Privacy Policy

Introduction 

At Swiss Solidarity (hereinafter “Swiss Solidarity” or “we”), safeguarding privacy is a priority. We collect and process personal data, in particular that of donors, volunteers, media partners, sponsors, newsletter subscribers, visitors to our website [https://www.swiss-solidarity.org/](hereinafter “website”) or job applicants (hereinafter “you” or “your”), in different ways and for different purposes. 

The purpose of this data protection policy (hereinafter the “Policy”) is to provide you with information on the collection, use, transmission, storage and destruction of your personal data in accordance with Swiss legislation. 

1. Transparency and information 

If you have questions regarding data protection, feel free to reach out to us. We will respond as quickly as possible. Contact us: 

2. Personal data 

“Personal data” (hereinafter “data”) refers to any information about an identified or identifiable individual. A person is deemed identifiable if he or she can be identified, directly or indirectly, such as by associating the data with an identifier such as a name, identification number, link, username or other piece of data.  

The term “processing” refers to any automated or manual operation involving personal data. 

We process various categories of data consisting primarily of the following: 

• First and last names 

• Postal and e-mail addresses

• Phone number 

• Technical information such as your IP address, your geographic location, the device used, browsing data, number of clicks and the duration of your sessions on our website 

• Information about your behaviour on our website such as the services you are looking for, information about your interaction with us, your requests or the pages you visit 

• Information relating to documents and communications that we send to you electronically such as your interaction with the e-mails we send you for marketing purposes 

In general, we collect your data directly from you, such as when you donate, subscribe to our newsletter, take part in campaigns or apply for a job. Some of this data is provided to us automatically by your computer or via cookies(seearticle 6) or by your requests to link to other websites, such as your Facebook account. We can also extract data from publicly available sources.

We do not receive personal data relating to financial transactions, such as your credit card details. Bank details are processed only by certified partners via their secure servers. The use of this data is governed by the data protection rules and policies of the websites and platforms responsible for processing these transactions. 

While we strive to ensure that your personal data is accurate, complete and up-to-date, you are responsible for updating and correcting your personal data as needed. 

3. What we use your data for 

We collect, process and store your personal data for the following purposes in particular: 

• Operating and improving our website 

• Making it possible for you to use the services available on our website 

• Sending you communications and the newsletter 

• Adapting, evaluating and improving the services and content available on our website 

• Safeguarding information systems and preventing their illicit use 

• Ensuring the traceability of donations
• Conducting audits 

• Justifying how donations are used and issuing relevant receipts for income tax purposes 

• For job application purposes: When you apply for a job, we process the information in your application in order to examine and evaluate it, complete the recruitment procedure and, in the event of a successful application, prepare and conclude a relevant contract. In addition to your contact details and the data gleaned from communications related to your application, we also process the data contained in your application package and any additional data we may obtain about you, such as information available through your professional social network accounts, the Web, the media and references, assuming that you give us permission to request references from you. 

4.  Donation campaign audience and reach 

The donation services available on our website are aimed primarily at donors living in Switzerland. All our fundraising campaigns are intended for a Swiss target audience; we do not run campaigns aimed at donors outside Switzerland.  

5. Communications and newsletter 

We communicate with you via a range of methods: 

• A message to thank you for donating: After every donation is received, we systematically send donors a thank-you message by e-mail or post. These communications do not contain any advertising content or additional solicitations. 

• Newsletter: We will send you our newsletter only if you have explicitly given us permission to do so, whether by completing the subscription form on our website or by giving your explicit consent when donating. Your subscription to our newsletter will be validated only once you have responded to a confirmation e-mail.

You are free to change your mind at any time and unsubscribe from our newsletter either by clicking the “Unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the newsletter or by letting us know directly by e-mail. 

• New donation appeals: By subscribing to our newsletter, you also consent to our soliciting you for additional donations by e-mail. If you no longer wish to receive such communications, you can unsubscribe at any time either by clicking the link at the bottom of the newsletter or by letting us know directly by e-mail. 

6. Cookies and similar technologies 

6.1 Cookies 

We may use certain technologies to improve the user experience and analyse traffic on our website. The main objective of doing so is to be able to distinguish between visits by unique users, keep the website functioning properly and evaluate statistical data. We make no attempt to establish your identity. The actions performed make it possible to identify you as a unique visitor each time you visit a given web page, e.g. the server will assign a specific identification number, a “cookie”, to you or to your browser, but are not intended to identify you personally. 

Cookies are small files placed on your device when you visit our website. The length of time for which cookies are stored depends on the type of cookie involved: 

• Session cookies: These cookies are stored for only as long as you are visiting our website; they are deleted once you close your browser. 

