Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Trillium Community Help Foundation Inc. ("TCHF," "we," "us," or "our") is a CRA-registered charitable organization (Registration No. 748751344RR0001) incorporated under the laws of Canada, with its registered office at 210-2030 Bristol Circle, Oakville, Ontario L6H 0H2.

We are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of personal information entrusted to us. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and safeguard your personal information when you visit our website (www.tchf.ca), use our services, register for our programs, make a donation, volunteer, or otherwise interact with us.

Although charitable and non-profit organizations may not be directly subject to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) for all of their activities, TCHF voluntarily adheres to the fair information principles set out in PIPEDA and applicable provincial privacy legislation as a matter of best practice and as a commitment to the communities we serve.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal information:

a) Information You Provide Directly

• Contact information: name, email address, phone number, mailing address
• Program registration details: information submitted through our program intake forms, including immigration status, age, preferred language, support needs, and other program-specific data
• Volunteer applications: name, contact details, availability, skills, and background information
• Donation information: name, email, donation amount (payment card details are processed directly by Stripe and are never stored on our servers)
• Contact form submissions: name, email, phone, subject, and message content
• Newsletter subscriptions: email address

b) Information Collected Automatically

• Technical data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, pages viewed, time and date of access
• Cookies and similar technologies: session identifiers, preference data, and analytics cookies (see Section 8 below)

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• To deliver, administer, and improve our charitable programs and services
• To process and respond to program registrations, help requests, and inquiries
• To process donations and issue official CRA tax receipts
• To communicate with you about your program participation, volunteer activities, or donations
• To send newsletters and updates about our programs and activities (only with your consent)
• To recruit, manage, and coordinate volunteers
• To comply with legal and regulatory obligations, including reporting requirements under the Income Tax Act (Canada)
• To maintain the security and integrity of our website and systems
• To conduct internal research, analytics, and program evaluation to improve our charitable impact

4. Consent

By providing your personal information to us — whether through our website forms, email, phone, or in person — you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Where required by law, we will obtain your express consent before collecting, using, or disclosing your personal information for specific purposes. You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at info@tchf.ca, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. Withdrawal of consent may affect our ability to provide certain services or program participation.

For our email newsletter, we comply with Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). You will only receive marketing or promotional emails if you have provided your express consent by subscribing through our website. Every email includes a clear and functional unsubscribe mechanism. Transactional emails related to your program participation, donations, or inquiries do not require additional consent under CASL.

5. Disclosure of Information

We do not sell, rent, trade, or lease your personal information to any third party. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers: We use trusted third-party service providers to assist us in operating our website and delivering our programs. These include Stripe (payment processing), Neon (database hosting), and web hosting providers. These providers are bound by contractual obligations to protect your information and use it only for the purposes for which it was disclosed.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose personal information where required to do so by law, regulation, court order, or governmental request, including to the Canada Revenue Agency for tax receipt and compliance purposes.
• Protection of rights: We may disclose information to enforce our Terms of Service, protect our rights, safety, or property, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of others.
• With your consent: We may share your information with other organizations or individuals when we have your explicit consent to do so.

6. Data Storage and Security

Your personal information is stored on secure servers provided by our database hosting partner (Neon), which may be located in the United States or other jurisdictions outside of Canada. By providing your personal information, you consent to the transfer and storage of that information outside of Canada, where it may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is stored.

We implement reasonable technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction, including:

• SSL/TLS encryption for all data transmitted through our website
• Encrypted database connections
• Access controls limiting personal information access to authorized personnel only
• Regular review of data collection, storage, and processing practices

No method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially reasonable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. You provide personal information at your own risk.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, to comply with our legal obligations (including CRA record-keeping requirements for registered charities), to resolve disputes, and to enforce our agreements. Donation records and tax receipt information are retained for a minimum of seven (7) years as required by the Income Tax Act (Canada). Other personal information is retained for such period as is reasonably necessary and is securely destroyed or anonymized when no longer required.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your browsing experience, analyze website traffic, and understand how visitors interact with our site. Cookies are small text files placed on your device by your web browser.

We may use the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies: Required for the basic functioning of the website (e.g., session management)
• Analytics cookies: Used to understand how visitors interact with our website, helping us improve content and user experience

You can control cookie settings through your browser preferences. Disabling cookies may affect the functionality of certain features on our website.

9. Your Rights

Subject to applicable law and certain exceptions, you have the following rights with respect to your personal information:

• Access: You may request access to the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: You may request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Withdrawal of consent: You may withdraw your consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information, subject to legal or contractual restrictions.
• Deletion: You may request that we delete your personal information, subject to our legal obligations to retain certain records.
• Unsubscribe: You may unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting us.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@tchf.ca. We will respond to your request within 30 days. We may require you to verify your identity before processing your request.

10. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including payment processors, social media platforms, and partner organizations. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or security of any third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit. Your interactions with third-party websites are governed solely by their respective terms and privacy policies.

11. Children's Privacy

Our website and services are not directed to individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 16, we will take steps to delete that information promptly. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child, please contact us at info@tchf.ca.

12. Changes to This Policy

We reserve the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy at any time at our sole discretion. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Your continued use of our website or services after any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:

If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy concern, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.