ECF is governed by the Personal Information Protection Act. (The federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) does not apply because the provincial legislation has been declared substantially similar to PIPEDA.) Because ECF is a non-profit, PIPA only applies when personal information is used for commercial activities. Although this applies to very few of ECF’s activities, this policy reflects the importance we place upon the protection of privacy.

Personal information is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual, such as an individual’s name, address, birth date, email address, phone number, Social Insurance Number, or credit card information.

Personal information does not include business contact information when it is collected, used or disclosed for the purposes of enabling the individual or organization to be contacted in relation to business responsibilities and for no other purpose.

Personal information will only be collected and used by authorized staff consistent with ECF activities. Personal information is collected for the following reasons:

• To process gifts, award payments, and payroll and benefits;
• To acknowledge donors;
• To comply with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requirements;
• To keep donors and other stakeholders informed about ECF activities;
• To promote opportunities for donors and potential donors to support ECF;
• To build and maintain relationships with donors and other stakeholders;
• To acknowledge and communicate with volunteers;
• To assist fund holders, advisors and charities in appropriately acknowledging and stewarding the gifts of donors. For memorial and honorary gifts, to alert the family or honoree that a gift has been made without disclosing the amount. For all other gifts, the donor’s explicit consent to disclose information to the fund holder will be sought;
• To protect against fraud; and
• To review and assess applications for scholarships, bursaries, and awards.

Personal information collected by ECF will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of living individuals, existing corporations or as required by law.

The way ECF obtains consent for the collection of personal information varies with the sensitivity of the information being collected. Because of the nature of the information ECF collects, in many cases consent is implied at the time of collection. ECF will make a reasonable effort to ensure that individuals are aware of the purposes for which information is collected at the time of collection. Individuals may withdraw consent by contacting ECF unless personal information is required to fulfill our legal obligations.

ECF acknowledges donors from time to time in publications and on the website (www.ecf.ca). In accordance with notice given to donors in correspondence, consent is assumed unless specifically withdrawn. Donors who do not wish to be listed may opt out as indicated above. Explicit consent is sought from living donors and existing corporations in donor recognition opportunities, such as plaques, special profiles included in publications like magazines and newsletters and/or special profiles included on the website.

Personal information gathered by ECF is kept in confidence. Foundation staff are authorized to access personal information based only on their need to deal with the information for the reason(s) for which it was obtained. Measures are taken to ensure the integrity of this information is maintained and to prevent its being lost or destroyed. Personal information is collected and used only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate considering the circumstances.

ECF makes reasonable security arrangements against risks such as unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure or disposal. Security measures have been integrated into the day-to-day ECF operating practices and are outlined in various procedural documents. Employees are made aware of the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of personal information. All employees and volunteers having access to personal information are required to sign an oath of confidentiality.

Methods of protection include physical measures (e.g. locked cabinets, shredders), organizational measures (e.g. limitations on access, scheduled destruction of old information), and technological measures (e.g. security system, passwords).

ECF makes reasonable effort to ensure that personal information is accurate and complete. ECF relies on individuals to notify it if there are any changes to their personal information; ECF will update records promptly.

In general, personal information will not be rented, sold or shared with any third party. However, as a regular course of business it may be provided to those third parties that provide the Foundation with contracted services (such as mail houses, designers, printers). In cases where such transfers take place, ECF will ensure that the third party has comparable privacy safeguards in place.

Donors, employees, and volunteers may at any time request access to their personal information. Full access will be given subject to reasonable timelines for information retrieval.

Award applicants and recipients may request access to the information on their files. Access will be given to all information which was provided by the applicant. The release of information relating to decisions made by ECF or its committees or panels will be at the discretion of the Foundation.

ECF uses password protocols, encryption software and firewalls to ensure privacy and to protect personal and other information received online. Our software is routinely updated to maximize protection of such information.

ECF is committed to protecting the privacy of its website users. The ECF website compiles conventional log files to monitor and assess activity including traffic and visits. This assessment does not specifically identify any individual user without prior notice to the user through use of the site.

ECF does not disclose personal information about individual visits to www.ecf.ca . The information collected is used to improve and enhance the content and user.

Newsletter subscribers opt in to receive the latest news from ECF. Subscribers’ names and email addresses are used solely for the purpose of sending the newsletter. Tracking technologies are used to monitor user engagement (such as open rates and click through rates) and improve our content. Like the website, this information is used in an aggregated and anonymized form and does not personally identity any subscriber.

Subscribers can opt-out of the newsletter at any time through the unsubscribe link included in every newsletter.

ECF is open about privacy policies and procedures with respect to the management of personal information and is open to reviewing any breech of this privacy policy or other reasonable standards.

Questions or concerns relating to ECF’s privacy practices or the treatment of personal information should be brought to the attention of ECF’s Director of Marketing and Communications.