Privacy Policy
Creative Counsellors Community CIC
Effective date: 11th April 2025
Contact: membership@creativecounsellors.org
Designated Data Protection Officer: Tanja Sharpe
- Introduction
This privacy policy explains how Creative Counsellors Community CIC (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data when you interact with our websites:
We are committed to complying with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable data protection laws.
- What Personal Data We Collect
We may collect and process the following categories of personal information:
- Identity & Contact Data: Name, email address, postal address, phone number (if provided)
- Demographic Data: Age, location, preferences, interests
- Technical Data: IP address, browser type, login data, location, usage data (via cookies/analytics)
- Transaction Data: Payment history (via Stripe/PayPal, we do not store card numbers)
- Profile Data: Login credentials (hashed), course history, support messages
- Marketing & Communications Data: Your preferences in receiving communications from us
- How We Collect Your Data
We collect your personal data when you:
- Register for an account or course via Thinkific
- Subscribe to our newsletter via ConvertKit
- Contact us via email, contact forms, or social media
- Purchase a membership, product, or event ticket
- Interact with our websites (via cookies and analytics tools)
- Legal Bases for Processing
Under UK GDPR, we must have a legal basis to process your personal data. Our lawful grounds include:
- Consent – for newsletters and certain marketing emails
- Contract – to provide you with courses, services, or products
- Legal obligation – e.g. financial record keeping
- Legitimate interests – e.g. improving services, ensuring security
- How We Use Your Data
We may use your information to:
- Process course registrations and event bookings
- Provide access to content and member areas
- Send newsletters, updates, and marketing you’ve opted into
- Respond to your enquiries and provide support
- Analyse usage to improve our website and services
- Fulfil our legal and financial obligations
We will never sell your personal data to third parties.
- Third-Party Services
We use third-party services to help us operate securely:
- Thinkific: Course hosting and user account management
- ConvertKit: Email subscription and marketing
- Stripe & PayPal: Secure payment processing
- Google Analytics: Website usage tracking (anonymised)
All third-party providers have their own privacy policies and are required to comply with UK GDPR or equivalent data protection regulations.
- Data Retention
We retain your data only as long as necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy. You may request deletion of your data at any time (see Section 10).
- Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance website functionality, analyse traffic, and offer a better user experience. You can manage your cookie preferences via your browser or our cookie banner.
For more information, see our separate Cookie Policy (available on request or via our website).
- Data Security
We have implemented appropriate physical, technical, and organisational security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, use, or disclosure. These include encrypted connections, password protection, and secure payment gateways.
- Your Data Rights (Under UK GDPR)
You have the following rights:
- Access – Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- Rectification – Request correction of any inaccurate or incomplete data
- Erasure – Ask us to delete your data (“right to be forgotten”)
- Restriction – Request limitation of processing your data
- Portability – Request transfer of your data to another service provider
- Objection – Object to processing of your data for certain purposes
To exercise your rights, email: membership@creativecounsellors.org
- Marketing Communications
If you opt into our mailing list, we may send you newsletters, updates, marketing communications, and relevant promotional content relating to Creative Counsellors, including information about trainings, events, resources, publications, memberships, and occasional relevant updates regarding affiliated projects, collaborations, and connected initiatives within our wider professional and community network.
You may opt into or out of marketing emails at any time by:
- Clicking “unsubscribe” in any email we send
- Emailing us at: membership@creativecounsellors.org
We will not send you marketing communications unless you have actively opted in to receive them via our sign up form on our website at www.creativecounsellors.org.
You may opt into or out of marketing emails at any time by:
- Clicking “unsubscribe” in any email we send
- Emailing us at: membership@creativecounsellors.org
- Comments & Blog Interactions
When you leave a comment on our blog:
- Your name and email address (if provided) are stored with your comment
- You must consent to this before posting
- Your data will not be used for any other purpose or shared
We reserve the right to moderate, edit, or remove comments that violate our community guidelines.
- External Links
Our website may contain links to third-party websites. Once you leave our site, we are no longer responsible for how those websites handle your data. Please check their privacy policies before submitting any information.
- Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version will always be available on our website. Continued use of our services after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
- Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this policy, or wish to make a complaint, please contact us:
📩 membership@creativecounsellors.org
✉️ Creative Counsellors Community CIC
If you’re not satisfied with our response, you have the right to contact the UK regulator:
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – www.ico.org.uk
Copyright © 2025 – Creative Counsellors Community CIC. All rights reserved.
Last updated: 11th April 2025