Accountability
Sierra Club Canada Foundation’s mission is to protect and preserve the natural environment and to empower people to be stewards of the earth in their communities. This often means using new technologies that allow us to understand how best to communicate with you to help make an impact for the environment and to improve our member and donor services.
Some of our Sierra Club Canada team in Edmonton.
Sierra Club Canada Foundation is committed to protecting the privacy of all the individuals who support us in these efforts. We would not be able to carry out our work without the trust and confidence of our supporters. We strive to protect the privacy of our members and donors through secure and confidential processes.
An important note on the Sierra Club Canada Foundation: There are three distinct Sierra Clubs: Sierra Club (in the United States), Sierra Club BC (in British Columbia), and Sierra Club Canada Foundation (operating nationally in Canada). While we often work together, these organizations are separate legal entities that share common branding. Our organization, the Sierra Club Canada Foundation (SCCF), also contains five chapters: Sierra Club Ontario, Sierra Club Québec, Sierra Club Atlantic Canada, Sierra Club Prairie, and Sierra Youth (which is nationwide).
Website(s)
SCCF and our programs help maintain and manage a number of websites related to this work including:
- Our main website
- Shared websites with partners on common campaigns
- Beyond Climate Promises
- Websites related to our podcast
- Websites run by our Wild Child programs
In addition to websites, we publish content on many different social media platforms which may be subject to the privacy policies of those platforms.
Please note that any one of these websites and our social media may contain links to other websites and this policy does not govern websites that are not owned and solely operated by SCCF.
Consent and policy updates
By using one of our platforms or services you consent to:
- the terms of this policy and;
- our collection, use, and disclosure of personal information in accordance with this policy.
Collection of personal information
In order to fulfill our mandate, we collect the name, address(es), telephone number(s), and email address(es) of our members and donors. Additionally we collect contact information such as the email, phone number, address, and communications interests of subscribers to news updates or action signers through webforms.
Donors also have the option to provide us with their credit card information, fax number, gender, age, income level, and program interests. This information is collected through membership forms, telephone member/donor services and our website. Occasionally, information is also collected in person at events.
All of the above information is collected only after you choose to provide it to us.
As with most internet services, certain generalized information is shared with us and third party services automatically, including the type of browser used, pages in our website you visited (including date and time), your IP address, and addresses of referring sites.
Purpose for collecting personal information
We only collect personal information necessary to fulfill the identified purposes of the SCCF. Personal information is collected for the following purposes:
- To keep people informed on environmental issues and topics related to our work and provide ways to take action.
- To maintain an accurate members and donors database.
- To organize fundraising activities, including solicitations to donate by mail and email.
- To provide charitable tax receipts for donations.
- To implement our program work.
- To conduct internal surveys and focus groups.
- To notify members, donors and others about SCCF activities, through email action alerts, an email newsletter, print newsletter, brochures, reports, petitions, and website educational and awareness resources.
Demographic information may be collected to undertake targeted fundraising
We obtain consent to use the personal information for purposes listed above at the time of collection of information. Members and donors have the option to decline use of their personal information used for any purpose listed above.
Disclosure and retention of personal information
SCCF never trades or sells member, employee or donor contact information without their consent.
We may use a third party mailing house to mail newsletters or other correspondence about SCCF’s activities. In addition, credit/debit card information, if provided by the member or donor, is shared with the bank or payment processor. The third parties in these instances are contracted to comply with strict information privacy standards, including rules and guidelines of federal privacy legislation, and are required to destroy the information supplied after one use.
From time-to-time, we also contact members and donors for planned giving services or other third party fundraising organizations. Members’ or donors’ information will only be disclosed to a planned giving service if they agree to participate in the plan and give specific consent to disclose their personal information.
We may share anonymous website data from our main website with partners who are working with us on particular projects or from other websites we have developed, however this does not contain personal identifying information. On certain projects where you have the option to enter personal information you may see a note specifying that we will share such information with partners: For example if you are signing up to attend a webinar we are hosting with a partner organization.
Aggregate information may be used in reports or other materials but this also does not contain personal information. For example we may state that we “had 13,000 actions” on a particular letter writing campaign.
Petitions delivered to a government official or letters or other actions you take may include your contact information. For example, you sign a letter as part of a campaign on our website and this informs the recipient that you have signed the letter. SCCF’s policy does not govern the use of information by officials contacted through letter writing campaigns, petitions, or other actions.
If you are accessing our websites via social media, please be aware some data may be shared with social media platform providers, who use such data for a number of purposes including improving the effectiveness of social media ads. This can include information on actions you take on our site, however we do not purposefully share data with social media services. Similarly, third parties may also share with us information you consent to provide to them.
The personal information of members and donors is protected and retained for an indefinite period unless the member or donor requests the SCCF to return or destroy certain or all their information. There are limited circumstances in which SCCF may disclose member, donor or employee contact information, for example where required by law or in the event that SCCF’s operations transfer to a third party.
Accuracy of personal information
We make every effort to accurately record all information. If you notice errors or if your personal information has changed, please contact our Privacy Officer (coordinates are listed below) to update your file.
