Privacy Policy

The Gender Pathway Community Interest Company and the Gender Pathway Fund

Last updated: 26th October 2026

We care about your privacy and want you to feel comfortable when you visit our website, contact us, make a donation or apply for support through the Gender Pathway Fund.

This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we need it, how we look after it and what choices you have.

We aim to collect only the information we need, keep it safe and treat everyone with respect and care.

1. Who we are

The Gender Pathway Community Interest Company (CIC) operates the Gender Pathway Fund as part of its work. The fund is not a separate legal entity.

In this policy, “we”, “us” and “our” mean The Gender Pathway Community Interest Company, including the Gender Pathway Fund.

We are responsible for deciding how and why personal information collected through our website and related activities is used. Under UK data protection law, this means we are the data controller.

Our details

  • Legal name: The Gender Pathway Community Interest Company

  • Company number: 16813254

  • Registered address: 82a James Carter Road, Mildenhall, Bury St. Edmunds, England, IP28 7DE

  • Website: genderpathway.org.uk

  • Privacy contact: info@genderpathway.org.uk

This policy covers our website, general enquiries, donations, newsletter sign-ups and online applications to the Gender Pathway Fund. We may provide additional privacy information for particular activities where needed.

2. What information do we collect?

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us.

Information you give us

This may include:

  • Contact information: your name, email address, telephone number and other contact details you choose to provide.

  • Enquiries and messages: information you share when you contact us or complete a website contact form.

  • Donation information: details needed to administer your donation, such as the donation amount, date, transaction reference and relevant contact information.

  • Newsletter information: your email address, subscription status and communication preferences.

  • Funding applications: information you provide when applying to the Gender Pathway Fund, which may include your contact details, financial circumstances, reasons for seeking support and relevant supporting documents.

Sensitive information

Because of the nature of our work, funding applications may include sensitive personal information, such as information about your health, gender identity or personal circumstances.

We understand that this information is private. We will only collect and use it where necessary for a clear purpose and where we have an appropriate legal basis and the additional legal condition required for sensitive information.

We will explain what information is needed and how it will be used as part of the funding application process.

Information collected automatically

Our website may collect limited technical information needed to operate and protect the site, such as information about errors, security events or requests made to our servers.

We intend to use only essential cookies and similar technologies. We will review this if our website features or service providers change. Please see Section 7.

3. Why do we use your information?

We use personal information to carry out our work and support people who engage with us.

Purpose

Examples of information used

Responding to enquiries

Your name, contact details and message

Managing funding applications

Contact details, application information and relevant supporting documents

Administering donations

Donation and transaction details

Sending newsletters

Your email address, subscription status and preferences

Operating and protecting our website

Necessary technical and security information

Meeting legal responsibilities

Records needed for relevant legal, financial or regulatory purposes

We do not use your information for purposes that are incompatible with those explained to you.

Our legal reasons for using your information

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for using personal information.

Depending on the activity, we may rely on:

  • Consent: where you have freely agreed to a particular use of your information, such as receiving our newsletter.

  • Legitimate interests: where using information is reasonably necessary for our work and does not unfairly override your rights and interests.

  • Contract or steps taken at your request: where processing is necessary to provide an agreed service or take steps you have requested.

  • Legal obligation: where we must use or retain information to comply with the law.

For sensitive information, such as health information included in a funding application, we must also meet an additional legal condition. We will identify and document the appropriate condition for our application process.

4. How do we handle funding applications?

We know that applying for healthcare funding can involve sharing personal and sensitive information.

We use application information to assess requests for support, communicate with applicants, administer funding decisions and meet relevant record-keeping responsibilities.

We use Google Workspace and associated services to support our email and application administration. Website-based application forms or related features may also be provided through Squarespace, depending on how the application process is configured.

Access to applications should be limited to people who need the information to carry out their role. We take appropriate steps to protect application information and keep it confidential.

We will not use your application information for unrelated marketing.

If we need to share information with an external organisation, such as a service provider involved in administering funding, we will do so only where appropriate and lawful.

We will explain any specific information-sharing arrangements that apply to your application.

We recommend reading this policy alongside any additional privacy notice provided during the application process.

5. Donations and fundraising

We accept donations through our website using a PayPal non-profit business account.

When you make a donation, PayPal may process information such as your name, contact details, payment information, donation amount and transaction details, depending on the payment method and information you provide.

PayPal processes information under its own privacy arrangements and may also process certain information on our behalf. The roles and responsibilities involved depend on the particular processing activity.

We do not intend to collect or store your full payment card details ourselves where these are handled by PayPal.

We may keep records of donations and related transactions for accounting, financial reporting, fraud prevention and other legal requirements.

Making a donation does not automatically subscribe you to our email updates. We will ask you to opt in separately if you would like to receive these updates.

For more information about PayPal's handling of personal information, please see PayPal's Privacy Statement.

6. Newsletters and communications

We use Squarespace to manage our email updates and preferences.

Our updates are opt-in only. We will send newsletter emails when you have actively chosen to subscribe.

