This policy applies to those who have made a one-off personal donation of £250 or more to Autistica - you will be treated as a major donor. 

Here we explain our stewardship plan for supporters that significantly invest and engage in our research.

We use Dotmailer to manage our email marketing. Dotmailer are a UK-hosted email service who store their data within the EU. They do not share data with third parties.

See Dotmailer’s privacy policy.

We transfer all contacts to our own database, Raisers Edge which is UK hosted. This system is kept updated with your marketing preferences.

What personal information do we collect?

• Name, title/s and date of birth
• Contact details such as postal address, email address and telephone number 
• Whether you are a UK tax payer, so that we can claim Gift Aid on your donation  
• How you heard of us and what kind of connection you have with our charity
• Your motivations and reasons for donating to us; please note, we will never make this question mandatory, and fully understand if you are not comfortable telling us
• Notes relating to your involvement with the charity, including what was discussed at meetings and if you attend and/or host an event 
• Your feedback from your dealings with us

We may also conduct research and record information on donors and prospective donors using information that is available through other sources, e.g. publically-available information on company websites, news articles, LinkedIn, Twitter, or from third party information services such as Factary (see section below for more information). 

Some families decide to tell us about their personal connection to autism. We will record this information safely to ensure communications are appropriate and to let you know about research or events that are of particular relevance to you. 

Why do we collect personal information and how do we use it?

Successful and rewarding fundraising depends on developing good relationships with donors. Creating and maintaining an up-to-date profile on a donor helps us to build and maintain those good relationships. It also allows us to contact you in the most appropriate way and promote fundraising and event opportunities that we believe you will be most interested in.  

We do not collect sensitive personal information about our supporters unless there is a clear and valid reason for doing so. All information is processed in line with your rights, and stored on a secure database, Raiser’s Edge, which only Autistica employees and volunteers with a password can access.

Using third party information services

Understanding our supporters and their profiles allows us to apply our resources efficiently and effectively and ensure the most suitable level of marketing is carried out across our entire supporter base.

We work with Factary, a third party information service, to screen our database against a demographic database to help us identify people who may be able to support us with a larger gift, using information you have given us and publicly available records such as the electoral roll, land records, ‘rich lists’, Who’s Who publications and Companies House records.

We do this because it allows us to understand the background of the people who support us, ensures that you receive relevant communication, and helps us to make the most appropriate requests to supporters who may be able and willing to contribute more. Most importantly, it helps us to raise the vital funds we need to deliver life-changing research.

We will ensure your data is handled professionally and legally [DPA/GDPR] at all times by any third party data processor we engage for this activity.

Your rights

As an individual whose personal data is processed by Autistica you have the following rights:

• the right to be informed – which is what this privacy notice is for
• the right to access the data we hold about you the right to object to direct marketing – either use the ‘unsubscribe’ button on our emails or contact us directly
• the right to object to processing carried out on the basis of legitimate interests
• the right to erasure (in some circumstances)
• the right of data portability
• the right to have your data rectified if its inaccurate
• the right to have your data restricted or blocked from processing 

To exercise any of these rights, please use the Contact Us form to get in touch.

If you are not happy with the way we have handled your data, and are unable to resolve the issue with us personally, you can complain to the ICO.