Privacy

Privacy Notice

Website and supporter, client and volunteer data

Last updated: 8 July 2026

Veterans Aid is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This notice explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, the legal basis we rely on, how we use and protect it, who we may share it with, and the rights you have over your own information.

This notice applies to our website, and to our wider work supporting clients, staff, volunteers, donors and other supporters. It is written to comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (‘UK GDPR’) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025).

This notice may change from time to time; please check this page occasionally. Any significant changes will be dated and, where appropriate, notified to you directly.

Who We Are

Veterans Aid supports veterans in crisis.

Veterans Aid is a registered charity (no. 1095308) and a company limited by guarantee (no. 04544532). Our registered address is 27 Victoria Square, SW1W 0RB, London. Veterans Aid is the data controller for the personal information described in this notice.

Why We Collect Your Information

As a frontline charity, we need to collect and use personal information to deliver our services and run our organisation effectively. This may include information about clients, staff, volunteers, trustees, donors, suppliers, and other individuals we have a relationship with or may need to contact.

How to Contact Us

If you have any questions about this notice, or about how we handle your personal information, you can contact the COO by email at info@veterans-aid.net, by post to the address above, or by telephone on 020 7828 2468.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for data protection, if you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information. We would welcome the opportunity to resolve any concern directly first, but you are not required to contact us before raising a complaint with the ICO. The ICO can be contacted at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

How We Collect Information About You

We collect information about you when you interact with us, online or in person. For example:

• When you contact us about our services, or seek support as a client;
• When you enquire about volunteering opportunities;
• When you make a donation, or purchase something from our online shop;
• When you apply for a job with us;
• Through your participation in our events;
• Through conversations with our staff, including support and case work;
• When you visit our website (for example, through cookies – see the section below).

What Information We Collect

The personal information we collect may include your name, address, email address, telephone number, IP address, and information about the pages you visit on our website. Depending on your relationship with us, it may also include other information relevant to the support we provide as a frontline veterans’ charity.

If you purchase a product from our online shop or make an online donation, your card details are not held by us – they are collected and processed directly by our payment provider, who specialises in secure handling of card transactions.

We do not collect special category data (for example, health data, racial or ethnic origin, or trade union membership) unless there is a clear lawful basis for doing so – for example, where it is necessary to provide safe and effective support to a client, or where we are legally required to. Where we hold special category data, we rely on the additional conditions required by Article 9 UK GDPR, such as the provision of health or social care, or your explicit consent.

Where we collect personal information about a child, we take particular care and, where appropriate, seek the consent of a parent or legal guardian. For online services aimed at children, the relevant age of consent under UK law is 13; below this age, parental consent is required.

How We Protect Your Data

We take the security of your personal information seriously, and maintain appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure, in line with our obligations under UK GDPR.

• Technical safeguards: we use measures including encryption, firewalls, access controls and regular security review to protect the systems on which your information is held. Our website is protected by SSL encryption.
• Staff training: everyone who handles personal information on our behalf is trained in data protection and confidentiality and access to sensitive information is limited to those who need it to do their job.
• Third-party security: where we use external service providers to process personal information on our behalf, we only work with providers who can demonstrate appropriate security standards, and we put contracts in place requiring them to protect your information and use it only as we instruct.

We regularly review our security measures to reflect changes in technology and good practice, and we have procedures in place to identify, respond to and, where required, report any data security incident.

Our Legal Basis for Using Your Information

We rely on the following legal bases, depending on the purpose:

• Consent: for example, where you have opted in to receive marketing communications, or agreed to a particular use of your information.
• Contract: where processing is necessary to fulfil a contract with you – for example, processing a purchase or an employment contract.
• Legal obligation: where we must process information to comply with the law – for example, Gift Aid records, or our obligations as a registered social landlord and employer.
• Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests as a charity – for example, understanding how our website is used, or contacting existing supporters about our work – provided this does not override your own rights and interests. Where we rely on this basis, we have assessed and documented that our interest is balanced and appropriate.
• Vital interests or public task: in limited circumstances, for example where processing is necessary to protect someone’s safety, or in connection with our function as a Private Registered Provider of social housing.

