Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Devadiya Foundation ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of everyone who visits our website or interacts with our programs, donors, volunteers, partners, interns, and the senior citizens and communities we serve. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, and how we use and protect it.

2. Information We Collect

When you use our contact, volunteer, partnership, or internship forms, we may collect:

• Your name, email address, and phone number
• Your organization name (if applicable, for partnership/CSR inquiries)
• The message or details you choose to share with us

Donation-specific data: When you submit a donation form, we additionally collect your PAN number (Permanent Account Number), Transaction/UTR ID, payment mode, and donation amount. Your PAN is collected solely for the purpose of issuing an official 80G tax exemption certificate under the Income Tax Act, 1961, as required by Indian tax regulations. PAN data is stored securely and is never shared with third parties or used for any other purpose.

We do not collect or store any payment credentials. Donations made via UPI or bank transfer are processed directly through your banking app or bank — we never see or store your UPI PIN, card details, or bank account password.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To respond to your inquiries, volunteer applications, partnership requests, or internship applications
• To send you a donation receipt, if requested
• To keep you updated on our programs and events, only if you've subscribed to our newsletter
• To improve our website and services

4. How We Store & Share Your Information

Form submissions are securely recorded via Google Apps Script into a private Google Sheet accessible only to authorized Devadiya Foundation team members. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share information with trusted service providers (such as Google, for form processing) strictly to operate our website and programs.

4a. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected:

• Donation records (including PAN and UTR): Retained for 7 years to comply with Indian tax and accounting regulations (Income Tax Act, 1961 and Companies Act, 2013).
• Volunteer / contact / partnership form data: Retained for 2 years from the date of submission, unless an ongoing relationship exists.
• Newsletter subscribers: Retained until you unsubscribe.
• Google Analytics data: Governed by Google's data retention policies (default: 26 months).

After the applicable retention period, data is securely deleted or anonymised.

4b. India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA)

Devadiya Foundation is committed to complying with India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA). As a Data Fiduciary under the Act, we collect personal data only for lawful, specific purposes with your free, informed, and unambiguous consent. You have the right to: access your personal data; correct inaccuracies; erase your data (where not legally required to be retained); and nominate a person to exercise these rights on your behalf. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at joinus@devadiyafoundation.org. We aim to respond within 30 days. Our DPDPA compliance is an ongoing process and we will update this policy as the Act's rules are notified and enforced.

5. Cookies & Local Storage

Our website uses your browser's local storage to remember your language preference (English/Hindi), and session storage to avoid showing the same popup widgets repeatedly during one visit. We do not use third-party advertising or tracking cookies. If Google Analytics is enabled, it may use cookies to understand site usage in aggregate, no personally identifiable information is shared with advertisers.

6. Your Rights

You can request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information at any time by emailing us at joinus@devadiyafoundation.org. You may also opt out of any newsletter communications at any time.

7. Children's Privacy

Our programs include activities for youth and students (e.g. career guidance sessions). Where we collect information from minors (such as through a school partnership), we do so only with appropriate institutional consent, and limit collection to what is necessary for the program.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.

Questions?

Contact us at joinus@devadiyafoundation.org, call +91 97020 03374, or WhatsApp our Senior Citizen Helpline at +91 97020 03374.