In the 21st century, data and information are available everywhere, and collecting information has become essential in the tasks we perform throughout the day.

From this standpoint, online activities, such as fundraising, volunteer selection, and using social media to collect personal information, impose on non-profit organizations the need to manage this information obtained from various sources well. This aims to protect individuals' privacy and maintain their personal information and other data.

In fact, when you are aware of the privacy of your volunteers and those connected to your non-profit organization, you will have contributed to enhancing its reputation that you seek to establish in this field. Moreover, you will help increase trust among the organization's employees, as well as deepen the loyalty of volunteers, donors, and participants.

Therefore, if you wish to maintain the positive image of your organization, you must ensure accurate and utmost confidentiality in managing personal information and records by following some simple ideas and practical procedures.

Enhancing the Organization's Reputation

In fact, protecting the privacy and personal information of volunteers and individuals associated with the organization is one of the most important ways that can help you enhance your organization's reputation.

Generally, non-profit organizations that manage personal information in accordance with privacy laws, such as PIPA or FOIP, are always seen as responsible and trustworthy by clients, volunteers, donors, and potential partners.

Furthermore, having a good reputation means your organization will be able to attract other agencies. These agencies may want to work with the organization due to the positive evaluations about it, especially if it involves joint programs or partnerships requiring information sharing.

Thus, it is essential for the non-profit organization to review its strategy for managing personal information, allowing it to establish more formal rules in that regard.

Reviewing how you manage personal information will enable you to enjoy several other advantages, such as:

  • Helping you make better decisions regarding the information and data that need to be prioritized and collected, while discarding the information you do not need.
  • Assisting you in effectively utilizing the information that has been collected.
  • Developing a privacy protection strategy for important individuals relevant to the organization's work.

Trust in Employees

In fact, failure to maintain the personal information of individuals associated in some way with the organization can harm employees and their reputation, as well as negatively affect stakeholders' trust in them.

Simply put, if the work of the organization's employees lacks some precision in completing various tasks compared to other organizations in this field, employees may be viewed as less responsible and not fully reliable compared to workers in other non-profit organizations.

While this may initially seem like an extra task for them, you can work to enhance the trust of donors, volunteers, and clients in the team working with you by involving employees in the process of protecting personal information.

Here are some simple ways to encourage employees to be part of privacy protection when collecting information:

  • Maintaining transparency when using individuals' personal information. This will give people the opportunity to inquire about the fate of that data or make any requests so that they feel their information is safe and confidential.
  • It's essential for employees to clarify to individuals how their information is used or disposed of, which will demonstrate the employee's sense of responsibility and help develop a relationship of trust between them and the people associated with the non-profit organization.

Strengthening the Loyalty of Donors, Participants, and Volunteers

Often, internet users and website visitors are asked to provide their personal information, such as entering their email address or sharing their postal code when visiting an online store or logging into a social media site. In fact, personal information has become very valuable in our current era.

Generally, sharing personal information online confuses many people, as many express concerns about the volume of data accessed and what kind of information these entities really need in the context of the services they provide and how it will be used by them.

While concerns and feelings regarding data privacy vary from person to person, they converge on one fact: they place greater trust in organizations that work to protect their privacy, while holding them in high regard.

In fact, individuals who the organization relies on for their donations and participation are not only important, but you also see them as heroes who will share their experiences within the organization with others.

Therefore, it is extremely important to be transparent with these “heroes” about the steps the organization takes to protect their privacy.

Here are some simple solutions you can incorporate into your organization’s privacy protection strategy:

  • Add a “Privacy Practices and Policy” notice to all donation forms and receipts.
  • Be precise and clear regarding the personal information required in volunteer selection processes.
  • Set clear expectations during interviews for selecting volunteers and provide specific guidelines on how to use each volunteer's personal information, as well as how to store and dispose of it.

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Source: Volunteer Alberta

Author: Katherine Topolansky