How We Use Your Information

We may use your information to:

• Provide support services;
• Process a donation or an order you have made;
• Carry out our obligations under any contract entered into by you and us, including as an employer or landlord;
• Notify you of changes to our services;
• Send you communications you have asked for, or that we reasonably believe will be of interest to existing supporters, about our campaigns, appeals and fundraising activities;
• Process a job application, volunteering enquiry, or grant application.

We keep personal information for no longer than necessary. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and any legal requirement to keep it (for example, Gift Aid records, or records relating to our regulated housing and safeguarding functions) and are set out in our internal data retention schedule.

Who Can Access Your Information

We may share your information with trusted third-party service providers who carry out tasks on our behalf – for example, payment processing, IT hosting, or mailing services. We only share what is necessary for them to provide the service, and we have contracts in place requiring them to keep your information secure and not use it for their own purposes.

We will not sell or release your information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

We may disclose your information where we are under a legal duty to do so – for example, in response to a court order, or a request from the Police or another regulatory body – or where necessary to protect the safety of a client, member of staff or member of the public. Where feasible and appropriate, we will consult with you before making such a disclosure and will disclose only the minimum information necessary.

Some of our service providers operate outside the UK, including in the United States (for example, PayPal, our online payment processor). Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as reliance on an adequacy decision, or the use of the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

• Access: ask us to confirm what personal information we hold about you and provide you with a copy – see ‘Requesting Access to Your Information’ below.
• Rectification: ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Erasure: ask us to delete your information in certain circumstances (sometimes called the ‘right to be forgotten’).
• Restriction: ask us to limit how we use your information in certain circumstances.
• Portability: ask for certain information to be provided to you, or another organisation, in a portable format.
• Objection: object to processing based on legitimate interests, or to direct marketing at any time.
• Withdraw consent: where we rely on your consent, withdraw it at any time.
• Complain: raise a concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office – see ‘How to Contact Us’ above.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details above. We will not charge a fee to consider your request, except where the law allows us to do so – for example, where a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

Requesting Access to Your Information (Subject Access Requests)

You can ask us at any time to confirm what personal information we hold about you and to provide you with a copy – this is known as a Subject Access Request.

• You can make a request verbally or in writing, by any reasonable means – you do not need to use a particular form of words or a specific form, although an optional form is available on request if you find it helpful.
• There is no fee for making a request, except in limited circumstances permitted by law.
• We will ask you to confirm your identity before releasing information, using proportionate means.
• We will respond within one calendar month of receiving your request (or of confirming your identity, if later), extendable by a further two months for complex requests – we will tell you if this applies.

This reflects our internal Subject Access Request Policy, which governs how requests are handled and is available on request.

Marketing Preferences

We will only contact you for marketing purposes by email, phone or text message if you have given your consent, or where the law otherwise permits us to do so (for example, where you are an existing supporter and the communication relates to similar causes, and you have not opted out). We will not contact you for marketing purposes by post if you have told us you do not wish to be contacted.

You can change your marketing preferences, or ask us to stop contacting you altogether, at any time by emailing info@veterans-aid.net or calling 020 7828 2468.

Keeping Your Information Accurate

The accuracy of your information matters to us. If your details change, or you believe any information we hold is inaccurate or out of date, please let us know at info@veterans-aid.net or by calling 020 7828 2468.

Use of Cookies

Like most websites, the Veterans Aid website uses cookies – small text files stored on your device that allow a website to recognise you and remember your preferences.

Cookies that are strictly necessary for the website to function do not require your consent. For any other cookies – for example, those used for analytics or to understand how visitors use our site – we will ask for your consent via a cookie banner when you first visit our website, in line with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). You can change your cookie preferences at any time via the cookie settings link on our website, or by adjusting your browser settings. Turning off non-essential cookies will not affect your ability to use the core functions of our website.

Further detail is available in our separate Cookie Policy.

Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to other websites. This privacy notice applies only to the Veterans Aid website; we are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites, and we recommend you read their privacy notices before providing any personal information.

Children

We take particular care to protect the privacy of children. If you are under 13, please make sure you have your parent or guardian’s permission before providing us with any personal information online.

Review of This Notice

This notice will be reviewed periodically, and in response to any significant change in the law, ICO guidance, or how Veterans Aid collects or uses personal information.