Privacy

Your details, treated with the same care as you are

We ask for very little, we keep it safe, and we never sell it. This page explains in plain English – as UK data-protection law (UK GDPR) asks us to – what we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it and the rights you have over every bit of it.

Last reviewed 2 August 2026 · reviewed every year by our trustees

The short version

Four promises before the small print

We only ask for what we need

A name and a way to reply covers most things. If a form field isn’t marked required, you can happily leave it blank.

We use it for the reason you gave it

Message us about volunteering and we’ll talk to you about volunteering – not add you to a newsletter you never asked for.

We never sell or swap it

Your details are not a fundraising asset. No selling, no renting, no “carefully selected partners”. Ever.

Ask us anything, any time

You can see what we hold about you, correct it or have it deleted – one email or phone call is all it takes.

Who “we” are: Brightside Community Trust, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered in England & Wales (charity no. 1198765), of The Brightside Hub, 4 Milton Lane, Croydon CR0 6QX. We’re the “data controller” for everything described on this page. Questions about any of it: hello@brightsidetrust.org.uk or 020 7946 0812.

The detail

What we collect, why, and for how long

Everything we hold arrives one of four ways. Here’s each one, with its lawful basis under UK GDPR and how long it stays with us.

Volunteer applications

Your name, email, phone number if you share it, the role that interests you, when you’re free and anything else you choose to tell us. We use it to reply, invite you in for a cuppa-and-chat and match you to the right role – and, if you join us, to arrange training, DBS checks and rotas.

  • Lawful basis: taking steps at your request before a volunteering agreement, and our legitimate interest in recruiting volunteers safely.
  • Kept for: while you volunteer, plus 12 months. If you don’t go ahead, your application is deleted after 6 months.

Messages & questions

Whatever you send through the contact form, by email, by phone or on WhatsApp: your name, how to reach you, and your message. We use it to answer you and for nothing else – Priya really does read every one.

  • Lawful basis: our legitimate interest in answering the people who write to us.
  • Kept for: up to 12 months after the conversation ends, then deleted.

Donations & Gift Aid

Your name, contact details, the gift itself and any Gift Aid declaration. We use them to process the donation, claim Gift Aid where you’ve said we may, and say a proper thank you.

  • Lawful basis: legal obligation – HMRC requires records of Gift Aid claims – and our legitimate interest in thanking donors.
  • Kept for: 6 years after your last gift, which is the period HMRC requires.

Referrals & support (handled confidentially)

When you’re referred to us – or refer yourself or a neighbour – we record only what’s needed to arrange the right support. Referrals are handled confidentially: they’re seen by the coordinator arranging the help and our safeguarding leads, and they never appear on noticeboards or in newsletters. Anything sensitive (health, circumstances) is written down only when we need it to support someone safely.

  • Lawful basis: our legitimate interest in providing support you’ve asked for; where safety is involved, protecting someone’s vital interests and our safeguarding duties.
  • Kept for: while we’re supporting the person, then securely deleted within 2 years – except records we must keep longer under safeguarding law.

A note on safeguarding: very occasionally, keeping someone safe means we must share a concern with the appropriate authorities – such as the council’s safeguarding team or the police – without asking first. It’s rare, it’s never taken lightly, and it follows our safeguarding policy.

This website

No cookies. Honestly, none.

This site was built to be as light on your data as we could make it.

  • No cookies, no trackersThis website sets no cookies, runs no analytics and stores nothing in your browser – no cookies, no localStorage, no fingerprinting.
  • Forms go straight to the front deskWhat you type in our forms goes to the Hub team and nowhere else. A hidden anti-spam field weeds out robots without watching you.
  • One honest exception: fontsOur typefaces load from Google Fonts, so your browser requests two font files from Google’s servers. Google states no cookies are set by this service. If the fonts don’t load, the site simply uses your system typeface.
  • Leaving the siteThe WhatsApp button opens WhatsApp, which has its own privacy policy – as do any external sites we link to.

How we keep your details safe

  • Stored on password-protected, encrypted systems that only our small staff team can reach.
  • Paper forms live in a locked cabinet in the office – not on the front desk.
  • Shared outside Brightside only with your OK, with HMRC for Gift Aid, or where safeguarding law requires it.
  • Never sold, never swapped, never used for marketing you didn’t ask for.

Your rights

It’s your information – here’s what you can ask

UK GDPR gives you real rights over your details, and we make using them as easy as asking.

  • See a copyAsk what we hold about you and we’ll send it, free of charge.
  • Correct itSpotted a wrong number or an old address? We’ll fix it straight away.
  • Delete itAsk us to erase your details and we will, unless the law makes us keep them (Gift Aid records, for example).
  • Limit or objectYou can restrict what we do with your details, or object to our using them at all.
  • Take it elsewhereAsk for your details in a portable format to pass to another organisation.

How to make a data request

Not happy with our answer? Tell us first and we’ll do our best to put it right. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at any time: ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113.