At Natural Justice, we are committed to protecting the privacy, dignity, integrity and security of all beneficiaries and applicants applying to our emergency fund.
Natural Justice endeavours to protect all personal data through compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (South Africa).
Our commitment to you
Natural Justice is committed to respecting and protecting your right to privacy, and strives to collect as little personal information as possible. We are also committed to your right to view and request copies, deletion and modification of the personal information that we collect from you – contact us to start exercising these rights.
This policy sets out what personal information we collect, how we collect it, why we collect it and how we use it. This policy does not apply to other parties’ websites, including websites that may be linked to or from our site, as well as social media websites (such as Facebook and Twitter) that have their own privacy policies.
How we collect data
We collect and process your personal information in a number of different ways, including:
- Submit applications or requests for emergency support through our website, email, referrals or other communication channels.
- Provide supporting documentation related to a submitted application or request
- Communication with Fund staff, Natural Justice staff, partners or consultants
- Subscribe to newsletters, updates or other communication from the Fund
- Participate in surveys, consultations, trainings or other events organized by the Fund
- Interact with our website through cookies, analytical tools, anonymous identifiers, server logs that collect technical information such as IP address, device information and browsing activity.
- Information from third parties where it is considered necessary to assess or administer support requests.
The personal data will include your name, contact details, location, affiliated organizations, nature of your work, bank details, gender, nationality, and any other sensitive personal information you may provide in your application and future correspondence or reports.
Should you wish to remain completely anonymous while browsing our site, we suggest that you download the Tor Browser or configure Ghostery and uBlock Origin in your current browser.
Use of data
Information collected through this website or through the fund applications is used solely for purposes related to:
- Assessing eligibility for emergency support
- Awarding emergency grants or assistance
- Communicating with referees, partners and applicants
- Improving the operations, security, effectiveness and administration of the emergency fund
- Reporting on the activities, impact and use of funds to donors, partners and relevant stakeholders including through anonymized and aggregated data where appropriate.
We will not use personal information that you provide to us in a manner inconsistent with the purposes for which you provided it to us. Furthermore, we do no sell, rent or lease personal information.
Confidentiality and Security
All personal information is treated confidentially and accessed only by authorized personnel or trusted partners directly involved in the administration of the Fund.
Personal information is entered into an encrypted database system designed to mitigate against loss, breach, misuse, unauthorized access and destruction of sensitive personal information.
Unfortunately, the transmission of information over the internet cannot be guaranteed to be completely secure. While the organization takes reasonable measures to protect your personal data, including the use of encryption technologies, it cannot ensure the absolute security of any information transmitted to or through its website. Any such transmission is therefore made at your own risk.
Information sharing
Only authorized personnel who require access to your personal data for the purposes outlined above will be able to view it. We may also share limited information with trusted third parties, such as human rights organizations, banks, relevant service providers, and auditors, where this is necessary to deliver requested emergency support or to support related activities such as capacity building or advocacy. In all cases, we ensure that only the minimum necessary information is shared. In all cases, we will share only the minimum amount of data required and only where we are legally permitted to do so.
We will only include your information in publications, public statements, or advocacy materials if we have obtained your clear and explicit consent in advance. This means we will always ask for your permission before using any personal details or application information in any public-facing communication, and you are free to decline without it affecting your access to support.
Data retention
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to provide emergency support and ensure accountability to donors and partners. Given the sensitive nature of the work, data may be retained for defined periods to ensure beneficiary safety, audit compliance, and organizational learning. After this period, data is securely deleted or anonymized.
* African Environmental Defenders is managed by Natural Justice.