We may use your email address and subscription preferences to send updates about our work, the Gender Pathway Fund, fundraising activities and opportunities to get involved.

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails or by contacting info@genderpathway.org.uk. You can also manage your subscription and preferences through the options made available by Squarespace.

We may keep a limited record of your subscription and any withdrawal so that we can respect your choices and maintain appropriate records.

We do not sell your email address or add you to our newsletter without an appropriate legal basis.

7. Cookies and similar technologies

Our intention is to use only cookies and similar technologies that are strictly necessary for our website to function and remain secure.

As our website is hosted by Squarespace, some cookies or similar technologies may be used to support essential website functions, security and form submissions.

We do not intend to use analytics or advertising cookies.

We will review the actual cookies and technologies used by Squarespace, PayPal and any embedded services on our website. If we introduce non-essential cookies or similar technologies that require consent, we will explain their purpose and obtain consent where legally required.

You can also manage cookies through your browser settings, although blocking essential cookies may affect some website features.

8. Who do we share information with?

We do not sell your personal information.

We use established providers with reliable systems and strong security measures to help protect your personal information. These include:

  • Squarespace: website hosting, website forms and newsletter management.

  • Google Workspace: organisational email and associated services used to manage communications and applications.

  • PayPal: payment processing for donations.

These providers may process personal information on our behalf or under their own privacy arrangements, depending on the service and activity involved.

We may also share information with professional advisers, regulators or public authorities where appropriate or legally required.

We aim to share only the information needed for the relevant purpose. Where a provider processes personal information on our behalf, we will put appropriate contractual and security safeguards in place.

We will not share sensitive funding application information simply because it may be useful to another organisation. We will consider the purpose, necessity and legal basis before sharing it.

9. Where is your information stored?

We use Squarespace and Google Workspace to support our website, email and application administration, and PayPal to process donations.

Although we aim to use trusted providers with appropriate security measures, these services may store, access or process personal information in countries outside the UK, including where international support or infrastructure is involved.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we will take the steps required by UK data protection law to ensure it receives appropriate protection.

If you would like further information about the relevant data storage arrangements or international transfer safeguards, please contact us at info@genderpathway.org.uk.

10. How long do we keep your information?

We keep personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purpose for which it was collected, including relevant legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

Our approach includes the following:

  • Enquiries: kept for as long as needed to respond and manage necessary follow-up.

  • Funding applications: kept for the period needed to assess applications, administer decisions, manage any funding provided and meet relevant legal, safeguarding and record-keeping requirements.

  • Donation records: kept for the period required for financial and legal record-keeping.

  • News/updates details: kept while you remain subscribed, with limited records retained where needed to respect your preferences.

  • Technical and security records: kept for the period needed to operate and protect the website.

We will establish appropriate retention periods for each category of information and securely delete or anonymise information when it is no longer needed, unless we are required or permitted by law to retain it.

11. How do we protect your information?

We take appropriate steps to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.

These steps include using established service providers, limiting access to authorised people, protecting information during transfer where appropriate and using the security features available through our systems.

Sensitive funding application information deserves particular care, and access should be limited to those who need it.

No website or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If a personal data breach occurs, we will take appropriate action and notify the relevant people or authorities where required by law.

12. Your privacy rights

You have rights over your personal information under UK data protection law. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to:

  • Access your information: ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

  • Correct your information: ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete details.

  • Ask us to delete information: in certain circumstances.

  • Restrict its use: ask us to limit how we use your information in certain circumstances.

  • Object to its use: particularly where we rely on legitimate interests or use information for direct marketing.

  • Request data portability: receive certain information in a usable format or ask for it to be transferred, where the legal conditions apply.

  • Withdraw consent: where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. This does not affect processing that took place lawfully before you withdrew consent.

  • Opt out of marketing: unsubscribe from newsletters or other direct marketing communications.

These rights are subject to legal conditions and exceptions, so they may not apply in every situation.

To exercise a right, email info@genderpathway.org.uk. We may need to confirm your identity before responding.

We will respond within the applicable legal time limit, usually one month. Requests are generally free of charge.

13. Complaints

If you are worried about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us at info@genderpathway.org.uk.

We will take your concern seriously and do our best to address it.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection regulator.

Information Commissioner's Office

Website: https://ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113

You do not have to contact us before approaching the ICO.

14. Links to other websites

Our website may link to other websites, including healthcare providers, charities, fundraising platforms or other organisations.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites. If you follow an external link, please read the relevant privacy policy before sharing personal information.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our website, services or legal responsibilities change.

The latest version will be published on our website, with the date of the most recent update shown at the top.

If a change significantly affects how we use your personal information, we will provide additional information or notify you where appropriate.

16. Contact us

If you have any questions about this policy or how we use your personal information, we are happy to help.

The Gender Pathway Community Interest Company
82a James Carter Road
Mildenhall, Bury St. Edmunds
England, IP28 7DE

Email: info@genderpathway.org.uk

Thank you for trusting us with your information. We are committed to treating it with care, respect and consideration.