Privacy Policy

Samajik Bandhilki Foundation ("we", "our", or "the Foundation") is a registered non-profit organisation under the Societies Registration Act, with registration number E-0040834(GBR), operating in the state of Maharashtra, India. We are committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all individuals who interact with us — including donors, volunteers, beneficiaries, event participants, and visitors to our website.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, how we protect it, and the rights available to you under applicable Indian law, including the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA).

1. Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal information:

• Identity information: Full name, title, date of birth (where relevant)
• Contact information: Email address, phone/WhatsApp number, postal address
• Financial information: PAN number, donation amount, payment method, transaction reference — collected solely for the purpose of issuing receipts and complying with tax regulations under the Income Tax Act, 1961
• Participation data: Event registrations, volunteer applications, programme enrolments
• Communications: Messages sent to us via email, WhatsApp, or contact forms
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, pages visited — collected automatically via standard web server logs and used solely to determine your approximate region for language display purposes

We do not collect sensitive personal data such as biometric information, passwords, or financial account details beyond what is necessary for donation processing.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:

• To process donations and issue official receipts as required under the Income Tax Act, 1961
• To communicate with you about our programmes, events, and activities
• To send receipts, acknowledgements, and tax-related documents via WhatsApp or email
• To display website content in a regionally relevant language based on your approximate location (derived from your IP address)
• To maintain records required under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), if applicable
• To comply with legal obligations under Indian law, including reporting to regulatory bodies
• To verify the identity of donors for 80G certification purposes (once obtained)

We will never sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for commercial purposes.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, we process your personal data on the following lawful bases: your explicit consent (provided when you submit a form or make a donation), compliance with legal obligations applicable to a registered charitable organisation, and our legitimate interests in operating, communicating about, and improving our charitable programmes.

4. Sharing of Information

We may share your information with the following parties, strictly on a need-to-know basis:

• Payment processors: Razorpay India Pvt. Ltd., for processing online donations. Razorpay's own Privacy Policy governs how they handle your payment data.
• Email service providers: Third-party email delivery services used solely to send donation receipts and acknowledgements to you
• Government authorities: As required by law, including the Income Tax Department, Registrar of Societies, or any other competent authority
• Technology service providers: Cloud storage and database services used to operate our website and store donor records securely. We use reputable providers with appropriate data protection measures in place.
• Auditors and legal advisors: For the purposes of statutory audits or legal compliance

All third parties with whom we share data are contractually required to handle it securely and in compliance with applicable Indian data protection laws.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable law. Donation records and PAN-linked information are retained for a minimum of 8 years in accordance with income tax regulations. Event participation data is retained for 3 years. You may request deletion of your data at any time, subject to our legal obligations to retain certain records.

6. Data Security

We implement reasonable technical and organisational security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These include encrypted data transmission (HTTPS), access controls on our administrative systems, and secure cloud storage. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your Rights

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you have the following rights:

• Right to access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to correction: You may request that inaccurate or incomplete data be corrected
• Right to erasure: You may request deletion of your data, subject to our legal retention obligations
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing
• Right to grievance redressal: You may raise a complaint with our designated grievance officer (details below)

8. Cookies and Tracking

Our website uses your IP address to detect your approximate region for the purpose of displaying content in a relevant regional language. This lookup is performed at the time of your visit and the IP address is not stored or linked to your identity beyond this purpose.

We do not use any cookies for analytics, advertising, or cross-site tracking. We do not use Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, or any similar tracking tools on this website.

You may disable cookies in your browser settings. Doing so will not affect your ability to browse our website, though it may affect the Razorpay payment flow.

9. Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors without verifiable parental consent. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal data without appropriate consent, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. The date of the most recent update is displayed at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Continued use of our website or services after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact & Grievance Officer

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact our designated Grievance Officer:

• Name: Anil Baburao Thakur
• Organisation: Samajik Bandhilki Foundation
• Address: 5/364 B, Wagle Building, Wagle Wadi, Thakurdwar, Mumbai – 400002
• Email: samajikbandhilkifoundation@gmail.com
• Phone: +91 95942 79825

We will endeavour to respond to all privacy-related requests within 30 days of receipt, in accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.