Protection of personal information
Personal information is stored in our database. Electronic information stored in computers is password protected. Only a limited number of authorized SCCF personnel have access to the secured personal information, however we may disclose this information to employees or volunteers, who have signed confidentiality agreements, as necessary for the function of this policy.
The donation page on the SCCF website is encrypted, with a security certificate. Data collected on the website is transferred to a secure database, accessed only by password protection on secure transmission lines. Within this database, banking and credit card information is further encrypted and not visible to users.
All personal information contained in paper format is destroyed by shredding. Electronic information is destroyed by deletion. If the hardware is discarded, the hard drive will be formatted, cleaned and destroyed.
“Cookies” are bits of information sent to your computer from a website through your browser program. Cookies help you access pages faster and allow our server to recognize you as you move from page to page. If you choose not to accept cookies some sections of our site may not be available to you. SCCF reads cookies specifically written for our website and does not use cookies to track a user’s internet history on other sites.
Access to personal information
This Privacy Policy is available to anyone interested. It is available on the website (www.sierraclub.ca), or a hard copy can be obtained by contacting the Privacy Officer.
Members and donors are entitled to access their personal information which is in the possession of SCCF. If a member or donor wants to see their personal information, they are welcome to contact the Privacy Officer. We will provide access to personal information (some exceptions might apply) and provide any assistance required in understanding the nature of personal information that is in our possession. There is no cost to gain access to personal information.
We may ask that the member or donor put their request in writing. If we are unable to give access, we will inform the member or donor within 30 days, in writing, with the reasons for not giving access.
If a member or donor wishes to make a formal complaint about our privacy practices, they may do so in writing to the attention of the Privacy Officer. The Privacy Officer will acknowledge receipt of the complaint, and ensure that it is investigated promptly and that the member or donor is provided with a formal decision and reasons in writing within 30 days.
Google Analytics
Some SCCF websites use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses cookies to help us to analyze how users use SCCF sites. The information generated by the cookies about your use of our sites (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google uses this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of our sites, compiling reports on website activity for us and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of the SCCF websites. By using the SCCF websites, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.
Assuring compliance with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)
CASL regulates all commercial electronic messages (CEM) sent or received in Canada. All CEM sent by SCCF will:
- Be sent only to recipients that meet our opt-in requirements (details below),
- Include an unsubscribe mechanism that works within 10 days, and
- Include contact for SCCF including our full name, mailing address and either phone, email, or website.
SCCF communications will go only to recipients that express or imply consent, in accordance with CASL. Consent to receive communications may be collected verbally or in writing and includes activities like donating, indicating your interest in our work, and volunteering and taking action for the organization. Implied consent ends when a person unsubscribes or requests limitations on CEM. You will find an option to unsubscribe from emails at the bottom of our e-newsletters and other email communications. Should you continue to receive communications from us after unsubscribing please contact us at info@sierraclub.ca to report a problem with the unsubscribe function. We will make sure you do not receive further communications via email.
SCCF trains its staff and volunteers representing the organization on best practices related to consent for CEM based on the CASL standards.
SCCF is a registered charity in Canada, as such we may contact you for fundraising purposes. This is an essential part of our work and makes the functions of our organization possible. Members, who make a membership donation, also help decide the course of the organization and help us ensure we fulfill our grassroots mandate by keeping us accountable. We may contact you by e-mail or telephone, with or without your explicit consent (opting in). If you are registered on the CRTC’s National Do-Not-Call List this does not apply to us. As with the above communications you may opt out at any time by contacting our Privacy Officer (see below).
Policy updates and changes
Due to the fast-changing nature of online technologies, SCCF may change this policy from time to time. Changes may occur without warning and they will be reflected on this page. Please check back regularly for updates.
Further inquiries
Your privacy is important to us. If you have any questions about SCCF’s Privacy Policy or concerns about the way personal information is being used, please contact our Privacy Officer. You are welcome to:
- Request access to your personal information that we have collected.
- Correct your personal information which we have collected.
- Withdraw consent for our use of your information that we have collected, for example modify your communications preferences.
- Ask us to delete your personal information, so long as it is not required for the purposes for which you submitted it or we obtained it and if there is no other legal basis for our retention of it. Please note that Canada Revenue Agency regulations require us to retain specific information on donation records. This may prevent us from removing such information from our internal records.
Privacy Officer
Sierra Club Canada Foundation
PO Box 2007 STN B Ottawa ON K1P 5W3
Tel: (613) 241-4611
Toll free: 1-888-810-4204
Email: privacy@sierraclub.ca
Web: www.sierraclub.ca
This policy is made under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. Further information on privacy and your rights in regard to your personal information may be obtained from the Privacy Commissioner at:
Privacy Commissioner of Canada,
112 Kent Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1H3
Tel: (613) 995-8210
Toll-Free: 1-800-282-1376
Fax: (613) 947-6859
TTY: (613) 992-9190
Email: info@privcom.gc.ca
Web: www.privcom.gc.ca
Approved by motion of SCCF Board April 22, 2024 replacing policy approved May 29, 2017.