Privacy Policy

Voluntary Action Islington is committed to protecting & respecting your privacy

Voluntary Action Islington (VAI) is committed to protecting your personal information and being clear about how we use it.

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information we collect and use across VAI's activities and services, whether you give it to us through our website, by email or telephone, in person, through one of the organisations or platforms we work with, or in another way.

It explains what information we collect, why we use it, who we may share it with, how long we keep it and your rights.

Privacy at a glance

• We collect personal information when you interact with VAI - for example, when you become a member, contact us, book an event or room, join our Newsgroup, volunteer, make a donation or use our website.
• We only use your information where we have a valid reason to do so. We use it to provide and manage our services, respond to you, keep appropriate records and meet our legal and financial responsibilities.
• We do not sell your personal information. We only share it when this is necessary to provide our services, when you have asked us to, or where we have a legal or regulatory reason to do so.
• We use trusted third-party systems and platforms to help us deliver some of our services, for example for volunteering and donations. Where you use one of these platforms, your information may also be processed by the organisation that provides it, in line with its own privacy policy.
• We take additional care with sensitive information, such as information about a volunteer's health or disability that is needed to make appropriate adjustments.
• We only keep personal information for as long as we need it and take steps to keep it secure.
• You have rights over your personal information, including the right to ask what information we hold about you and, in certain circumstances, to have it corrected or deleted. You also have the right to raise concerns with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

More detail is provided below.

Who we are

Voluntary Action Islington (VAI) is the data controller for the personal information covered by this notice. This means that we are responsible for deciding how and why your personal information is used.

Voluntary Action Islington
200A Pentonville Road, London, N1 9JP
Email: info@vai.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7832 5801

What information we collect

The information we collect depends on your relationship with VAI and the services you use. It may include:

• your name and contact details
• your organisation, role or job title
• membership information
• enquiries and correspondence
• event, training and room booking information
• invoicing and donation information
• volunteering information
• accessibility or support requirements
• your communication preferences
• and technical information collected when you use our website.

We may collect this information directly from you or receive it through an organisation or platform we use to provide our services.

Why we use your information

We use personal information to:

• provide services, information and support you have requested
• manage VAI membership
• manage events, training and room bookings
• manage our Newsgroup
• provide volunteering services
• process and record donations
• communicate with you
• carry out surveys and gather feedback
• monitor and evaluate our services and demonstrate our impact
• maintain appropriate records
• understand and improve our services
• and meet our legal, financial and regulatory responsibilities.

Data protection law requires us to have a lawful reason for using personal information. Depending on the activity, we may use your information because it is necessary to provide a service or fulfil an agreement with you; because we are required to do so by law, for example to meet certain financial or regulatory requirements; because we have a legitimate interest in providing and managing our services that does not override your rights; or because you have given us your consent.

Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

Accessibility information

We may collect information about accessibility or support requirements so that we can make our services, events, activities and volunteering opportunities accessible.

Where possible, we only collect information about the adjustment required rather than details about an individual's health or disability. In some circumstances, we may need to share relevant information with another organisation, for example so that a volunteer recruiting organisation can make an appropriate adjustment.

Information about an identifiable person's health or disability is special category personal data and receives additional protection under data protection law. We only collect, use or share this information where we have an appropriate lawful reason for doing so and only where it is necessary.

Who we share information with

We do not sell your personal information.

We use trusted third-party systems and service providers to help us deliver our services, manage communications, process bookings and donations, support volunteering activities, maintain our website and keep appropriate financial and organisational records. These providers may process personal information on our behalf or, in some circumstances, have their own responsibilities under data protection law.

We may also share relevant information with other organisations where this is necessary to provide a service you have requested, for example with a volunteer recruiting organisation.

Some services, such as donations or event bookings, may be provided through external platforms. Where you provide your information directly through one of these platforms, the organisation providing that platform will also process your information in accordance with its own privacy policy.

We may also share information where we are required to do so by law or for legitimate regulatory, funding, monitoring or reporting purposes. Where possible, information used for monitoring and reporting will be anonymised or aggregated. Where we would like to publish or share an identifiable testimonial, case study, photograph or personal story, we will ask for permission before doing so.

Some of the technology and service providers we use operate internationally. Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that the transfer is permitted under data protection law and that appropriate safeguards are in place where required.

Our website and cookies

Our website is hosted using UK-based hosting infrastructure. Technical information, such as IP addresses, may be recorded for the operation and security of the website. We use cookies and similar technologies to help our website work effectively and to understand how it is used. Cookies are small files that are stored on your device when you visit a website.

We may use the following types of cookies:

• Necessary cookies - These are required for the website to work properly and securely and may also be used to remember your cookie preferences. They do not require your consent.
• Functionality cookies - These may be used to remember choices you make and provide additional website features. Where consent is required, they will only be used if you choose to allow them.
• Analytics cookies - With your consent, we use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website and to help us improve its content and performance. Google may also process information collected through these cookies in accordance with its own privacy policy, which you can review here. If you’d like to opt-out of tracking by Google Analytics, visit the Google Analytics opt-out page.

You can accept or reject non-essential cookies through our cookie-consent banner and change your choices at any time using the cookie-settings link on our website.

You can also control or delete cookies through your browser settings, although blocking some cookies may affect how the website works. You can also set your browser not to accept cookies should you wish to; more information can be found at www.aboutcookies.org

How long we keep your information

We only keep personal information for as long as it is needed for the purpose for which it was collected, or for as long as we are required to keep it for legal, financial, contractual or regulatory reasons.

How long we keep information will depend on the type of information and why we hold it. For example, we may keep information for as long as you use a VAI service or remain a member, and for an appropriate period afterwards where we need to maintain records or meet our legal obligations.

When information is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymise it as appropriate.

Keeping your information secure

We take appropriate steps to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access or disclosure. Access to personal information is limited to staff and others who need it for legitimate VAI purposes.

Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, data protection law gives you rights over your personal information. These may include the right to:

• ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• have inaccurate or incomplete information corrected
• ask us to delete your information in certain circumstances
• ask us to restrict how we use your information
• object to certain uses of your information
• receive or transfer your information in certain circumstances
• and withdraw your consent where we rely on consent.

These rights do not apply in every circumstance. If you would like to exercise one of your rights, please contact us using the details above.

You will not normally have to pay a fee to exercise your data protection rights.

VAI does not currently use personal information to make decisions about individuals solely by automated means.

Concerns and complaints

If you have concerns about how VAI has used your personal information, please contact us so that we have an opportunity to address them.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent regulator for data protection:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113 / Website: ico.org.uk

Changes to this Privacy Notice

We review this Privacy Notice regularly and will update it when our services or the way we collect and use personal information changes.Changes to this Privacy Notice We review this Privacy Notice regularly and will update it when our services or the way we collect and use personal information changes.

Last updated: September 2026