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Privacy Policy

This privacy notice tells you what to expect us to do with your personal information.

Who are we

Name: Penny's Ark

Charity number: 1205298

Email: [email protected]

Postal address: 3 Rookery Road, Southport, Merseyside, PR9 7JQ

We comply with the Data Protection Act 2018, plus any other applicable legislation, in all material aspects.

What information we collect, use, and why

We collect or use the following information to provide services and goods, including delivery and third party referrals:

  • Names and contact details
  • Addresses
  • Service use history
  • Payment details (including card or bank information for transfers and direct debits)
  • Website user information (including user journeys and cookie tracking)
  • Social media profile

We collect or use the following information to receive donations or funding and organise fundraising activities:

  • Names and contact details
  • Addresses
  • Payment or banking details
  • Donation history
  • Tax payer information (for Gift Aid purposes)
  • Gifts in wills
  • Visitors to our website
  • Social media profile

We collect or use the following personal information for service updates or marketing purposes:

  • Names and contact details
  • Social media profile
  • Marketing preferences
  • Recorded images, such as photos or videos
  • Website and app user journey information
  • Records of consent, where appropriate

We collect or use the following personal information to comply with legal requirements:

  • Name
  • Contact information
  • Any other personal information required to comply with legal obligations

We collect or use the following personal information for recruitment purposes:

  • Contact details (eg name, address, telephone number, social media profile or personal email address)

We collect or use the following personal information for dealing with queries, complaints or claims:

  • Names and contact details
  • Witness statements and contact details
  • Relevant information from previous investigations
  • Customer or client accounts and records
  • Information relating to health and safety (including incident investigation details and reports and accident book records)
  • Correspondence

We do not knowingly collect or use any special category information.

Lawful bases and data protection rights

Under UK data protection law, we must have a "lawful basis" for collecting and using your personal information. There is a list of possible lawful bases in the UK GDPR. You can find out more about lawful bases on the ICO's website.

Which lawful basis we rely on may affect your data protection rights, which are set out in brief below. You can find out more about your data protection rights and the exemptions which may apply on the ICO's website:

  • Your right of access: You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. You can request other information such as details about where we get personal information from and who we share personal information with. There are some exemptions, which means you may not receive all the information you ask for.
  • Your right to rectification: You have the right to ask us to correct or delete personal information you think is inaccurate or incomplete.
  • Your right to erasure: You have the right to ask us to delete your personal information.
  • Your right to restriction of processing: You have the right to ask us to limit how we can use your personal information.
  • Your right to object to processing: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data.
  • Your right to data portability: You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you.
  • Your right to withdraw consent: When we use consent as our lawful basis you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

If you make a request, we must respond to you without undue delay and in any event within one month.

To make a data protection rights request, please contact us using the contact details at the top of this privacy notice.

Our lawful bases for the collection and use of your data

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to provide services and goods, including delivery and third party referrals are:

  • Consent: we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
  • Contract: we have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to receive donations or funding and organise fundraising activities are:

  • Consent: we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for service updates or marketing purposes are:

  • Consent: we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to comply with legal requirements are:

  • Legal obligation: we have to collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for recruitment purposes are:

  • Consent: we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for dealing with queries, complaints or claims are:

  • Consent: we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

Where we get personal information from

  • Directly from you

How long we keep information

We retain data for as long as necessary to comply with our legal obligations:

  • Contract information, e.g. if you have signed up for the Bee-Ethical Lottery, will be retained for a period of 6 years from the time the contract ends.
  • Contact information, e.g. if you are an adopter, will be retained in line with the timescale set out in the adoption contract (where applicable), or for 3 years after our last correspondence. Details of our communications, e.g. emails, may need to be kept for up to 6 years, depending on their content.
  • Donation information, to include Gift Aid information, will be retained for 6 years.

Your data may be retained for longer where there is a need to do so (e.g. ongoing legal action).

For more information on how long we store your personal information or the criteria we use to determine this, please contact us using the details provided above.

Who we share information with

Joint data controllers

We have a joint controller relationship with Bee-Ethical Ltd, which operates a lottery that raises funds for us. We process your personal information with that joint controller for the following reason: to provide the 'Bee-Ethical lottery' to those of our supporters who have signed up for the lottery, and to give this information to Bee Ethical Ltd.

You can check how Bee-Ethical Ltd uses your data by visiting their privacy notice: https://thedogs.joinourlottery.org.uk/privacy-policy

Data processors

Shelter Manager
This data processor does the following activities for us: it provides storage for details of our adopters and foster carers (actual and potential).

Apple iCloud
This data processor does the following activities for us: it is a cloud storage system.

Zeffy
This data processor does the following activities for us: it provides storage for details of donors and their donation(s).

WhatsApp
This data processor does the following activities for us: it is used for messaging between us and our volunteers, donors, adopters and foster carers (actual and potential).

Facebook Messenger
This data processor does the following activities for us: it is used for messaging between us and our volunteers, donors, adopters and foster carers (actual and potential).

Microsoft
This data processor does the following activities for us: it is used for emailing our volunteers, donors, adopters and foster carers (actual and potential).

Others we share personal information with

  • Professional advisers (e.g. our accountant)
  • Relevant regulatory authorities (e.g. the Charity Commission)
  • Organisations we're legally obliged to share personal information with
  • Suppliers and service providers

Sharing information outside the UK

Where necessary, we will transfer personal information outside of the UK. When doing so, we comply with the UK GDPR, making sure appropriate safeguards are in place.

For further information or to obtain a copy of the appropriate safeguard for any of the transfers below, please contact us using the contact information provided above.

Organisation name: Zeffy
Category of recipient: storage provider
Country the personal information is sent to: Quebec, Canada
How the transfer complies with UK data protection law: The country or sector has been assessed as providing adequate protection to data subjects (also known as Adequacy Regulations or UK data bridge).

Organisation name: Apple iCloud
Category of recipient: storage provider
Country the personal information is sent to: EEA, USA
How the transfer complies with UK data protection law: The country or sector (EEA) has been assessed as providing adequate protection to data subjects (also known as Adequacy Regulations or UK data bridge). USA: Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs).

Organisation name: WhatsApp
Category of recipient: communications/messaging
Country the personal information is sent to: EEA, Israel
How the transfer complies with UK data protection law: The country or sector has been assessed as providing adequate protection to data subjects (also known as Adequacy Regulations or UK data bridge).

Organisation name: Facebook Messenger
Category of recipient: communications/messaging
Country the personal information is sent to: EEA, USA
How the transfer complies with UK data protection law: The country or sector (EEA) has been assessed as providing adequate protection to data subjects (also known as Adequacy Regulations or UK data bridge). USA: Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs).

How to complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a data protection complaint to us:

Email: [email protected]

If you remain unhappy with how we've used your data after raising a complaint with us, you can also complain to the ICO.

The ICO's address:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

This privacy notice was last updated on 9 August 2026 and is reviewed at least annually.