• Persistent cookies: These remain stored on your computer for a set period after the browser is closed and are used to recognise visitors on subsequent visits. 

We use cookies for various purposes:

• Security and Authentication cookies:These are essential to providing secure access to certain parts of our website and to verifying the identity of users who are logged in. 

• Technical/System cookies: These cookies are essential to enabling you to browse our website and use its functions.

• Functional cookies: They provide enhanced functionality and can help display personalised content. 

• Performance cookies (also known as Analytics Cookies): These cookies collect information on how you use our website and make it possible to analyse the site for such purposes as establishing the most frequently visited pages and error messages encountered. 

We mainly use Google Analytics, a web analytics service offered by Google LLC (Mountain View, CA, USA) and Google Ireland Ltd (Dublin, Ireland), which uses cookies and similar technologies to collect anonymous data in order to evaluate and optimise our website. You can consult the Google Analytics data privacy and security policy at the following link. You can deactivate Google Analytics and block the collection of your data by clicking Deactivate Google Analytics. This will set an opt-out cookie, which will keep your data from being collected when you visit our website.

• Marketing/Advertising cookies: These cookies are placed on our website by our Web partners. They track your use of our website in order to present you, when you visit other websites, with relevant advertisements or interest-based content.

• Social Media cookies: Our website uses cookies from social networking platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. These cookies are used to enable interactions with these platforms, better integrate their services on our website and optimise the user experience.

• Consent Management cookies: These cookies enable us to remember the choices you have made regarding consent to the use of cookies and other similar tools.

You can always configure your browser to block certain cookies or similar technologies, or to delete existing cookies and other data stored by your browser. You can also install browser plug-ins that block third-party trackers. However, note that some plug-ins may affect the functionality of our website. Refer to your browser’s help pages for more information.  

You can find a full list of the cookies used on our website, what they do and how long they are stored for by clicking this link.

6.2 Social network plug-ins

We also use social network plug-ins, which are small software modules that establish a link between your visit to our website and a third-party provider. The social network plug-in tells the provider that you have visited our website and may send it cookies that it has previously set in your browser. For information on how these third-party providers use the personal data they collect about you via their social network plug-ins, please refer to their respective data protection statements.

6.3 Retargeting technologies

Our website uses retargeting technologies to personalise ads on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).

7. Partners and Web hosts 

We use the services of various partners who may access personal data to provide their services; these partners are subject to strict contractual guarantees regarding data security and confidentiality. 

7.1 Hosting of our website 

Our website is hosted by Infomaniak Network SA, whose servers are located in Switzerland. This partner guarantees that its practices comply with all applicable data protection laws. 

7.2 Hosting of the partner platform 

We have a platform especially for use by our partners (hereinafter the “Partner Platform”), which gives them access to a certain amount of information, namely about current humanitarian projects and the allocation of funds. 

By logging on to the Partner Platform, you can submit humanitarian projects via a dedicated contact form and interact with our team. During the process, Swiss Solidarity may ask you to provide additional information about your project. 

All data provided via the Partner Platform, whether using the contact form (specifically your full name, organisation name, partners, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.) or at the request of Swiss Solidarity, will be collected and processed in accordance with this Policy. The data will be used solely for discussions on the allocation of funds and the management of proposed projects.

The partner platform is hosted by A2I INFORMATIQUE – NOVENCI, whose servers are located in France. To guarantee optimum security and confidentiality, we have concluded a data protection agreement with this service provider. 

7.3 Donation processing

When you donate via our website, you are automatically redirected to another platform; located in France, the platform is hosted by our partner iRaiser. To guarantee optimum security and confidentiality, we have concluded a data protection agreement with this service provider.

This platform makes it possible to collect donations using a variety of payment methods managed by various service providers including the following:

• Credit cards and QR invoices: Donations are processed by our partner iRaiser, which is based in France. 

• TWINT: Donations are managed by Switzerland-based RaiseNow, whose data is hosted and processed in Switzerland.

• PayPal: Donations are processed directly by PayPal. 

• Google Pay: Donations are processed directly by Google. 

• E-banking and PostFinance: Payments are processed by CamtOK, a platform hosted directly by Swiss Solidarity in Switzerland.

By choosing one of the aforementioned payment methods, you agree to your data being shared with the relevant service provider for the processing of your transaction (in particular your full name, postal and e-mail addresses, donation amount and payment method). Each service provider has its own privacy policy, which we recommend you consult for more information on how your personal data is processed:

• iRaiser - Privacy policy
• RaiseNow - Privacy policy
• PayPal - Privacy statement
• Google Pay - Privacy policy

Once the donation process has been completed, your data will be processed internally on our secure network before being loaded into our Salesforce system. Salesforce is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software platform hosted on Amazon servers located in Switzerland. 

