ELEF Privacy Policy

Draft for review by RCSA’s legal adviser. Items in [brackets] need to be confirmed before publishing.

Last updated [date]

ELEF is a giving campaign of the Rabbinical College of South Africa (“RCSA”, “we”, “us”). This policy explains what personal information we collect when you visit the ELEF website or join ELEF, why we collect it, and the choices you have.

RCSA is the responsible party for your personal information under South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). This policy also applies to donors in the United States and elsewhere.

1. Who we are

Rabbinical College of South Africa [Registered legal name and registration or NPO/PBO number] 19 Kenilworth Street, Sydenham, Johannesburg 2192, South Africa [Email address for privacy questions]

Information Officer [Name], [email], [phone]

2. What we collect

When you join ELEF

Your full name, email address, and city
Your WhatsApp number, if you choose to give it
How you want to appear on the ELEF wall (your name or “ELEF member”)
A dedication, if you add one
Your monthly contribution amount, currency, and payment history
The name of the person who referred you or the caller who spoke with you, if any

For South African tax certificates

Your South African ID number or income tax reference number, if you want a Section 18A certificate

When you send a name for tefillah

The name you send and the reason, if you add one

When you visit the website

Basic technical information such as your browser type and pages visited
A referral code stored in your browser for up to 30 days, so the person who shared ELEF with you can be credited

What we do not collect

We never see or store your full card number or bank account number. Payments are handled by our payment provider, Paystack, which stores those details securely under its own privacy policy and payment security standards.

3. Why we use it

We use your information to:

Process your monthly contribution and send receipts
Issue Section 18A tax certificates to South African donors [and annual giving statements to US donors]
Assign your ELEF number and show your point on the ELEF wall
Send you service emails about your contribution, such as a welcome email or a failed payment notice
Send you From the beis medrash and Inside ELEF emails, which you can turn off at any time
Bring names you send into the yeshiva for tefillah
Credit referrals and callers, and understand how people find ELEF
Keep accurate records and meet our legal and tax obligations

We rely on your consent, the agreement you enter into when you join, our legal obligations, and RCSA’s legitimate interest in running the campaign responsibly.

4. What appears publicly

The ELEF website shows a wall of 1,000 points. When someone taps your point, they may see:

Your name and city, if you chose to show your name and RCSA has approved it
“ELEF member” and your city, if you chose to stay anonymous
Your dedication, if you added one and RCSA has approved it

We never show your email, phone number, contribution amount, or payment details publicly. You can change how you appear at any time from your ELEF page.

We share your information only with service providers who help us run ELEF, and only as much as they need:

Paystack, our payment provider, to process contributions
NexsHub Communications, to send ELEF emails
Render, to run the website and store records
[US charity partner name], if you give from the United States through them [confirm]
The South African Revenue Service, where required for Section 18A reporting

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share it with other organisations for their own marketing.

6. Information stored outside South Africa

Some of our service providers store information on servers outside South Africa, including in [the United States and the European Union]. When this happens, we make sure the provider is bound by agreements or laws that give your information a level of protection similar to POPIA.

7. How long we keep it

Contribution and tax records are kept for [5] years after your last contribution, as required for tax purposes
Wall display and dedication details are removed when you cancel
Tefillah names are kept for [12] months
Waitlist details are deleted if you leave the waitlist or when the campaign ends

8. How we protect it

Your information is stored on secure systems with access limited to authorised RCSA staff. Staff actions in the ELEF admin system are logged. No system is perfectly secure, and if a breach affects you, we will tell you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.

9. Your choices and rights

You can:

See and update your details, contribution, wall display, and email preferences from your ELEF page
Unsubscribe from From the beis medrash and Inside ELEF emails at any time
Ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you
Ask us to correct or delete your information, unless we must keep it by law
Object to us using your information for a particular purpose

To make a request, email [privacy email]. We will respond within [30] days.

South African donors

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your information, you can complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa at inforegulator.org.za.

US donors

We do not sell or share your personal information for advertising. If you live in a US state that gives you additional privacy rights, such as the right to access or delete your information, you can use those rights by emailing [privacy email].

Donors in the UK and European Union

You also have rights under the UK GDPR and EU GDPR, including the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

10. Children

ELEF is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18 without a parent or guardian’s consent.

11. Changes to this policy

If we make important changes, we will update the date at the top and let active members know by email.

12. Contact us

Questions about this policy or your information can be sent to:

[Information Officer name] Rabbinical College of South Africa [privacy email] [phone]