Updated Feb 2021
We value your privacy and are committed to protecting it. We don’t share your information with anyone without your specific permission. This policy explains how we collect data, how we use and store information, and what it means for you. If you have any queries or complaints about our privacy policy or how your information is handled, please email
Who we are
Bridges for Communities is a charity working to connect people of different cultures and faiths, in order to contribute towards improved community relations and social cohesion in Bristol and beyond. We are a charity registered in England and Wales (no.1137092) and a company limited by guarantee (no.07245606). For the purposes of this Policy, ‘us’, ‘we’ and ‘our’ refer to Bridges for Communities.
What information do we collect?
We may collect and process the following data about you:
- information that you provide by signing up for an event through our website www.bridgesforcommunities.com (our site). This may include data such as your name, contact details and organisation.
- information that you provide when you sign up for our e-newsletter. This includes your name, email address and contact preferences.
- information that you provide when you attend one of our events or one of our training sessions. This may include data such as your name, contact details and your contact preferences.
- information that you provide when you sign up to volunteer with us. This includes your name,contact details and contact details of referees. It may also include a copy of your ID for DBS purposes if you volunteer on our Syrian b.friend programme - this copy is destroyed once it has been passed on to Bristol City Council.
- information that you provide when you make a donation. This includes your name, contact details, amount donated and whether you give us permission to claim gift aid on your donation.
- data on the mailings we send, such as how many people open the mailing or click on a link within the mailing.
- if you contact us, we may keep a record of that correspondence
- details of your visits to our site including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs and other communication data, whether this is required for our own billing purposes or otherwise and the resources that you access
- we do not record telephone calls.
- Our website does not use cookies and therefore does not collect any personal information such as your IP address
- Photographs or video that are taken at our events. If photos as being taken, this will be clearly indicated at the event, and you will have the right to not be in photographs if you so wish. Photos and video will only be shared with your consent.
What do we do with it?
We may use the personal data we collect to:
- Provide news and information about what’s going on in our work (if you have subscribed to our mailing list). This may include activities, plans, events, training, opportunities to volunteer or donate, and opportunities offered by our partner organisations that might be of interest
- Fulfil your request or order, including financial transactions
- To send a thank you letter and annual report on how your money has been spent in the post (if you have made a donation)
- Enhance and improve the services we provide
- Analyse who accesses our services, where improvements can be made and any trends which might occur – for monitoring and future planning purposes.
- Conduct surveys to aid our understanding of the difference we make and how we can improve it.
- Report on how effective our communications are by analysing click rates and opens of our e-newsletter and mailings.
- to contact you if we need to obtain or provide additional information
- to check our records are correct and that you’re happy and satisfied
- to send information including technical notices, updates, security alerts, and support and administrative messages
- For other purposes disclosed to you at the time we collect your information, or in accordance with your consent.
When do we process personal data?
We will only process your data when you have given us your consent, or when we have a legitimate interest in processing it (i.e in order to deliver our services).
Where do we store your personal data?
We may store your data electronically or in paper form, or both. We seek to apply all reasonable organisational, technical and administrative measures to protect personal data within our organisation. We ensure that access to personal data is restricted only to employees and that suitable training is provided for these employees. We use locked cabinets or drawers to store and process contact data, and password protected devices with up to date anti-virus software if storing it electronically.
We use the following companies to store and process data on our behalf, all of which are GDPR compliant:
Mailchimp (email marketing tool), Stripe (online payment platform), Charity Checkout (fundraising platform), Quick Books (accounting software).
For more information please request to see our data security policy and measures.
How long do we keep it for?
We will retain your information for as long as your relationship with Bridges for Communities is active, is needed to provide you services, or in-line with legal and regulatory obligations, or to resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.
We will not retain your personal information for longer than is needed to support these requirements. In general this means we will only retain your personal data for a maximum of 24 months after your last interaction with our site, access to services or other contact with us, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (for example for regulatory purposes). It is common for service contracts to require data relating to their delivery to be retained by the provider for a number of years after the contract has been completed. Therefore we may retain some information for archival purposes and historical analysis for more than 24 months in order to comply with such requirements.
Personal information will be deleted in a secure manner when no longer required to fulfil these purposes. Our data retention and destruction policy implements this.
If you wish to cancel your relationship with Bridges for Communities, or request we no longer use your information to provide you services, please contact us using the contact information below.
Cookie Policy
Our website uses cookies for the following reasons:
To allow you to carry information across pages of our websites and avoid having to re-enter information when you return to our website;
To measure our website traffic and analyse how our websites work. This will allow us to make changes to our websites in the future and make them easier to use.
You can accept or decline cookies by modifying the settings in your browser. Please note that if you disable all cookies then you may not be able to access some parts of our website.
Do we share your information?
We do not share or swap your information with any other charities or organisations without your specific permission.
Third parties
We may employ or contract third parties to carry out tasks on our behalf. These third parties are bound by contract to protect your data and we remain responsible for their actions. We may provide third parties (such as funders) with general information about our beneficiaries, but this information is both aggregate and anonymous.
Preferences
You can change your preferences on what you receive from us or how we contact you, at any time. You can do so by e-mailing
You can unsubscribe from email updates by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any of our emails.
Your Rights
You have the right to be informed about how we process your personal data and request access to this information at any time by filling in our Subject Access Request form (download here). We will respond to your request within 30 days.
You have the right to ask us to erase your personal data, to ask us to restrict our processing or to object to our processing of your personal data. You can make these requests at any time by e-mailing
For more information about your rights under GDPR you can visit the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Dan Green is the Data Controller for Bridges for Communities and the trustees have responsibility for data protection within the organisation. They can be contacted at
Changes to our Privacy Policy
Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and where appropriate notified to you by e-mail.
Contact
Questions, comments and requests regarding this Privacy Policy are welcomed and should be addressed to Bridges for Communities, The Power House, Feeder Road, St Phillips, Bristol, BS2 0TH, or by email to