Who we are
Findhorn College is a Scottish Charity number SC031792, based at The Park, Findhorn, Forres, IV36 3TZ, Scotland.
Our website address is www.findhorncollege.org, and you can contact us here.
For website users
When using our site, we collect and process the following types of data.
Contact forms
Findhorn College provides a ‘double opt-in’ consent process for all requests made through our ‘contact’ form or newsletter ‘sign up’. Submitting either of these forms will create an automated email to be sent to your email address provided. Your data is only confirmed and added to our database after you click a verification link. This ‘double opt’ process therefore offers you the chance to reconsider submitting your data into our secure data capturing system, verifies that your email address is active and allows Findhorn College to ensure that your submitted details match your contact form and that they are the best method of staying in contact.
Comments on web forum pages
When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection. An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Analytics
We use Google Analytics, a popular web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. Google Analytics uses cookies to help us to improve our website and analyse how users use the site.
Who we share your web usage data with
Our IT personnel, who are trained to respect your right to privacy, have access to the systems where your data may be stored to keep them running smoothly. From time to time we analyse our website usage to better understand users and potential customers.
How long we retain your data after visiting our site
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue. For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
What rights you have over your data after visiting our site
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Where we send your data after visiting our site
Visitor comments and submitted forms may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
For Findhorn College course applicants & participants
What personal data does Findhorn College collect about me when I apply for a course?
For online booking, we ask for your:
- Name, address, phone number, email address, nationality
- Date of birth, gender identity
- Whether you have any specific needs relating to a disability or health conditions
- Your previous workshop/course experience with us or Findhorn Foundation & community
We use this information to communicate with you about your booking, determine your UK entry Visa status, allocate rooms and support your health. This information is stored in a secure database.
For most courses, we ask for additional information or a personal statement to assist us in assessing our duty of care responsibilities and to enable us to perform our contractual obligations. The personal statements are disposed of securely upon completion of the course.
What information does Findhorn College collect about me when I arrive and register?
Before a course begins starts you will be asked to fill in a paper registration form, giving:
- Name, date of birth
- Nationality, passport number (if non-UK)
- The medical information it would be helpful for us to know about
- Special dietary needs and food allergies
- Contact details for someone we can get in touch within the event of an emergency.
This information is used by the College course leaders and Findhorn Foundation kitchen team to fulfill our contractual obligations and our duty of care responsibilities. It is recorded on paper so it is rapidly accessible and is disposed of securely at the end of the course.
What personal information does the Findhorn College collect about me when I make a financial contribution?
To process a donation, we ask for your name, address, phone number, and email address. We use this information to communicate with you about your donation and for financial auditing purposes.
How is online payment information processed?
If your payment or donation is made through the Findhorn College website we do not have access to your payment card details. These are processed by First Data Merchant Solutions.
Our database keeps a record of consent given by United Kingdom taxpayers to apply for Gift Aid. We keep a paper record of your name, address, and consent for Gift Aid (if applicable) for 7 years for financial auditing purposes. These documents are securely stored.
Your donation information (except credit or debit card details) is held on our secure accounting database for financial auditing purposes and so that we can keep a record of your support of us and meet regulatory requirements.
Who at the Findhorn College has access to my data after I book a course?
Application and Booking data is used by the College admin team and the Findhorn Foundation bookings team and our accountant. It is shared with the course faculty & facilitators so they can perform their duties in the delivery of courses.
Donation information is used by our admin team to implement donations and stay in touch with donors.
Our IT personnel, who are trained to respect your right to privacy, have access to the systems where your data may be stored to keep them running smoothly.
How is my information used to keep me up-to-date with Findhorn College news and activities?
We will send emails about news, activities or fundraising if you have opted for each category.
What if I want to change my communications preferences at a later date?
You have the right to unsubscribe from Findhorn College communications. Every email message we send includes a link to opt out of receiving future emails. You can also contact us to change your address or email address.
Do you ever share my information with third parties?
We do not give your personal data to third parties beyond relevant community partners who are involved in delivering our courses.
How long will you keep my information?
We are legally required to keep records of financial transactions for seven years for accountancy and audit purposes.
The personal data you provide on the application form (except additional information and personal statements specific to a single course, which are destroyed immediately after the course) is held by ourselves alongside any certificate or qualification you may have earned from the course.
Maintaining a record of the courses you have attended, and any awards you may have received helps us to carry out our contractual obligations and fulfill our duty of care responsibilities to you.
The right to be forgotten
At your request, we will remove and destroy all your personal data except records of financial transactions we are legally required to retain or other personal data which may need to be retained for authorised legal or regulatory purposes. The record of courses you have attended will be lost. If you come back to the Findhorn College at a later date, we will re-start the booking process and, if necessary, ask you to provide us with your previous course and if necessary Findhorn Foundation programme experience.
Contact us to request the removal of your data.