Last updated: 2 November 2026
Welcome to the Privacy Policy of Animal Impact Alliance (AIA), a registered non-profit company in South Africa (registration number 2026/684267/08).
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose and safeguard your personal information. We follow the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) for personal information processed in South Africa, and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the US CAN-SPAM Act for information we receive from supporters in the EU, UK and United States.
1. Consent and acceptance
By ticking the consent box on our subscription, donation or petition forms, or by submitting your details to us, you give AIA your voluntary consent to store, process and use your personal information as set out in this Privacy Policy. You can withdraw your consent at any time (see section 9), and we will act on your request immediately.
2. What personal information we record and store
We only collect information that is necessary for our work, fundraising and communication. This may include:
- Contact details: your name, email address, phone number, and physical or postal address.
- Donation information: the amount, date and frequency of your donations, and whether you would like to be publicly recognised for your support.
- Payment information: card and banking details are entered directly with our secure, encrypted payment providers (Paystack, PayFast and, once available, PayPal). AIA never sees or stores your full card details.
- Interaction history: a record of donations made, petitions signed and your communication preferences.
- Website usage: technical information such as your IP address, browser, device type and the pages you visit, collected through cookies (see section 6).
We do not ask for special personal information (such as religious beliefs, health information or biometric data), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18.
3. When we record and store it
We collect your information when you:
- subscribe to our newsletter or updates
- make a donation, once-off or recurring
- sign an online petition or advocacy campaign
- send us a message or enquiry
- browse our website
4. Why we process your information
AIA processes your personal information for specific, lawful purposes related to our mission:
- Communication and support: to respond to your enquiries and feedback.
- Fundraising and updates: to send you news about our animal welfare projects, rescues, campaigns and newsletters, where you have opted in.
- Administration: to process donations and recurring payments, send receipts, keep accurate donor records and, once our PBO status is approved, issue Section 18A tax certificates.
- Recognition: to thank you by name on our website as one of our Founding Funders, but only if you have given us permission.
- Advocacy: to compile petition signatures to present to the relevant authorities. Individual contact details remain protected.
- Improving our website: to understand, in aggregate, how people use our site.
We will not use your information for a purpose unrelated to the reason you gave it to us without first asking for your consent.
5. Our commitment to data security
AIA takes the security of your personal information seriously. We commit to:
- take all reasonable technical and physical measures to protect your information from unauthorised access, loss or theft, including SSL encryption, restricted access, strong passwords and two-factor authentication
- only share your information with trusted service providers, such as our payment providers, our email platform (Mailchimp), our website analytics (Google Analytics), our website host and our accountants, who handle it in line with POPIA
- never sell, rent or share your information with unauthorised third parties for their own use
- notify you and the Information Regulator as soon as reasonably possible if we become aware of a suspected or actual security breach, as required by section 22 of POPIA
Some of our service providers store information outside South Africa. When that happens, we only use providers bound by laws, contracts or policies that give a level of protection comparable to POPIA.
6. Cookies
Cookies are small files stored on your device. We use essential cookies to keep the website and donation forms working, and analytics cookies (Google Analytics) to understand how visitors use the site. When you first visit, our cookie notice lets you accept or decline non-essential cookies. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, though some parts of the site may not work properly if you do.
7. How long we keep your information
We store your personal information only for as long as it is reasonably needed for the purpose it was collected, or to meet South African legal, tax and accounting requirements. For example, SARS requires donation records to be kept for five years. Once your information is no longer needed, it is securely deleted or anonymised.
8. Your privacy rights
Under POPIA, you have the right to:
- Be informed: to know when your personal information is collected, and if it has been accessed by someone unauthorised.
- Access: to ask whether we hold personal information about you, and to request a copy.
- Correction: to ask us to update or correct information that is inaccurate or out of date.
- Objection and deletion: to object to us processing your information, or to ask us to permanently delete it.
- Opt out: to withdraw your consent to direct marketing at any time, by clicking “Unsubscribe” in any email or contacting us.
- Automated decisions: not to be subject to decisions made solely by automated processing.
- Complain: to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator, and to institute civil proceedings if your information has not been protected.
9. Contact our Information Officer
To access, update, correct or remove your personal information, to withdraw your consent, or with any questions about this policy, please contact our Information Officer:
- Organisation: Animal Impact Alliance (AIA)
- Information Officer: Kieran Lindeque
- Information Regulator registration number: 2026-070727
- Email: info@animalimpact.org
- Physical address: 19 Cardiff Road, Mount Pleasant, Cape Town, 7975, South Africa
We may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request.
10. Supporters in the EU and UK (GDPR)
If you are in the European Union or United Kingdom, the GDPR applies to how we process your information. In addition to your rights under POPIA, you have the right to data portability (to receive your data in a machine-readable format), the right to object to profiling, and the right to have your personal data erased (“the right to be forgotten”).
Because AIA is based in South Africa, your information will be transferred to and processed in South Africa. By submitting your information, you acknowledge this international transfer.
11. Supporters in the United States
If you live in the United States, we process your information in line with applicable federal and state laws, including the CAN-SPAM Act. Depending on your state, you may have the right to request access to, correction of or deletion of your contact information and marketing preferences.
We do not sell or lease your personal information, and we do not track your precise location without your permission. Every marketing email includes an “Unsubscribe” link, and we honour opt-out requests promptly.
12. Complaints
If you have a concern about how we handle your information, please contact us first so we can try to put it right. If you feel we have not resolved it satisfactorily, you can lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa):
- Complaints: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za
- General enquiries: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za, 010 023 5200
- Address: Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191
- Website: inforegulator.org.za
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated.