Privacy policy

Vision Action is a registered charity in England and Wales (charity number: 1081695). We are also a company limited by guarantee (company number: 4027804). 

This Privacy Policy applies to all the above entities. 

Vision Action’s registered address is 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX

This Privacy Policy relates to information obtained by Vision Action for which Vision Action is the Data Controller under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Vision Action’s overall mission is to enable people living in poverty to access affordable eye care services and prescription glasses. 

Our supporters help us to achieve this in a variety of ways, primarily by: 

  • Fundraising 
  • Donating money  
  • Volunteering in the UK or overseas 
  • Supporting events and campaigns 

We take active steps to make sure that our supporters are aware of the ways in which they can help us achieve our overall mission. 

We hold and process personal data in order to: 

  • Keep a record of donations, interactions, and communications 
  • Claim Gift Aid 
  • Send marketing information about our work, activities and appeals where we have consent or another lawful basis 
  • Fulfil contractual obligations such as regular donations or membership 
  • Support volunteers and community fundraisers 
  • Ensure we do not contact individuals who have opted-out 

 

Under UK GDPR, our lawful bases may include: 
Consent, Contract, Legal Obligation, Legitimate Interests, and (where applicable) Vital Interests. 

Vision Action will only contact you for marketing purposes: 

  • With your consent, or 
  • Under the soft optin exemption where applicable for new supporters (introduced by the Data Use and Access Act 2025). Post 2025 we may send you marketing communications by email or text about our charity’s work, fundraising appeals, or volunteering opportunities if you have previously interacted with us—such as by making a donation, signing up for an event, or requesting information—and did not opt-out at that time. We rely on ‘legitimate interests’ as our lawful basis for this, and you can unsubscribe at any time. This exemption only applies to supporters whose details were collected after the DUAA came into effect and cannot be applied retrospectively. 

 

We make it easy to tell us your communication preferences (email, post, SMS, phone). 
You can withdraw or change your preferences at any time. 

How long consent lasts 

Unless otherwise stated, consent is treated as lasting 24 months, after which renewed consent will be required. 

Exceptions 

  • For regular donors, consent will be treated as ongoing until 24 months after the last donation unless you withdraw it. 
  • For legacy supporters, we treat consent as ongoing due to the longterm nature of legacy administration. This is a lifetime commitment and although we will provide you with regular opportunities to shape and control your communication from Vision Action, we will treat your consent as ongoing. 

Vision Action may collect your personal data in the following circumstances: 

Directly from you 

  • When you donate, sign up for events, volunteer, contact us, or use our website. 

Indirectly 

  • When you give through thirdparty fundraising sites (e.g., JustGiving), where you have agreed that your data may be passed to us. 

Sometimes your personal data is collected by an organisation working on our behalf (for example a professional fundraising agency) but as they are acting on our behalf we are the “data controller” and responsible for the security and proper processing of that data.

When you access Vision Action’s social media 

Depending on your privacy settings on platforms such as: 

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • X (formerly Twitter)
  • WhatsApp 

To change your settings on these services, please refer to their privacy notices, which will tell you how to do this.

When the information is publicly available 

We might also obtain personal data about individuals who may be interested in giving major gifts to charities like Vision Action. In this scenario, Vision Action may seek to find out more about these individuals, their interests and motivations for giving through publicly available information. This information may include newspaper or other media coverage, open postings on social media sites such as LinkedIn, and data from Companies House. Vision Action will not retain publicly available data relating to major donors without their consent, which will be sought at the earliest practical opportunity.

When we use cookies 

We use cookies to: 

  • Understand website usage 
  • Improve your online experience 
  • Provide relevant content, including retargeting advertising 

You can control cookies via your browser and through our cookie consent tools.

If you visit our website as an anonymous visitor (e.g. you switch off cookies), Vision Action may still collect certain information from your browser, such as the IP address (an IP address is a number that can uniquely identify a computer or other internet device). 

The Vision Action’s website contains hyperlinks to websites owned and operated by other organisations. These third-party websites have their own privacy policies, including policies on their use of cookies, and we urge you to review them. They will govern the use of personal information you submit or which is collected by cookies whilst visiting these websites. We cannot accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy practices of such third-party websites and your use of such websites is at your own risk.

We collect data relevant to your interaction with us, such as: 

  • Name, email, phone, postal address 
  • Donation details 
  • Taxpayer status (for Gift Aid) 
  • Bank details for processing donations 
  • Communication preferences 
  • Records of interactions with us 

Sensitive Personal Data 

We only collect sensitive information (e.g., health data for event safety or volunteering suitability) where necessary and with clear notice – such as participation in an overseas assignment or fundraising event where we need this to ensure that we provide appropriate facilities or support to enable you to participate in the event. Clear notices will be provided on application forms for such events so that it is clear what information we need and why we need it.

Should you support Vision Action in a substantial way, we may provide an account manager to help you tailor your relationship to suit your interests. If this is the case, we may collect sensitive personal data where relevant to our relationship, such as your political or religious views. Should you disclose information to us about your health or your family, this may also be recorded, so that we can communicate with you in a considerate and appropriate manner.

