Grassroot Soccer Privacy Policy

Introduction

Grassroot Soccer is committed to safeguarding your privacy and to being clear and transparent. This policy describes how and why Grassroot Soccer uses any personal information we collect when you engage with us. Please read the following policy to understand how your personal information will be treated.

Who We Are

In this Privacy Policy, “Grassroot Soccer”, “we”, “our”, or “us” means:

1. Grassroot Soccer, Inc.
2. Grassroot Soccer Affiliates:
   1. Grassroot Soccer Education Limited (GRS Zambia)
   2. Grassroot Soccer South Africa
   3. Grassroot Soccer (UK)
      

Grassroot Soccer’s website is hosted in the USA, and our constituent database is controlled and managed in the USA. In addition to complying with US regulations, all data collected via the website and/or in our constituent database, including data from constituents in the European Union, is treated to the standards of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679.

Confidentiality of GRS Data

It is a basic value of Grassroot Soccer to respect the privacy of our donors, members, employees, independent contractors/consultants, interns, volunteers, and participants. It is Grassroot Soccer’s policy that members of the Board of Directors, employees, independent contractors/consultants, interns, and volunteers of Grassroot Soccer will not disclose confidential information regarding GRS donors, supporters, or participants belonging to, or obtained through their affiliation with Grassroot Soccer to any person, including their relatives, friends, and business and professional associates, unless Grassroot Soccer has authorized disclosure. This policy is not intended to prevent disclosure where disclosure is required by law. You may be exposed to information that is confidential and/or privileged and proprietary in nature. You are cautioned to demonstrate professionalism, good judgment, and care to avoid unauthorized or inadvertent disclosures of confidential information and should, for example, refrain from leaving confidential information contained in documents or on computer screens in plain view.

You and GRS mutually recognize that you will and may be in a position to obtain and have continuous access to confidential personal information relating to GRS donors. Further, during your engagement with GRS, you may acquire knowledge relating to confidential information, including donor personal history (education, job history, salary data, family members, and personal relationships, etc.).

Upon separation of employment and at the end of a volunteer, intern, employee, independent contractor/consultant, or board member’s engagement with Grassroot Soccer, you must return all documents, papers, and other materials that may contain confidential information about GRS donors, supporters, employees, interns, volunteers, independent contractors/consultants, board members, or participants.

Failure to adhere to this policy could result in discipline up to and including separation of employment or service with Grassroot Soccer.

What Information We Collect

The following lists the most common ways in which we collect your personal information:

• When you sign up to receive email newsletters from us
• When you make a donation to us
• When you register for and participate in our programs, activities, initiatives, and events
• When you request information or assistance
• In conjunction with your employment inquiries or applications
• When you participate with social media accounts involving Grassroot Soccer properties
• In conjunction with any verification of your information
• In conjunction with investigations into any activity that may violate the law or the website’s terms and conditions
• In conjunction with any other place on the Website where you knowingly volunteer personal information, such as through an online contact form
• Information from third parties, such as fundraising sites or wealth screening companies.
• Information in the public domain, such as newspaper articles or websites

The types of personal information that Grassroot Soccer collects may include:

• Your title, name, gender and date of birth
• Your contact details (address, email, phone number and social media contact details)
• Family and spouse/partner details, relationships to other supporters
• Your professional activities and employment details
• Current interests and activities
• Records of donations and GiftAid status
• Contact preferences
• Information about your wealth
• Media articles about you
• Your IP address, location, browser type and information on how you interact on our website
• Your bank or credit card details, in line with payment card industry standards
• Any other information provided by yourself at the request of Grassroot Soccer

Data Privacy and the Safety of Minors

Grassroot Soccer recognizes the importance of protecting the privacy and safety of minors. We do not intentionally collect personal data from individuals under the age of 18 without explicit parental or guardian consent, in accordance with our Child Protection and Safeguarding policies. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal data from a minor without proper consent, we will take steps to promptly delete such information.

How We Use Your Information

Grassroot Soccer uses the information we collect about you in the following ways:

• To help us with understanding more about how our communication channels, including our website, are used, and to perform statistical and demographic analyses of users.
• To send you communications that may be of interest to you, either electronically or otherwise. If you indicated that you are interested in receiving regular information about Grassroot Soccer’s work we will send you communications regarding Grassroot Soccer’s work and activities, either electronically or otherwise, such as newsletters, event notifications, and donation appeals.
• Communicating with you about a transaction.
• To notify you about changes to our policies.

Grassroot Soccer processes your personal information under the following legal bases:

• Consent –  where you have explicitly agreed to our use of your data.
• Contractual necessity – to fulfill obligations under contracts with you.
• Legitimate interests –  to operate and improve our services and fulfill our mission, provided your rights do not override these interests.

Your Rights Regarding Personal Information

Under applicable data protection laws such as GDPR, you have several rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to Access – you can request access to your data at any time.
• Right to Correction – you may request corrections or updates to your data.
• Right to Erasure – you can request the deletion of your data under certain conditions.
• Right to Object or Restrict Processing – you can request restrictions or object to certain data processing activities.
• Right to Data Portability – you have the right to receive your data in a structured, commonly used format.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact [email protected].

You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal information, please email us at the following address: [email protected].

We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. You may ask us to correct or remove information you think is inaccurate.

How We Protect Information

Grassroot Soccer attempts to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of your personal information. No data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that personal information remains confidential during transmission over the internet, so any transmission is at your own risk. Grassroot Soccer uses industry accepted data collection and encryption methodologies in an attempt to insure the secure collection and transmission of sensitive user information. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorized Access.

In the event of a suspected or confirmed data breach involving your personal information, Grassroot Soccer will take immediate action to investigate and mitigate the breach. We will notify affected individuals and relevant authorities promptly, as required by applicable laws, and provide necessary support and information to protect against potential impacts.

Cookie Usage

Like many websites, Grassroot Soccer uses cookies to improve our site and deliver more personalized service. Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard internet log information and visitor behavior information. This information is used to track visitor use of the website and to compile statistical reports on website activity. For further information, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org. You can set your browser not to accept cookies and the above websites tell you how to remove cookies from your browser.

Links to Other Websites

Our site may contain links to and from the websites of other organizations. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

How We Share Your Information

Grassroot Soccer does not sell or share donor information, except in cases of donation processing. We do not send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations. We will never sell or rent your information to third parties for marketing purposes. However, we may disclose your information to third parties acting as agents and data processors carrying out work on our behalf, such as donation processing companies or suppliers of email marketing services. These entities have access to the personal information needed to perform their functions and are contractually obligated to maintain confidentiality and security. For example, when you are using our secure online donation pages you are going through to a partner company and the information you give, such as your credit card number and contact information, is provided so that the transaction can take place.

Due to our global operations, personal data may be transferred and processed internationally, including outside of the country where the data was originally collected. Grassroot Soccer ensures such transfers comply with relevant data protection laws and standards, employing appropriate safeguards such as data transfer agreements or standard contractual clauses to protect your personal information.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

Grassroot Soccer periodically reviews and updates this Privacy Policy. Significant changes will be communicated via email or prominent notifications on our website. We encourage regular review of our policy to stay informed about how we protect your data.

If you have any concerns, complaints, or questions regarding our privacy practices, please contact us directly at [email protected]. We aim to promptly address and resolve your privacy-related inquiries.