways and financial institutions) operating under strict confidentiality agreements.

6. Data Storage & Security Measures

We employ robust technical, organizational, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration of personal data:

• All web traffic is encrypted using modern 256-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL/TLS) encryption.
• Digital records and application submissions are hosted on secure, access-restricted servers.
• Administrative access to donor and member databases is restricted strictly to authorized Foundation officers and trustees.

7. Your Rights under the Privacy Act 2020

Under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020, you hold the right to:

• Access: Request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you and receive a copy of that information.
• Correction: Request the correction of any inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date information we hold.
• Withdrawal: Opt out of receiving non-essential updates or newsletters at any time.

8. Contacting Our Privacy Officer

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact our designated Privacy Officer:

If you are not satisfied with our response to a privacy concern, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner New Zealand at www.privacy.org.nz or phone 0800 803 909.