Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Lavender Common ("we", "us", "our") is a UK-registered charity, no. 1210536, funding strategic litigation to defend LGBTQ+ rights across Europe. We are the "data controller" for the personal information described in this policy — meaning we decide how and why it's used.

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, you can reach us at director@lavendercommon.com.

2. What we collect

We only collect what a given form or interaction actually needs. Here's what that looks like across the site:

We don't knowingly collect more than this, and we don't ask for information we don't have a clear use for.

3. How we use it

We use the information you give us to:

• Process your donation and claim Gift Aid where applicable
• Respond to enquiries about partnerships, volunteering, fundraising, or general questions
• Send you occasional updates about the work your support funds, if you've agreed to hear from us
• Understand, in aggregate only, how many supporters we have and roughly where they're based — never tied to your individual identity when shown publicly
• Meet our legal and regulatory obligations as a registered charity

We will never sell your data, and we don't share it with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

4. Our legal basis

Under UK data protection law, we rely on the following legal bases depending on the situation:

• Contract — to process your donation and fulfil what you've asked us to do
• Consent — for email updates you've opted into, which you can withdraw at any time
• Legitimate interests — to respond to enquiries and run the charity effectively, balanced against your right to privacy
• Legal obligation — where we're required to keep certain records, such as for Gift Aid claims to HMRC

5. Who we share it with

We share information only where it's necessary, and only with organisations bound by their own data protection obligations:

• Our payment processor, to process donations securely (the specific processor is still being finalised — this section will be updated with their name once confirmed)
• HMRC, where you've opted into Gift Aid
• Email or CRM providers we use to send updates or manage supporter records, under contracts that require them to protect your data
• Regulators or authorities, where we're legally required to

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to anyone.

6. How long we keep it

We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected. Financial records connected to donations and Gift Aid are kept for as long as legally required by HMRC and charity accounting rules. Enquiry and contact form submissions are kept only as long as needed to respond and follow up, and are deleted or anonymised after that unless you've asked to stay in touch.

7. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Ask what personal data we hold about you, and get a copy of it
• Ask us to correct anything that's inaccurate or out of date
• Ask us to delete your data, where we don't have a legal reason to keep it
• Object to or restrict how we use your data
• Withdraw consent for anything you've previously opted into, at any time
• Ask for your data in a portable format, where technically possible

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at director@lavendercommon.com. We'll respond within one month.

8. Cookies

This site does not currently use tracking or advertising cookies. If that changes — for example, if we introduce analytics to understand how the site is used — this section will be updated to explain what's used and how to control it.

9. Children's data

Our services are intended for adults. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children, and if we become aware that we've done so, we'll delete it.

10. Keeping it secure

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect your data against loss, misuse, or unauthorised access — including restricting who within the organisation can access it, and requiring any third-party processor we use to meet equivalent standards.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example as our systems or legal obligations change. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated. If changes are significant, we'll make that clear rather than updating it quietly.

12. Contact us & complaints

If you have any concerns about how we've handled your data, please contact us first at director@lavendercommon.com so we can try to resolve it directly.

You also have the right to complain to the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), at ico.org.uk.