Variety - The Children's Charity: Privacy Statement

Variety - The Children's Charity Incorporated (we, our, us) collects and handles personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020.  This privacy statement applies to parents/caregivers, children and sponsors.  If you are a parent/caregiver, references to you in this privacy statement apply to your child as well.

The personal information we may collect from you as part of providing our services (including considering funding applications, and providing our programmes) includes:

• identification details (including name, date of birth);
• contact details that you provide to us (such as physical address, email and contact phone number);
• parents and children: details included on your application for funding, including information about your circumstances, school details, photos, bank account details;
• sponsors:  details of your sponsorship, including bank account details;
• any other written, email and phone correspondence with us (including stories you share with us).

We may collect personal information about you in several ways, including:

• directly from you when you apply for and use our services (eg, information you provide on the application form, and letters and photos you share with us);
• from third parties acting on your authority or who you authorise us to make contact with about you (including referees or schools);
• through our corporate partners who may assist us to provide services to you.

You do not have to provide us with, or allow us to collect, your personal information, however, we may be unable to provide you with our services (including any funding) if we do not have your identifying information.

We collect personal information for the following purposes:

• to verify your identity, determine your application, and provide you with our services (as relevant);
• to carry out research, analytics and collate feedback from you; 
• to develop and improve our services;
• to raise public awareness about, and to report on, our services;
• inform you about developments to our services and activities, where you have consented to receipt of marketing material;
• to respond to access/correction requests from you; and
• any other purpose associated with our normal charity functions and activities, including for reporting purposes and administration and management.

Personal information we collect will not be shared with any third parties, other than:

• employees, contractors, related parties and our partners working with us, only to the extent they help us provide our services and only for the purposes set out in this privacy statement;
• relevant schools, to the extent required to assist with applications and help manage grants/sponsorship;
• as required or permitted by law, including:
  • for law enforcement purposes;
  • where there is a serious threat to your health of the health of another person;
  • a court direction that requires us to hold or disclose certain information; and
• to anyone else, with your consent, or as otherwise set out in the privacy statement.

To make sure that our programmes are successful, Variety needs to appeal to the public to raise funds.  If you are seeking funding, we may use details from your child’s application, or any photos and stories you share with us, to help with our public fundraising activities.  We will not fully identify your child but may use your child’s photo, first name, age, the support needed / received and the region they are from.

We will keep your personal information on our database only for as long as is required for the purposes for which the information may be lawfully used.  After that, we will de-identify or securely destroy the information. 

You have a right to access the personal information that we hold about you, and to request correction of any information that we hold (including by providing a statement of correction).  To exercise these rights, contact our Privacy Officer at kiwikids@variety.org.nz or calling (09) 520 4111.