Privacy Policy

A. Collection and Use of Personal Information 

Habitat generally collects personal information as necessary to administer our programs and services, including as described below:

1.1 Banking and credit card information to receive and process donations. In addition, we may collect contact information to acknowledge donations and issue tax receipts. We deeply appreciate your financial support. We may contact you to inform you of and to request your support for our future endeavours because you have demonstrated an interest in supporting Habitat’s mission, unless you ask us not to so.

1.2 Family and neighbourhood statistics to raise awareness of and increase potential for fundraising and new family applicants.

1.3 Your name, mailing address and email address in order to send you newsletters for which you’ve signed up.

1.4 Other personal information with your consent or as permitted or required by law.

B. Disclosure of Personal Information 

Habitat may disclose or transfer personal information as necessary in order to administer its programs and services, including as described below:

2.1 Transfer personal information to our service providers who need access to personal information to carry out their work for us, including donation processing, communicating, data hosting, data processing and information technology, and other similar purposes. Habitat uses

2.2 contractual or other means to require service providers to provide a level of security comparable to that provided under our Privacy Policy.

2.3 Use and disclose personal information in connection with the proposed or actual financing, securitization, insuring, sale, assignment or other disposal of all or part of our organization or assets, for the purposes of evaluating and/or performing the proposed transaction. Assignees or successors of Habitat or our organization or assets may use and disclose your personal information for similar purposes as those described in this policy.

2.4 Disclose personal information as necessary to meet legal, regulatory, insurance, audit and security requirements, or otherwise with your consent or as permitted or required by law.

C. Obtaining Consent 

Habitat is committed to obtaining your consent for the collection of your personal information and the subsequent use or disclosure of this information, unless otherwise permitted or required by law.

3.1 In obtaining consent, we make a reasonable effort to ensure that you are advised, in a manner that can be reasonably understood, of the purposes for which the information will be used, including by explaining our personal information handling practices in this Privacy Policy.

3.2 Consent can be obtained in many ways. Consent can be express or implied. You may also provide your consent in some circumstances where notice has been provided to you about our intentions with respect to your personal information and you have not withdrawn your consent for an identified purpose, such as by using an “opt out” option provided, if any. In determining the appropriate form of consent, we will take into account the sensitivity of the personal information and the reasonable expectations of individuals with whom we deal.

D. Protection of Personal Information 

Habitat is committed to protecting your personal information by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.

4.1 Reasonable steps are taken to protect personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification, regardless of the format in which it is held, including: (i) physical security measures, such as locked filing cabinets and restricted access to areas where personal information is stored; (ii) organizational security measures, such as employee training, security clearances and limiting access to a “need-to-know” basis; and (iii) technological security measures, such as passwords and encryption, to prevent unauthorized access to personal information stored on computer systems.

4.2 When disposing of or destroying personal information which is no longer needed, we ensure that appropriate measures are taken regarding the disposal or destruction so as to prevent unauthorized parties from gaining access to the personal information.

E. Retention of Personal Information 

5.1 Habitat is committed to retaining your personal information only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of the purposes outlined above, to satisfy legal or regulatory requirements or for the fulfillment of legitimate business purposes.

F. Access to and Correction of Personal Information 

6.1 Habitat may establish and maintain a file of your personal information for the purposes described above, which will be accessible at the address listed below. Upon receipt of a written request, Habitat will inform you of the existence, use and disclosure of your personal information and will give you access to that information, subject to applicable legal restrictions. You will also be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate. In responding to your written request, we may require you to provide sufficient information to permit us to verify your identity before we provide an account of the existence, use and disclosure of your personal information, provide access to it, or make corrections. Please forward your request in writing to our Chief Executive Officer at the address set out below.

3.3 Generally, by providing us with personal information, we will assume that you consent to our collection, use and disclosure of such information for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or otherwise at the time of collection. By providing us with personal information about another individual, you represent that you have consent from that person to provide his or her personal information to us.

3.4 An individual my withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, by contacting our Chief Executive Officer. Please note that the withdrawal of your consent may impact our ability to serve you and to maintain our relationship.

3.5 In certain circumstances personal information can be collected, used or disclosed without your knowledge and consent. For example, to comply with a court order, local or federal regulations, or legally permitted inquiry by a government agency or to collect a debt owed to us. We may also collect, use and disclose information without your consent if it is reasonable for the purposes of establishing, managing or terminating an employment or volunteer relationship.

3.6 Habitat may rely on third parties to obtain your consent to our collection, use and disclosure of personal information when we cannot seek consent directly from you. For example, seeking consent directly from you may not be possible when we acquire a mailing list from another organization. In such cases, the organization providing the list would be expected to obtain your consent before disclosing personal information to us.

Questions and Contact Information 

7.1 You may direct any questions or complaints concerning Habitat’s handling of personal information to our Chief Executive Officer at:

ATTENTION: Chief Executive Officer

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY PETERBOROUGH & KAWARTHA REGION

550 Braidwood Ave.

Peterborough, Ontario

K9J 1W1

Or by e-mail at: info@habitatpkr.ca

H. Internet Usage 

8.1 When you visit Habitat’s website at www.habitatpkr.ca to obtain information about it, to research its prod-ucts and services, or to use its on-line tools, please rest assured that we do not collect identifying information about you unless you specifically provide it. The only information we collect is non-identifying information (such as the ISP, the type of Internet browser used, the referring web site, the pages requested and the date and time of those requests), which we use to create aggregate data in order to determine the level of interest in the infor-mation provided on the website and to improve the content of the website.