We endeavour to work exclusively with service providers certified as compliant with all applicable security and privacy standards, in particular by concluding data protection agreements with them.  

7.4 Other IT partners 

We work with various Switzerland-based partners to ensure that our website is optimised and functions properly. These partners include:

• IT partners: These partners, located in Zurich, handle maintenance and technical support.

• Marketing partners: Also located in Zurich, these partners are responsible for analysing website performance and optimising the user experience.

• Web agencies: Located in Geneva, these partners are responsible for our website’s development and design, as well as the management of its content.

We have signed data protection agreements with all of our IT partners, thereby guaranteeing that data is protected in compliance with applicable data protection legislation. 

8. Transfer of data to third parties and abroad 

We apply strict principles to guarantee that data is properly safeguarded when it is transferred: 

• Limited transfer of data to third parties: We pass on personal data only to trusted third parties in specific cases, such as to certified service providers (in particular IT service providers) with which we have established a data protection agreement.

• Data storage in Switzerland and the European Economic Area (EEA): While personal data is stored mainly in Switzerland, it may be temporarily transferred to the EEA for technical reasons, namely, to provide our service providers with secure access to it.

• Privacy and security guarantee: Located primarily in Switzerland, our IT service providers are contractually bound to safeguard the confidentiality and guarantee the security of the data they process. 

9. Data retention and destruction 

Our website does not store any personal data (other than cookies, see article 6.1). The personal data collected is stored either on our internal Salesforce CRM server or directly by our service providers. 

We and our service providers undertake to retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for our purposes, for as long as we have a legitimate interest in retaining it and for as long as is required by law, namely for auditing, traceability and accountability purposes. 

Temporary data, such as incoming data traffic and unfulfilled pledges, are automatically deleted after a period ranging from 30 days to one year, depending on their nature. Our hosting partner iRaiser also stores your data for a limited period of one year.

Users may request to have their data deleted in accordance with their right to be forgotten (refer toarticle 12). 

10. Data security 

The security of your personal data is an absolute priority for us. In cooperation with our hosting providers, we make every effort to protect databases against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or falsification.  

To this end, we apply technical and organisational measures, in particular the following: 

• Secure servers: All data is stored on secure servers in Switzerland or the European Union. 

• Secure protocols: Data exchanges are encrypted and transmitted using secure communication protocols. 

• Additional measures: We perform regular, secure back-ups and apply anonymisation techniques for data studies and analyses.

• No direct access to banking data: We do not store any banking data, nor do we allow any such data to be provided by phone.

However, security risks cannot be eliminated completely, making residual risks unavoidable. 

11. Measures taken in the event of a data breach 

In the event of a data breach that could affect the rights and freedoms of the persons concerned, Swiss Solidarity will inform the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) and all affected users as promptly as possible.

12. Rights of the persons concerned 

In accordance with the applicable data protection legislation, Swiss Solidarity guarantees users the following rights regarding their data:

• Right of access: You can consult the stored data, request further information, in particular about how your data is processed, and request a copy of the stored data.

• Right to rectification: You can have inaccurate or incomplete information amended or supplemented, or have added to it a note on the disputed nature of the information.

• Right to erasure: If we are not required to continue processing or storing your data and if it is not necessary for the performance of the employment relationship, you may request at any time that your data be deleted (right to be forgotten).

• Right to limitation: You may request that the processing of your data be limited to certain uses.

• Right to object: You may object to the processing of your data for specific purposes.

• Right to data portability: You have the right to receive, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, the personal data you have provided to us, or to have it transferred to a third party insofar as the corresponding processing of your data is carried out with your consent or is necessary for the performance of the contract.

• Right of revocation: Insofar as we process data on the basis of your consent, you may revoke that consent at any time. Revocation applies only to future processing and we reserve the right, in the event of a revocation, to continue processing data on another legal basis.

Note that these rights are subject to legal conditions and restrictions and may not be exercisable in full in all cases.

Users may exercise their rights by submitting a request by e-mailor by post to Swiss Solidarity, Case postale 132, 1211 Genève 8 (seearticle 1 above). For the purpose of ensuring data security, each request must be accompanied by proof of identity.

Users are also free to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority, which in Switzerland is the FDPIC. 

13. Modification 

This Policy may be updated at any time, such as if we make changes to the manner in which we process your personal data or if new legislation is enacted. The version published on the website is the current version.

General Conditions of Use