Privacy policy

This policy explains how Swimmers collects, uses, shares and protects personal information, and the rights you have. We know that the information people share with us, especially about their health and fertility, is deeply personal. We only collect what we need, we never sell it, and we handle it with care.

Who we are

Swimmers is the working name of Swimmers Male Fertility, a charitable company registered in England and Wales (company no. 16105221, registered charity no. 1212881). We are the “controller” of the personal information described in this policy, which means we decide how and why it is used.

If you have any questions about this policy or your information, contact us at info@swimmers.charity, or write to us at Swimmers, 16 Sugden Road, London, SW11 5EF.

The information we collect and why

If you apply for a grant

We collect:

• your name, contact details and date of birth;
• proof that you live in the UK and have the right to live here;
• information about your partner, if you apply as a couple;
• information about your health, fertility diagnosis and treatment, including medical documents and the details of your clinic;
• your personal statement, and information about any previous treatment or funding; and
• our notes and decisions about your application.

We use this to check your eligibility, make a decision, arrange funding with the clinic or partner delivering your care, keep proper records of the grants we make, prevent fraud, and understand the difference our grants make.

Our lawful basis: we use your contact and application details because it is in our legitimate interests to assess and administer grants in line with our charitable purposes, and we keep records of grants paid to meet our legal obligations. Information about your health is “special category” information, and we only use it with your explicit consent, which we ask for when you apply. You can withdraw your consent at any time, but we will not then be able to continue with your application.

If you apply as a couple, please make sure your partner has seen this policy. We need both partners’ agreement before we use information about them.

If you donate

Donations through our website are processed by Donorbox and its payment providers. We receive your name, email address, the amount and date of your donation and, if you choose Gift Aid, your home address and Gift Aid declaration. We never see or store your full card details.

We use this to process and thank you for your donation, keep financial records, and claim Gift Aid. Our lawful basis: our legitimate interests in managing donations, and our legal obligations to keep financial and Gift Aid records. We only send you news and appeals by email if you have agreed to this, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

If you contact us

When you email us, message us on social media or speak to us, we keep your name, contact details and what you tell us, so that we can respond. If you tell us about your health or personal circumstances, we use that information only to help you, and treat it as confidential. Our lawful basis: our legitimate interests in responding to you and, for health information you choose to share with us, your explicit consent.

If you apply for research funding or review a proposal

We collect researchers’ and reviewers’ names, roles, institutions, contact details, CVs and the content of proposals and reviews. We use this to assess proposals, manage grants and report on the research we fund. Our lawful basis: our legitimate interests in funding research in line with our charitable purposes.

If you share your story with us

We only publish someone’s story, photograph or details with their written consent, and both partners’ consent for a couple. We only publish information or images of a child with the consent of everyone with parental responsibility. Sharing your story is always voluntary and never affects a grant. You can withdraw your consent at any time, and we will remove the material from our own website and social media. Our lawful basis: your consent, and your explicit consent for any health information.

If we are worried about someone’s safety

If we believe that a child or adult may be at risk of harm, we may record information and share it with the police, a local authority or other services, without consent where the law allows, in line with our Safeguarding Policy. Data protection law allows us to do this to protect people from harm.

If you are a trustee, adviser or volunteer

We hold the information we need to recruit and support you and to meet our legal duties, such as declarations of eligibility and interests, references, criminal record checks where the role requires them, and the details we must give to the Charity Commission and Companies House. We give trustees, advisers and volunteers more information about this when they join.

If you visit our website

Our website does not use cookies, analytics or advertising trackers. Our hosting provider, Netlify, keeps short-term server logs (such as IP addresses, browser type and pages requested) to run the website securely. Our donation page includes a form from Donorbox, which may set its own cookies; see Donorbox’s privacy policy. If you follow links to Instagram or LinkedIn, their own privacy policies apply.

Who we share information with

We never sell or rent your personal information. We only share it where we need to, and only what is needed:

• Clinics, diagnostic providers and delivery partners (such as Gaia Fertility) involved in providing the testing or treatment we fund, with your agreement.
• Our clinical advisers, where we need clinical advice on an application. They keep your information confidential.
• Independent expert reviewers, who assess research proposals.
• Service providers who help us run the charity, such as our email and file storage providers, Donorbox and its payment providers, our website host, and our accountants and independent examiner. They may only use your information on our instructions.
• HM Revenue and Customs, to claim Gift Aid on your donations.
• Regulators and authorities, such as the Charity Commission, the police or a local authority, where the law requires it or to protect someone from harm.

When we report to funders or the public about the difference our grants make, we only use anonymised information, unless you have agreed otherwise.

Information stored outside the UK

Some of our service providers store information outside the UK, for example in the United States. When they do, we make sure your information is protected by UK adequacy regulations or other safeguards approved under UK data protection law.

How long we keep information

• Unsuccessful grant applications: 12 months after our decision.
• Successful grant applications and grant records: six years after the last payment, to meet our legal and accounting obligations.
• Donations and Gift Aid records: six years after your last donation.
• Research proposals: two years for unfunded proposals, and six years after the end of the grant for funded projects.
• General enquiries: two years after we last heard from you.
• Stories and photographs: until you withdraw your consent, or we no longer use them.
• Safeguarding records: as set out in our Safeguarding Policy, which may be longer.

After these periods we securely delete the information, or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify anyone.

Keeping information secure

Only trustees and advisers who need your information can access it. We use secure, password-protected services with two-factor authentication, and keep sensitive information separate from general records. If a data breach puts your rights at risk, we will report it to the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours and tell you if you are affected.

Your rights

You have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
• ask us to delete your information;
• ask us to limit how we use your information, or object to us using it;
• ask us to transfer information you have given us to you or another organisation; and
• withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on it.

Some of these rights have exceptions, for example where we must keep records by law. We will explain if one applies. Decisions about grants are always made by people, never by automated means.

To use any of your rights, email info@swimmers.charity. It is free, and we will respond within one month.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first, at info@swimmers.charity. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and respond as quickly as we can. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.

Children

Our services are for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18, except where a parent shares a child’s story or photograph with us with the consent described above.

Changes to this policy

We review this policy regularly. When we change it, we will update the date at the top of this page and, if the changes are significant, tell the people affected.