About this Privacy Notice

The George Fentham Birmingham Charity (the Charity) is a charitable incorporated organisation governed by a constitution dated 19 September 2023 and registered with charity number is 1204784. The Charity is also registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ZB686944)

This privacy notice sets out the basis on which the Charity collects and processes your personal data during and after your relationship with the Charity.

The Charity is a “data controller”. This means that the Charity is responsible for deciding how the Charity holds and uses personal information about you, and for explaining this clearly to you.

This notice applies to prospective, existing and former applicants for grants from the Charity (including employees and representatives of organisations who apply for grants).

It is important that you read this notice, together with any other privacy information or notices the Charity may provide on specific occasions when collecting or processing personal information about you, so that you are aware of how and why the Charity is using such information. The Charity reserves the right to update this privacy notice at any time and it is up to you to check that you have read the most up-to-date privacy notice.

If you have any questions about this privacy notice, please contact Jaime Hobday, 0121 227 3703, jhobday@vwv.co.uk.

Information we collect and process

Personal data is information which is about you and from which you can be identified directly or indirectly. The Charity collects personal data direct from you when you enquire about grants, when you apply for a grant and when the Charity gives funding to you or your organisation.

The Charity collects further information from you during the period of the Charity's relationship with you - for example when you complete progress report forms or give the Charity updates with regards to the grant.

The information the Charity collects from you depends on whether you are an individual applying for a grant or whether you are submitting an application on behalf of your organisation.

Individual applicants:
- the Charity collects the following information from you from your application form:
  - Name
  - Contact details (address, telephone number, email address)
  - Date of birth
  - Age
  - Marital status
  - Dependency status
  - Qualification status
  - Any further information you give us in support of your application.
- the Charity also collects information about you from your referees in support of your grant application.

Applications on behalf of an organisation:
- the Charity collects the following information from the application form you complete on behalf of your organisation:
  - Name
  - Job title
  - Business contact information (including address, telephone number and email address)
  - Any further information you give to us on your grants application form or otherwise in support of your application.
- the Charity will also collect your details (as set out above) as part of the progress forms you need to complete if your grant application is successful.

Legal basis for the Charity to use your personal information?

The Charity will only use your personal information when a legal basis under the UK GDPR to do so can be identified. Most commonly, the Charity will use your personal information:

where it is necessary for the Charity's legitimate interests, or those of a third party, to ensure the operation of the Charity, to promote the objects and interests of the Charity and to assess the merits of your grant application and facilitate the payment of grants to successful applicants. The Charity is allowed to do this as long as the Charity's or their activities do not disproportionately intrude your privacy;
where the Charity needs to comply with a legal obligation; and
where the Charity has your consent.

For what purposes do we use your personal information?

The Charity uses your personal data for the following purposes:

to consider the merits of your grant application;
to communicate with individuals to arrange meetings to discuss your grant application;
to communicate with you as to whether your application for a grant is successful for funding;
to send cheques to successful applicants;
to monitor grants that we have paid;
where it is necessary to facilitate the operation of the Charity and to protect and promote the Charity's interests and objectives; and
regardless of the relationship the Charity has with you, the Charity may need to use your personal information for legal reasons such as fraud prevention and to check that you are complying with the terms and conditions of the grant and to enforce the Charity's legal rights.

Change of purpose

The Charity will only use your personal information for the purposes for which the Charity collected it, unless the Charity reasonably considers that it is needed for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If the Charity needs to use your personal information for an unrelated purpose, you will be notified and the Charity will explain the legal basis which allows this.

Please note that the Charity may process your personal information without your knowledge or consent where this is required or permitted by law.

Sharing your information

The Charity may share your information with third parties as follows:

with third parties where required by law, where it is necessary to administer the working relationship with you or where the Charity has another legitimate interest in doing so;
VWV administer the Charity information will be shared with them so they can do this;
if you are an individual applicant the Charity will share your information with your referees to help consider the merits of your application;
with the Charity Commission as part of the Charity's reporting requirements; or
occasionally the Charity may use consultants, experts and other advisors (including legal advisors and accountants) to assist in fulfilling the Charity's obligations and to help run the Charity properly. The Charity will share your information with them if this is relevant to the work they carry out.

Where will we store your personal information?

Any personal information that you submit to the Charity will be held on secure servers, based within the UK.

How long will we use your personal information for?

The Charity only retains your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes the Charity collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal information, the Charity considers the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal information, the purposes for which your personal information is processes and whether the Charity can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

Your rights in relation to our processing of your personal information

You have the right to:

be informed about what the Charity is doing with your personal information - the Charity does this by providing you with this privacy notice;
object to the processing of your personal information;
request a copy of the personal information held about you in certain circumstances (e.g. if the Charity is using it for direct marketing purposes);
request correction of the personal data that the Charity holds about you if it is incorrect or incomplete;
ask the Charity to delete the information held about you in certain circumstances;
to ask us to stop processing personal information where we are relying on a legitimate interest and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground;
ask us to restrict how we use your personal information for a period of time if you claim that it is inaccurate and we want to verify the position, or if our processing is unlawful but you do not want us to erase your personal information, or for some other limited circumstances;
ask us to send another organisation information that you have provided to us in a format that can be read by computer; This right only applies where our legal basis is consent or contract; and
you have the right to withdraw consent (where we rely on consent to process your personal information).

If you want to exercise any of your rights, please contact Jaime Hobday, 0121 227 3703, jhobday@vwv.co.uk.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access the information (or to exercise any of your other rights).

If you ask us to restrict our use of your personal information or delete it, we may not be able to administer your organisation's grant application.

If you consider that we have not acted properly when using your personal information you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk

Last updated: March 2026