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Privacy Policy

Our Commitment to you 

Make-A-Wish Foundation of Canada (“Make-A-Wish”, “we”, “our”) is a leading national charity whose mission is to create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

At Make-A-Wish, protecting your privacy is one of our top priorities. To support our commitment to privacy, we have implemented a comprehensive privacy program to manage Personal Information. (“Personal Information” refers to any information that can be used, either alone or in combination with other information, to identify an individual. Information such as gender, date of birth, name, home address, personal telephone number, social insurance number, health information, and financial transactions are considered Personal Information.).

We are dedicated to respecting your privacy rights and protecting the Personal Information that is collected, used, and disclosed when you use our programs and services, including our website.

Scope  

This Privacy Policy and Notice of Personal Information Practices (“Policy”) describes how we manage Personal Information, including the measures we employ to protect it and the limits to those measures.  This Policy also provides contact information for the individual in our organization who can provide additional information about our privacy program, investigate any concerns that may arise about our management of Personal Information and process requests for access to and the correction of Personal Information.

How Make-A-Wish Collects and Uses Your Personal Information 

At Make-A-Wish Canada, we protect your privacy and ensure your Personal Information is collected and used responsibly.

Make-A-Wish collects three types of Personal Information to fulfill its services. They are:

  • Wish Information
  • Supporter Information (Donors, Volunteers and Event Organizers)
  • Employee Information

This information may be collected through various methods, including but not limited to paper forms, phone calls, online submission forms, our direct mail program, third-party sources, etc.

Wish Information 

Type of information

“Wish Information” is Personal Information about wish children, their families and other participants in wishes granted by Make-A-Wish, which is provided to Make-A-Wish by wish children, their families, other wish participants, and members of the medical community, social workers, and others assisting the wish children and their families.  Personal Information that is collected includes but is not limited to the following:

  • Wish child’s full name
  • Date of birth
  • Medical condition and history
  • Wish preference (e.g., meeting a celebrity, going to Disneyland, or participating in a particular activity or experience)
  • Contact information for wish child and their family, including mailing address, email address, and phone numbers for primary contacts

Please note that the information we require varies depending on the nature of the wish.

Purpose of Processing

To fulfill our mission of granting life-changing wishes, we collect and use Wish Information, which includes details about the wish child and their desired wish. This information is essential for assessing the feasibility of granting the wish and for the actual wish-granting process. Our staff will review the intended use of this information with the custodial parent(s) or legal guardian(s) at the time of collection.

We require express written consent from the custodial parent(s) or legal guardian(s) for any other uses of Wish Information, such as publicizing the wish to further our charitable objectives. We retain historical data, including the wish child’s full legal name, a unique constituent ID number, their illness, and the amount spent on the wish. This information is solely for internal purposes, allowing us to track our wish-granting activities and develop new ways to advance our mission.

Supporter Information 

Type of information

“Supporter Information” is Personal Information about current, past, and potential future donors, volunteers, and event organizers to Make-A-Wish. Personal Information that is collected includes but is not limited to the following:

  • Contact information
  • Demographic information (i.e., gender, occupation, date of birth, etc.)
  • Payment information (i.e., credit card details, bank account information, etc.)

Purpose of Processing

Make-A-Wish uses Supporter Information to maintain and enhance our relationship with our supporters. This includes:

  • Soliciting Donations: We reach out to supporters to request donations, which are crucial for funding our activities and pursuing our mission.
  • Processing Donations: We ensure the efficient collection and processing of all donations, maintaining accuracy and security throughout the process. When you donate through the Make-A-Wish website, we request billing information like your billing address and credit card number. For payment processing, we utilize a secure payment gateway. Transactions are protected by tokenization, ensuring that Make-A-Wish does not store or retain your credit card information after the transaction is authorized and processed. Your billing information is not shared with any other organizations.
  • Acknowledgment and Tax Receipts: We acknowledge donations, provide tax receipts, and validate payment information. We also thank donors according to their recognition preferences, such as the type and frequency of acknowledgments.
  • Providing Updates: We keep our supporters informed about our activities and initiatives.
  • Building Relationships: We aim to build and nurture relationships with our supporters through regular exchange of information and updates on our work.

