Oxford Insight Meditation Privacy Policy

At Oxford Insight Meditation (OIM) we respect privacy and understand how important it is that your personal information remains secure.

We will not reveal information about you without your permission and will never disclose your attendance at one of our events unless we are required to do so for legal or safeguarding reasons, or by the emergency services.

We hope that this Privacy Policy statement answers any questions you may have regarding our care of your information but if you have any further questions please contact our privacy coordinator:

Name – Andrew Martin Finney

Address – 22 Merton Close, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 8UJ

Contact email – andrewmartinfinney@gmail.com

Terminology

OIM – Oxford Insight Meditation

Day Retreat Co-ordinators – the team of volunteers to whom the OIM trustees delegate responsibility for organising OIM day retreats

Sunday Morning Meditation Steering Group – the team of volunteers to whom the OIM trustees delegate responsibility for organising Sunday Morning Meditation events.

Sitting Group Facilitators – the teachers or volunteers to whom the OIM trustees delegate responsibility for organising regular drop-in classes.

What information does OIM collect about me?

When you book online for one of the events organised by OIM

In order to complete your retreat booking we ask for the following information from you: your name, an email address, and the date of the event that you wish to attend. This information is collected by the third party software Eventbrite.

We need this information in order to communicate with you about your booking. We do not collect sensitive information about you unless there is a clear reason for doing so, such as ensuring we meet specific needs you may have.

When you submit a postal booking for one of the events organised by OIM

When you complete a postal booking for one of the OIM events, we ask for the following information from you: your name, the date of the event that you wish to attend, and (optionally) contact details including a street address, telephone number, and email address.

We need this information in order to communicate with you about your booking. We do not collect sensitive information about you unless there is a clear reason for doing so, such as ensuring we meet specific needs you may have.

We enter your name and (where it is provided) email address into the third party software, Eventbrite, which we use for managing bookings and events.

Using the lift share facility

This is a facility offered by OIM to help those attending our retreats to reduce their carbon footprint when coming to retreats. Those attending a retreat are invited to leave their name, the town/postcode of their home address and preferred contact details on a form, and these details are added to a paper list that is displayed at future retreats.

Electronic mailing lists

When you subscribe to a mailing list so that you can receive news about future events we record your name and email address. We have the following mailing lists:

• Day Retreats
• Sunday Meditation Group
• Monday Sitting Group

Postal mailing list

When you subscribe to the postal mailing list so that you can receive news about future day retreats we record your name and full postal address.

Who at OIM has access to my data?

General policy

All our volunteers – trustees, day retreat co-ordinators, Sunday Morning Meditation steering group and sitting group facilitators – are aware of the importance of confidentiality and your right to privacy.

We may employ IT Consultants who will have access to our systems in order to provide us with the support we need.

We ensure that any third party we employ has a robust privacy policy.

Retreat booking information

The information about who attends a retreat is accessed by the day retreat co-ordinators to facilitate the booking and registration process.

Mailing lists

Each of the mailing lists that are used to communicate information about OIM events is maintained by a separate team of volunteers, which always includes at least one OIM trustee. OIM maintains a register of who has access to what data and can provide this information on request.

How do you use my information to keep me up to date with news about OIM day retreats and related events?

If you have signed up to receive emails about our day retreats, we will send you emails containing the following types of information:

• our programme of retreats for the following year (typically once a year)
• reminders of forthcoming retreats
• notifications that a retreat is fully booked and a waiting list is in operation
• reminders of forthcoming Sunday Morning Meditation meetings
• information on the programme(s) of the OIM and other associated sitting group(s)
• information about events in the Oxfordshire region and online events that we believe would be of particular interest to an Insight Meditation practitioner.

We aim to minimise the number of emails we send to this list. We average less than one email per month.

If you have signed up to receive information about our day retreats by post, we will send you a paper copy of our retreat programme.

From 25 May 2018, we will only send you emails from this list if you have specifically said you agree to us doing this, and we will only contact you in the way(s) you have agreed to.

If you want us to keep you updated about day retreats and related events by email but haven’t yet opted in, you can do so via our website.

If you prefer to receive a paper copy of our day retreat programme, please email oxfordinsightmeditation@gmail.com with your request.

What if I want to change my communications preferences at a later date?

Every email message we send to the OIM day retreat email list includes a link to opt out of receiving future emails and a link to change your subscription preferences.

You can also let us know of any changes to your communications preferences by emailing andrewmartinfinney@gmail.com. You can contact us at any time to notify us of changes such as a new address or email address.

If you opt out of receiving our communications at any point, we will delete your entry from this list. This will ensure that you do not receive any further communications from this list.

How do you use my information to keep me up to date with Sunday Morning Meditation news?

We keep a list of names and email addresses of people who have said they would like to be kept informed about Sunday Morning Meditation group. We send reminders of when these meetings are taking place about ten days before each meeting. The email addresses are ‘bcc’d’, so that your email address isn’t shared with other recipients of the same message. The email addresses are kept in the email program of one person’s computer. Only one person has access to them. Although the program is sometimes accessed from computers other than the person’s own, it is password-protected.

