iSihlangu Conservation Alliance NPC
Effective date: 27 September 2026
iSihlangu Conservation Alliance NPC (“iSihlangu”, “we”, “us”) respects your privacy. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we protect it, and the rights you have under South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).
1. Who we are
iSihlangu Conservation Alliance NPC is a registered Non-Profit Company (registration number 2025/803194/08) and an approved Public Benefit Organisation (PBO number 930088756). We are the “responsible party” for the personal information described in this policy.
- Address: Milestone Farm, D533, Balgowan, KwaZulu-Natal, 3275
- Information Officer: Andrew Henderson
- Email: info@isihlangu.org
2. Information we collect
We only collect information you choose to give us, or information needed to run our website safely.
When you contact us: your name, email address, the subject of your message and the message itself.
When you pledge support or donate:
- your name and, if applicable, your organisation
- your email address and phone number
- the amount, frequency and type of your pledge
- your income tax number, if you ask for a Section 18A tax receipt
- details of any asset or in-kind donation you offer
- your recognition preference (named as a Founding Guardian, or anonymous)
- payment details you send us, such as a proof of payment showing the date, amount and reference
We do not collect or store bank card details on this website.
When you visit our website: basic technical information, such as your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit, collected through cookies (see section 9).
3. How we use your information
We use your personal information to:
- respond to your messages and questions
- process your pledge or donation, and thank you for it
- issue Section 18A tax receipts and meet our tax and reporting obligations
- keep accurate donor and financial records, as required by law
- recognise you as a Founding Guardian, if you have asked us to
- send you updates on our conservation work, if you are a supporter or have asked to receive them
- keep our website secure and working properly
We rely on the following lawful grounds in POPIA: your consent; the need to carry out an arrangement you have asked for (such as processing your pledge); our legal obligations (such as tax law); and our legitimate interest in running our organisation and keeping our supporters informed.
4. Updates and communications
If you are a supporter or have asked to hear from us, we may email you updates on our work, such as quarterly field reports. Every update includes a simple way to unsubscribe, and you can also ask us to stop at any time by emailing info@isihlangu.org.
We never sell, rent or trade your personal information, and we never pass it to other organisations for their own marketing.
5. Who we share your information with
We only share personal information when it is necessary, and only with:
- the South African Revenue Service (SARS), when we issue Section 18A tax receipts and as otherwise required by tax law
- our accountants and auditors, who review our financial records
- our service providers, who help us operate, such as our website host, our email provider (Google Workspace) and our bank. They may only use your information to provide their service to us.
- authorities or regulators, when the law requires us to
6. Information stored outside South Africa
Some of our service providers, such as Google, may store information on servers outside South Africa. We only use providers that are bound by data-protection laws, or by agreements, that give your information a level of protection similar to POPIA.
7. How we protect your information
We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to keep your information safe. These include secure (HTTPS) connections on our website, password-protected accounts with two-step verification, and limiting access to the people who need it.
If we believe your personal information has been accessed without authorisation, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by POPIA.
8. How long we keep your information
We keep personal information only for as long as we need it:
- donation, tax receipt and financial records: at least five years, as required by South African tax law
- messages sent through our contact forms: for as long as needed to respond, and normally no longer than two years
- pledges that do not proceed: no longer than twelve months
After that, we securely delete the information or remove anything that identifies you.
9. Cookies
Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website.
- Strictly necessary cookies make our website work, for example by remembering your cookie choices. They are always on.
- Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors use our website, through Google Analytics. We only use them if you agree through our cookie banner.
We do not use advertising cookies. You can change your cookie choices at any time through the cookie settings on our website, or by adjusting your browser settings.
10. Your rights
Under POPIA, you have the right to:
- ask whether we hold personal information about you, and request a copy of it
- ask us to correct or update information that is wrong or incomplete
- ask us to delete your information, where we are not required by law to keep it
- object to us using your information, including for updates and communications
- withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting anything we did before you withdrew it
- lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator
To exercise any of these rights, email info@isihlangu.org. We may ask you to confirm your identity before acting on your request, and we will respond as soon as reasonably possible.
11. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first at info@isihlangu.org so we can try to put it right.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa). Its contact details are available at inforegulator.org.za.
12. Children
Our website and services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian.
13. Links to other websites
Our website may link to other websites, such as our social media pages. We are not responsible for how those websites handle your information, so please read their own privacy policies.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the new version on this page with an updated effective date.
15. Contact us
For any questions about this policy or your personal information, please contact our Information Officer:
Andrew Henderson
iSihlangu Conservation Alliance NPC
Milestone Farm, D533, Balgowan, KwaZulu-Natal, 3275
info@isihlangu.org
