Privacy Policy

The Canadian Women’s Foundation is committed to safeguarding the personal information entrusted to us by our donors and other individuals. We manage your personal information in accordance with any legislation relevant to the protection of personal information that is applicable to us.

Although the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) does not apply to most Canadian Women’s Foundation activities, we always strive to embrace best practices, and therefore we are following the principles of the National Standard of Canada Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information upon which PIPEDA is based. This policy outlines the principles and practices we follow in protecting your personal information.

This policy will be reviewed annually by the Board of Directors and amended as required.

Defining Personal Information

Personal information means information about an identifiable individual. This includes an individual’s name, home address and phone number, age, sex, marital or family status, an identifying number, financial and donation information, educational history, etc. All personal information will be treated as sensitive.

Our Principles

1. ACCOUNTABILITY

Canadian Women’s Foundation is responsible for all personal information in our possession pertaining to donors held in paper, electronic media, voice storage or other formats. Personal information relating to volunteers, job applicants and employees are subject to similar protocols.

In consultation with the Board of Directors, the President and CEO is responsible for developing internal written guidelines and procedures for the collection, use, disclosure, storage and destruction of personal information.

All employees, volunteers and authorized service providers of Canadian Women’s Foundation are required to protect the confidentiality of personal information. We take every precaution to ensure confidentiality of the information.

2. IDENTIFYING PURPOSES AND LIMITING COLLECTION

We collect, use or disclose information only for use by Canadian Women’s Foundation primarily to:

• Administer your donation and issue charitable receipt
• Thank you and, with your consent, recognize your gift
• Inform you of the Foundation’s activities and programs
• Invite you to our events
• Understand how visitors use our website and improve our digital outreach efforts 

We inform individuals, before or at the time of collecting personal information, of the purposes for which we are collecting the information. The only time we don’t provide this notification is when an individual volunteers information for an obvious purpose (for example, producing a credit card and bank account information to make a donation when the information will be used only to process the payment).

We obtain personal information lawfully and fairly. Personal information collected will be limited to that required for the purposes identified by us.

3. CONSENT

We collect, use or disclose your personal information only with your permission, except in specific circumstances where collection, use or disclosure without consent is authorized or required by law.

Your permission may be expressed orally, in writing or may be implied (for example, when you volunteer information for an obvious purpose), and you may give it to us orally, electronically or in writing.

The Canadian Women’s Foundation will seek direct consent to collect sensitive and confidential information from individuals. The exception will be the collection of information from employees for payroll purposes. An individual may withdraw consent to the use and disclosure of personal information at any time with reasonable notice, unless the personal information is necessary for us to fulfil our legal obligations.

By continuing to use our website, you provide implied consent to our use of cookies and similar technologies that help us understand how visitors engage with our site and measure the effectiveness of our online outreach. You may manage your preferences at any time by adjusting your browser settings or using available platform-specific tools. 

4. LIMITING USE, DISCLOSURE AND RETENTION

We shall only update your personal Information to the extent that is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected.

If we wish to use or disclose your personal information for any new purpose, we will ask for your consent. We may not seek consent if the law allows this.

5. ACCURACY

We make every reasonable effort and maintain appropriate procedures to ensure that personal information in our possession is accurate, complete and up to date. If you believe any of the personal information we have collected is incorrect or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to change it or delete it. We will make the necessary changes in a timely fashion.

6. SAFEGUARDS

We do not sell or trade personal information and we do not share personal information without permission. We protect personal information in a manner appropriate for the sensitivity of the information.

We make every reasonable effort and maintain appropriate procedures to prevent any loss, misuse, disclosure or modification of personal information, as well as any unauthorized access to personal information.

We use appropriate security measures when destroying personal information, including shredding paper records and permanently deleting electronic records.

We retain personal information only as long as is reasonable to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected.

7. OPENNESS

Canadian Women’s Foundation will make readily available to you specific information about our policies and practices relating to the management of personal information, including our use of cookies and online tracking tools. 

8. INDIVIDUAL ACCESS

Individuals have the right to access their own personal information in a record that is in the custody or under the control of Canadian Women’s Foundation. Individuals also have the right to know how we collected your personal information and how we are using it.

Request for access to your personal information can be made by writing to the Canadian Women’s Foundation. We will respond to your request in a timely fashion.

9. USE OF COOKIES AND TARGETED ADVERTISING

The Canadian Women’s Foundation uses cookies and similar technologies—such as tracking pixels and web beacons—to better understand how visitors engage with our website and to improve the effectiveness of our outreach efforts, including digital advertising. 

These tools help us track website traffic, measure the performance of online campaigns, and display relevant messages to people who may be interested in our work. Some of this information may be shared in a limited and secure way with trusted advertising partners to help us reach audiences that are more likely to support our programs, initiatives, and fundraising activities. 

You can manage your cookie preferences in several ways. Most web browsers allow you to disable or delete cookies, and some offer “Do Not Track” features. You may refuse the use of cookies by using the appropriate settings in your internet browser if your browser permits. However, by doing so you may be unable to use the full functionality of this Site. 

We do not sell or trade personal information. If you would prefer not to have your information used to support targeted advertising, you may contact us at [email protected]. 

We are committed to using these tools in a respectful, transparent manner that aligns with our values and privacy principles. 

10.  USE OF GOOGLE ANALYTICS

The Canadian Women’s Foundation uses Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors interact with our website. This tool provides non-identifying information such as which pages are visited, how long users stay on the site, and the type of device used. We use these insights to improve the quality, relevance, and accessibility of our digital content and services. 

Google Analytics collects information through cookies and similar technologies. Although this data does not identify individuals directly, it may be combined with other data by third-party platforms to support digital advertising and performance measurement. 

You can manage your privacy preferences related to Google Analytics through your browser settings or by using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. This tool allows you to prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics on all websites you visit. 

We use Google Analytics in a way that respects your privacy and supports our commitment to transparency and responsible data stewardship. If you have questions about how we use analytics tools, please contact [email protected]. 

11. CHALLENGING COMPLIANCE

You may register a complaint by contacting the Canadian Women’s Foundation. We will explain our procedure and inform you about other complaint procedures available. We will take all reasonable steps to investigate all complaints. If an objection is justified, we will take all appropriate steps to repair the situation, including changing our policies and practices if necessary.

For more information about any collection, use or disclosure of personal information by Canadian Women’s Foundation, or about a request for access to your own personal information, please contact 416-365‐1444 or [email protected]