Employee Information   

Type of information

“Employee Information” encompasses Personal Information related to individuals employed by Make-A-Wish, as well as potential candidates and past employees.

Purpose of Processing

The purpose is to ensure efficient personnel management, compliance with legal obligations, and the facilitation of essential workplace operations.

Whom We Share Your Personal Information With 

  • Wish Information

We only share Personal Information with third parties when necessary to grant wishes and provide activities and opportunities to wish children and their families efficiently. Our agreements with these third-party service providers include privacy provisions that limit their use of Personal Information and require them to implement safeguards (i.e., data encryption, access control, etc.) equivalent to our own.

  • Supporter Information

Some organizations that provide services on our behalf may process or store Personal Information outside of Canada. These organizations handle Personal Information for the following purposes:

  • Supporting our online fundraising tools
  • Supporting our direct marketing activities, such as email marketing, direct mail, and telemarketing
  • Customer relationship management
  • Processing of funds

In both instances, Personal Information may also be stored by third parties via cloud services or other technology to support Make-A-Wish’s business operations. These third parties do not use or have access to your Personal Information beyond cloud storage, retrieval, and the services they provide to us. Make-A-Wish requires these third parties to employ security measures at least as stringent as those we use to protect your Personal Information.

Consent 

  • Wish Information

Make-A-Wish collects the Personal Information of wish recipients through custodial parent(s), legal guardian(s), medical professional(s), or the recipients themselves. Information collection is done using the Wish Referral Form and Medical Qualification Form. Through these steps, we ensure that adequate consent is obtained to process the wish request. This information is passed on to medical professional(s) to assess wish eligibility. We do not give the ability to publicly post or otherwise distribute personally identifiable contact information in any way.

Custodial parent(s) or legal guardian(s) may withdraw their consent for the use of Wish Information at any time. The implications of such a withdrawal going forward will be communicated by Make-A-Wish. The preceding should not be interpreted to say that we will be able to reverse a use that has been made of Wish Information.

  • Supporter Information

Make-A-Wish seeks consent from donors before collecting Donor Information (i.e., the donor’s name, telephone number, address (email and residential), and donation amount provided to Make-A-Wish) for the purposes noted above, which may include marketing activities. Supporters have the option to opt out of these marketing communications if they prefer.

  • Employee Information

Make-A-Wish collects Personal Information from employees only after obtaining explicit written consent through signed agreements or electronic consent forms. This information is used for employment-related purposes such as payroll, benefits administration, and legal compliance.

How We Protect Your Personal Information  

Make-A-Wish implements physical, technical, and procedural safeguards that align with the sensitivity of the relevant Personal Information. These measures are crafted to prevent the loss of your Personal Information and prevent unauthorized access, copying, use, modification, or disclosure. Safeguards include physical, organizational and technical measures, such as (but not limited to):

  • secure access to premises
  • restriction of employee access to files on a “need to know” basis
  • confidentiality undertakings by all employees
  • locking up Personal Information and not leaving it unattended or in plain view
  • firewalls, anti-virus, strong password protocols, and software solutions for technical security (including secure, 256-bit encrypted Secure Socket Layer sessions on our website)
  • regular reviews of privacy compliance initiatives.

We prioritize the security of your personal information. If there is any incident involving the loss, unauthorized access, collection, use, or disclosure of personal information under our custody or control, kindly notify our Privacy Officer promptly.

How Long Your Personal Information is Kept  

Make-A-Wish will only retain your Personal Information for the duration necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected (as noted above) or as mandated by legal obligations.

Afterward, we will securely destroy or delete the Personal Information. In cases where technical constraints prevent the complete deletion of specific data from our systems, we will implement suitable measures to avoid any further use of such data. (e.g., anonymization).