We may occasionally send other emails in connection with the Sunday Morning Meditation group, e.g. with news or appeals for volunteer facilitators.

From 25 May 2018, we will only contact you about our Sunday Morning Meditation gatherings if you have specifically said you agree to us doing this, and we will only contact you in the way(s) you have agreed to (usually just by email).

All emails sent to the list will contain information on how to stop your subscription.

How do you use my information to keep me up to date with Sitting Group News?

We keep two lists of names and email addresses of people who have said they would like to be kept informed about the Monday Sitting Group meetings. One is for those who have asked for weekly reminders with details of who is teaching the sitting group that week. Sometimes this is also used to call for volunteers to peer lead sessions when none of the Sitting Group Facilitators is available.

The other is for those who have opted just to receive occasional updates or information about special events such as visiting teachers. The email addresses are kept in a password-protected email account to which only the Sitting Group Facilitators have access. In all correspondence email addresses are ‘bcc’d’, so that your email address isn’t shared with other recipients of the same message.

Emails sent to these lists will contain information on how to stop your subscription.

Do you ever share my information with third parties?

We will not at any time sell or exchange your information. We may use other companies to provide services on our behalf. We only provide these partners with the information they need to deliver the required service. We ensure that any third party we employ has a robust privacy policy. The third parties that we currently use are:

MailChimp – to distribute our e-newsletters. MailChimp’s Privacy Policy.

Eventbrite – to provide online event booking and management services. Eventbrite’s Privacy Policy.

Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) – to collect donations via our website donate button. CAF’s Privacy Policy embed link https://www.cafonline.org/privacy

We do not share your information for any other purposes.

How is my credit/debit card information processed?

When you make a payment/donation online using our Eventbrite booking pages we receive the following details about you: your name, email address, the kind of ticket you have purchased, the amount paid, and when the transaction occurred. When you make a donation to us through CAF we receive the following details about you: your name, email address, the amount donated, and when the transaction occurred.  We cannot view, and do not collect, your credit or debit card information.

How secure is the information I give you?

OIM takes the care of your data seriously and undertakes to protect your personal information by putting in place appropriate procedures to safeguard and secure the data we collect.

In today’s cyber environment it is unfortunately not possible to completely guarantee against loss, misuse or alteration of data, for example in the event of a successful cyber-attack. In the unlikely event of such an event affecting your data we will contact you to let you know the scope of the event.

How long will you keep my information?

Retreat booking information

The information you disclose in relation to your booking is held on our database to assist with your current booking. We keep the data that we hold in relation to bookings for 6 years, in order to meet our financial reporting requirements. After 6 years the data is deleted.

Day retreat mailing lists

The information you provide to subscribe to our day retreat mailing lists is retained until you request to unsubscribe.

Lift share facility list

The information you provide to indicate your interest in sharing lifts to the day retreats is retained until you request that we delete it.

Sunday Morning Meditation mailing list

We keep Sunday Morning Meditation mailing list email addresses until we are told someone wants to be removed from the list. The email addresses are kept for the purpose of reminding people when the next meeting is and giving them some information about it. If someone unsubscribes from the list, their name and email address are deleted.

Sitting Group mailing list

We keep Sitting Group mailing list email addresses until we are told someone wants to be removed from the list. The email addresses are kept for the purpose of informing people about upcoming meetings. If someone unsubscribes from the list, their name and email address are deleted.

The right to be forgotten

You have the right to be ‘forgotten’, which means that if you request us to, we will remove all the data that we hold on you from our systems, unless there is a legal requirement for us to keep it.

How can I see what information you hold on me?

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation (which will be effective from 25 May 2018) you can request a report detailing the information we hold about you. To obtain a report, please write to our privacy coordinator. Contact details are given at the top of this document.

We aim to offer a full response to all information access requests within a month.

• The following information will be required before access is granted:
• Your full name and contact details
• Your relationship to Oxford Insight Meditation
• A copy of your passport or national ID card

Reports will be sent by post. We reserve the right to charge a reasonable admin fee for additional copies of the same information.

Cookies on the OIM website

Our website uses cookies – small text files that are placed on your device to provide you with a better user experience when using our site. In general, cookies are used to retain user preferences, store information for things like shopping carts, and provide anonymous tracking data to third party applications such as Google Analytics. As a rule, cookies will make your browsing experience better.

However, you may prefer to disable cookies on this and other sites. The most effective way to do this is to disable cookies in your browser. Consult the Help section of your browser or take a look at the All about Cookies website which offers guidance for managing cookies.
Who can I contact for further information?

Our processing of data is overseen by the Trustees of OIM. The person to contact regarding day-to-day data protection issues is given at the top of this document.

If you are unhappy with our organisation’s data practices and do not feel that we have addressed your concerns, please contact the Information Commissioner’s Office or call the helpline on 0303 123 1113.