8.2 Habitat collects this non-identifying information through the use of cookies and server log files, including IP addresses. Our website does not link IP addresses to any personally identifiable information. Cookies identify which areas of our website you have visited or customized, and make these pages readily accessible the next time you visit. If you do not want non-identifying information collected through the use of cookies, you can disa-ble it by changing the setting of your Internet browser.

8.3 In addition, we may provide links to other websites managed by third parties or permit third parties to offer users subscriptions and registration-based services through its website. As we cannot control or be responsible for the actions or policies of such third parties, you should check the applicable privacy policy of such third par-ties when visiting their websites or when providing any personal information to them. Please also note that we cannot control or prevent the use of cookies or any information obtained through cookies by such third parties.

8.4 Finally, please be advised that information voluntarily disclosed online in discussion areas and other public areas of our website or on Habitat-sponsored pages on social media sites can be collected, used and disclosed by third parties. Any submissions made to discussion areas or other public areas on our website or on Habitat-sponsored pages on social media sites are done at the user’s risk and with the understanding that such infor-mation may be accessible to third parties. We cannot control and will not be liable for any damages that may arise from such user activity.

I. Changes to Privacy Policy 

9.1 Habitat reserves the right to modify our Privacy Policy at our sole discretion. In particular, the Chief Execu-tive Officer may periodically review and modify our Privacy Policy in response to developments and changes in privacy law. If we intend to use or disclose personal information for purposes materially different than those de-scribed in this Privacy Policy, we will make reasonable efforts to notify affected individuals, if necessary, includ-ing by revising this Privacy Policy. Any modifications shall be effective immediately upon its publication by any means, including posting on this website. You agree to regularly review our Privacy Policy posted at this web-site, be aware of any modifications and be bound by the same.

OADA POLICY: 

PROVIDING SERVICES TO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES 

Habitat is committed to excellence in serving all donors, volunteers, employees and partners including people with disabilities and we will carry out our functions and responsibilities in the following areas:

1. Communication 

Habitat will communicate with people with disabilities in ways that take into account their disability and will train staff on how to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities.

2. Telephone services 

Habitat is committed to providing fully accessible telephone service to our donors, volunteers, employees and partners. Habitat will train staff to communicate over the telephone in clear and plain language and to speak clearly and slowly. We will offer to communicate by other means including letter mail, email or facsimile if telephone communication is not suitable to their communications needs or is not available.

3. Assistive devices 

Habitat is committed to serving people with disabilities who use assistive devices to obtain, use or benefit from our services. Habitat asks that you bring your own personal assistive device. The facilities we own and rent do not have onsite assistive devices to use by the general public.

4. Documentation

Habitat is committed to providing all written communication including invoices, charitable tax receipts, letters etc. in a format that is accessible to all of our donors, volunteers, employees and partners. This may include large print, email etc. Habitat will answer any questions about the content of any written document in person, by telephone or email.

USE OF SERVICE ANIMALS AND SUPPORT PERSONS 

Habitat is committed to welcoming people with disabilities who are accompanied by a service animal on the areas of our offices that are open to the public and other third parties, ensuring that all staff, volunteers and others dealing with the public are properly trained in how to interact with people with disabilities who are accompanied by a service animal.

Habitat is committed to welcoming people with disabilities who are accompanied by a support person. Any person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to enter Habitat’s facilities with his or her support person. At no time will a person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person be prevented from having access to his or her support person while on our premises.

NOTICE OF TEMPORARY DISRUPTION 

Habitat will provide donors, volunteers, employees and partners with notice in the event of a planned or unexpected disruption in the facilities or services usually used by people with disabilities. This notice will include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated duration, and a description of alternative facilities or services, if available. The notice will be placed at all public entrances and reception counters on our premises.

TRAINING FOR STAFF 

Habitat will provide training to all employees, volunteers and others who deal with the public and other third parties on their behalf, and all those who are involved in the development and approvals of policies, practices and procedures.

Training will include the following: 

• The purposes of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) and the requirements for the customer service standard.

• How to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities.

• How to interact with people with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person.

• What to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty accessing Habitat’s services.

• Habitat’s policies, practices and procedures relating to these customer service standards.

Applicable staff will be trained on policies, practices and procedures that affect the way services are provided to people with disabilities. Staff will also be trained on an ongoing basis when changes are made to these policies, practices and procedures.

FEEDBACK PROCESS 

The ultimate goal of Habitat is to meet and surpass public expectations while serving people with disabilities. Comments on our services regarding how well those expectations are being met are welcome and appreciated.

Feedback regarding the way Habitat provides services to people with disabilities can be made by letter, email, voicemail or in person. All feedback should be directed to:

Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region

Attention: Chief Executive Officer

300 Milroy Dr.

Peterborough, ON

K9H 7M9

705-874-0201

info@habitatpkr.ca

POLICY MODIFICATIONS AND QUESTIONS 

Habitat is committed to developing customer service polices that respect and promote the dignity and independence of people with disabilities. Therefore, no changes will be made to this policy before considering the impact on people with disabilities.

Any policy of Habitat that does not respect and promote the dignity and independence of people with disabilities will be modified or removed.

This policy exists to achieve service excellence to people with disabilities. If anyone has a question about the policy, or if the purpose of a policy is not understood, an explanation should be provided by, or referred to the Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region.