Privacy policy

At Special Olympics NZ (SONZ), we value every member of our SONZ family (including but not limited to donors, volunteers, trustees etc.) and take pride in providing clarity and care in the services we provide.

It is important to us that all services we provide are timely, accurate, trustworthy, and entirely meaningful to all stakeholders.

We understand how important your personal information is and that we need to earn your trust, by being honest and transparent about what we do. It is our job to ensure you really understand what information we collect from you, how we use it and how we keep it safe. We take our commitment to privacy seriously.

We are committed to complying with privacy laws and standards and to protecting data. We reserve the right to make changes or amendments at any time and will endeavour to ensure that it is in line with current legislation. If this policy is updated, we will post the updated version on our website and, where appropriate, notify affected individuals by email or website notice.

This policy relates to anyone interacting with SONZ, from board members, donors, contractors, staff, volunteers, teachers and members of the public.

Special Olympics NZ collects the following types of information:

• If you are a worker or board member, we will collect information that you provide to us for the purposes of your employment or engagement with SONZ.
• If you are an organisational fund or trust transfer donor, we will collect the information that you provide to us such as your name, address, email address and phone number. We will also collect any details on your donation, such as its intended philanthropic purpose and background, and third-party contacts required to complete the donation (e.g. lawyer, accountant).
• If you are a SONZ trustee, we will collect information such as your name and contact details, and information on current and former positions and/or shareholdings. We also securely hold a form of ID on our database. We will record current or previous affiliations with organisations and not-for-profits so we can determine any conflicts of interest in our grant-making process.
• If you are an Athlete or Volunteer, you will be directed to our Customer Relationship Management System (CRM) to fill in the relevant details requested. This information will be used for the purpose of which you are volunteering or participating as an athlete.
• If you are a community organisation seeking funding from SONZ, we collect information provided to us via our application process. This includes the grant applicant’s name and contact details, details on the project for which you are applying, your organisation’s legal name, charity services number and bank account number.

• Your name and email address, school, if you opt in to receiving our email newsletter, or signing up to use our at home or school resources.
• Your name, contact details and payment details if you make a donation online. Your payment details are handled securely as detailed later in this policy.
• User activity, demographic and interest-based data from cookies used on our website. Please note that cookies can be disabled in your browser settings.

• Opting in to receive email communications.
• Information directly provided to us via email.
• Online website cookies and/or tracking software, which track user activity such as page views. Cookies can be disabled in your website browser settings.
• We may also collect information from public sources such as the Charity Services website.

Our website uses cookies to improve your experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function correctly.
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use our website (e.g. Google Analytics). This data is aggregated and anonymous.
• Marketing/preference cookies: Remember your preferences and may be used to show you relevant content.

When you first visit our website, you will be asked to consent to non-essential cookies. You can withdraw or update your consent at any time by adjusting your browser settings or using our cookie preferences tool.

We may share your personal information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website and delivering our services. These may include:

• Payment processors (for secure handling of donation transactions)
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms
• Email marketing platforms (e.g. for sending newsletters and updates)
• Website analytics tools (e.g. Google Analytics)

All third-party processors are required to handle your data securely and in accordance with applicable privacy laws. We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

SONZ works with athletes who may include individuals under the age of 18. Where we collect personal information relating to children or young people, we will:

• Seek consent from a parent or legal guardian where required by law or where appropriate.
• Collect only the minimum information necessary for participation and safety purposes.
• Handle children’s data with additional care and in compliance with the Privacy Act 2020.

If you are a parent or guardian and have concerns about information we hold about your child, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details below.

We retain personal information only for as long as it is necessary for the purpose it was collected, or as required by law. In general:

• Donor records are retained for seven years in line with financial record-keeping obligations.
• Athlete and volunteer records are retained for the duration of their participation with SONZ, and for a reasonable period thereafter.
• Website enquiry and newsletter data is retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion.

When personal information is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymise it.

• In the event of a data breach (accidental or unlawful destruction or accidental loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure and access), SONZ will communicate with affected parties as soon as practicable and undertake actions in line with the Privacy Act 2020.
• SONZ will take all reasonable precautions to prevent a data breach and if it does happen, minimise and remedy its effects.
• If a data breach occurs with a supplier, partner or software used by SONZ, SONZ will comply with all responsibilities detailed in the Privacy Act 2020.

In line with our obligations under the Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to access, amend or request deletion of any personal information that we hold about you. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please submit a request to our Privacy Officer:

Privacy Officer: admin@specialolympics.org.nz

Phone: (+64) 27 800 1156

We will action requests in line with our obligations under the Privacy Act 2020.

If you no longer wish to receive communications from SONZ, you can unsubscribe at any time by contacting us at admin@specialolympics.org.nz or clicking the ‘unsubscribe’ button at the bottom of each marketing email.