What are Your Choices and Rights? 

Make-A-Wish only collects Personal Information with the consent of the data subjects, trusting its accuracy. We specify the intended purpose for collecting Personal Information before or at the moment of gathering it, ensuring lawful and fair acquisition with the consent of the data subjects. Upon receiving data, Make-A-Wish operates under the assumption that it is accurate and up to date, relying on the endorsement of the data subjects.

Please note that unless you tell us otherwise, you agree to our use and disclosure of the Wish, Supporter, and Employee Information in accordance with this Policy. If you choose to limit our use, we might not be able to offer certain services or opportunities. If you are unsure about what you are agreeing to by giving us Personal Information, please contact our Privacy Officer.

As data subjects, you have the following rights:

  • Request access to your Personal Information (commonly known as a “subject access request”).
  • Request correction of your Personal Information.
  • Request the erasure of your Personal Information.
  • Right to ask us to delete or remove your Personal Information where you have exercised your right to object to processing.
  • Object to processing your Personal Information where we rely on our legitimate interests.
  • Request the restriction of processing of your Personal Information (e.g., direct marketing).
  • Request the transfer of your Personal Information to another party.

Make-A-Wish may discard, erase, or anonymize Personal Information in line with record retention practices. In such cases, we cannot process your request to access the information, and we will inform you of the reasons why, subject to any legal or regulatory restrictions.

If you wish to update your information or request any action, please contact Make-A-Wish using the contact information provided in this policy’s “Contact Us” section. Please note that any updates, changes, or deletion requests will be processed within 60 days of receipt of such requests.

Use of Website Analytics, Cookies, and External Links  

Make-A-Wish uses cookies (small pieces of data that store information on your browser) and technology features such as log-in registration and click-through tracking software to collect certain information from visitors to our website, including IP addresses.

Our website may contain links to websites operated by third parties. Similarly, third-party websites or emails may link to our site. We want to clarify that we do not assume responsibility for these third-party entities’ content or privacy practices. The collection of Personal Information by third parties is not subject to Make-A-Wish’s privacy policy. Before sharing any Personal Information with third parties, we recommend reviewing the privacy statements of the respective websites.

Our website uses Google Analytics, a service that transmits website traffic data to Google servers in the United States. Google Analytics does not identify individual users or associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. We use reports provided by Google Analytics to help us understand website traffic and webpage usage. By using this website, you consent to the processing of your data by Google in the manner described Google’s Privacy Policy for the purposes set out above.

We also Google Signals, a feature of Google Analytics, collects information from accounts of signed-in Google account users who have consented to this association for ads personalization. The information includes user location, search history, YouTube history, and data from sites that partner with Google – and is used to provide aggregated and anonymized insights into Users’ cross-device behaviors. This means that personal data is not processed through Google Signals. This data helps us understand our audience better and improve our content and services. You can opt out of this feature by using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on or managing your preferences in Google Ad Settings.

Updates to This Privacy Statement 

We reserve the right to update this policy periodically to align with changes in the law or our privacy practices. The date of the latest revision will be prominently displayed at the top. Please consult this policy to check for any updates before providing us with your personal information. By providing us with your personal information, you agree to abide by the most recent version of this policy.

Accountability  

Our Privacy Officer leads and supervises our compliance with our privacy program. Contact information for the Privacy Officer is provided in the section below. Make-A-Wish is dedicated to adhering to federal or provincial privacy legislation to the extent applicable to its operations in any given province.

How to Contact Us  

If you have any concerns about how we handle your Personal Information or have any questions about Make-A-Wish’s privacy policy, you may contact us at:

Privacy Officer, Make-A-Wish Canada, National Office
4211 Yonge Street, Suite 301A,
Toronto, Ontario, M2P 2A9
Email: [email protected] or telephone: 1(888)-822-9474 (WISH)