All sensitive personal data is stored on a secure database, to which only a limited number of relevant staff have access. It is deleted when no longer relevant, is never shared with third parties, and is available to you at any point should you wish to see it.

Administrative purposes 

Including: 

  • Processing donations and Gift Aid 
  • Confirming receipt and thanking you 
  • Responding to enquiries 
  • Fulfilling event or volunteering arrangements 
  • Managing your communication preferences 
  • Maintaining internal records 
  • Ensuring compliance with optout requests 

We may also use IP addresses for security, analytics, and geographic insight. 

 

Marketing and fundraising 

As outlined in Section 4. 

Research and analysis 

To improve our website, communications, and fundraising strategy. We may use anonymised, aggregated data for reporting and planning, including: 

  • To invite you to participate in surveys or research about Vision Action or our work (participation is always voluntary); 
  • To analyse and improve the activities and content offered by the Vision Action website to provide you with the most user-friendly navigation experience. We may also use and disclose information in aggregate (so that no individuals are identified) for marketing and strategic development purposes. 

We will only use your information within Vision Action for the purposes for which it was obtained. We will not sell or share your personal data with third parties for their own marketing.

We may share data with: 

  • Service providers acting on our behalf (e.g. mailing houses, donation processors) 
  • Platforms conducting secure audience matching (e.g., Facebook), but only where consent or soft opt-in applies and data is encrypted 

These organisations are bound by strict data protection agreements.

Legal requirements

  • We may share data with HMRC (for Gift Aid), law enforcement bodies, or other authorities when legally required.

Facebook and other Social Media Sites 

We may also use your email address and phone number to match to your account on Facebook or other social media sites in order to show you Vision Action content while using these services. We only do this where you have opted-in to marketing emails or phone calls and we keep your data secure by encrypting it. No data we hold about you is retained by the third party.

In addition, we may also use your email address and phone number to link to Facebook or other social media sites in order to identify other users of these sites whom we believe would be interested in Vision Action, and we may then show them Vision Action content. No data we hold about you is retained by the third party.

There are two ways to prevent this use of your data, you can either update your preferences at Vision Action by opting-out of the relevant channel of communication or you can do this via the social media site:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/help/568137493302217 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/62931 

X: https://business.x.com/en/help/troubleshooting/how-x-ads-work

Updating your preferences with Vision Action will not guarantee that you never see Vision Action’s content on social media, since the social media site may select you based on other criteria and without your data having been provided by Vision Action. 

We retain personal data only as long as necessary: 

  • Donation records with Gift Aid: 7 years (HMRC requirement) 
  • Marketing preference records: indefinitely, to comply with optout requests 
  • Legacy administration: retained as needed to fulfil legal and administrative purposes 
  • User generated content: kept only as long as required for the stated purpose 

 

Your Rights Under UK GDPR 

You have the right to: 

  • Be informed about how we use your data 
  • Access your personal data 
  • Correct inaccuracies 
  • Request deletion (where legally permissible) 
  • Restrict or object to processing 
  • Data portability 
  • Object to direct marketing at any time 
  • Understand any automated decision making relating to your data 

To exercise your rights, contact us using the details in Section 10. 

 

How We Keep Your Data Safe 

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures, including: 

  • Encrypted forms 
  • Secure networks 
  • Restricted access for trained staff and volunteers 
  • Due diligence and contractual controls with external data processors 
  • Regular monitoring and data security reviews 

The accuracy of your information is really important to us. We want to ensure that we are able to communicate with you in ways that you are happy with, and to provide you with information that is of interest.

Contacting Us to Update Preferences or Raise concerns 

To change your communication preferences or update your information: 

Email: info@visionaction.org.uk 

Write: Vision Action, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX 

Phone: (+44) 0300 102 9622 (Mon–Fri, 09:00–17:00) 

 

Additionally, you can opt-out of email separately: 

  • Email – You can opt-out of marketing emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email from Vision Action 

 

How long will it take for these changes to be effective? 

  • Email – 48 hours from receipt of email 
  • Telephone – 48 hours from receipt of request to opt-out 
  • Mail – 28 days from receipt of ‘do not mail’ request. This period is longer than for other channels due to the production times for mailing campaigns, and in most cases we would expect the change to be effective much more quickly. 

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to have any inaccuracies corrected 

Please address requests and questions about this Privacy Policy to Vision Action, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX 

If you would like more information, or have any questions about this policy, please contact us by: 

  • Writing to us at: Vision Action, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX 
  • Calling us on (+44) 0300 102 9622 (Mon-Fri 0900-1700). 

 

To make a formal complaint about Vision Action’s approach to data protection or raise privacy concerns directly with our team, please contact: Vision Action Vision Action, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX 

You also have the right to complain to the UK’s regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): 
ico.org.uk Telephone: 0303 123 1113  

For more information about your rights under UK GDPR, please visit the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website: 
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/ 

https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/

We may update this policy periodically. 
The most recent revision date will be shown here. 
If significant changes occur, we will provide clear notice. 

Information correct as of 14 April 2026.