Privacy Policy
How we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you use this website or apply to our programs.
Who we are
The Verna J. Kirkness Education Foundation (“VJKF”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is a registered Canadian charity, registration number 82284 3629 RR 0001, with offices at #332–1641 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, BC V7M 2J5.
This policy describes how we handle personal information collected through this website, www.vernajkirkness.org, and through our program and scholarship applications.
Information we collect
Information you give us
When you contact us, apply to a program, apply for a scholarship, or make a donation, we may collect:
- Your name and contact details, including email address, phone number, and mailing address
- Information relevant to a program or scholarship application, including your school, grade, community, essays, and letters of recommendation
- Where you are under 18, the name and contact details of a parent or guardian, and their signed consent
- Travel, dietary, accessibility, and medical information necessary to host you safely during a program week
Information collected automatically
When you visit this website we may automatically collect usage data, including your IP address, browser type and version, the pages you visit, the date and time of your visit, and time spent on those pages.
How we use your information
- To assess and administer program and scholarship applications
- To arrange travel, accommodation, meals, and mentorship for accepted students
- To keep students, parents, guardians, schools, and mentors informed
- To process donations and issue tax receipts
- To send updates about our work where you have asked to receive them
- To understand how our website is used and improve it
- To meet our legal, regulatory, and charitable reporting obligations
Sensitive information about minors
Our programs serve high school students, many of whom are under the age of majority. We collect information about minors only with the consent of a parent or guardian, use it solely to deliver and safeguard the program, and share it only with the university partners and staff who need it to host the student safely.
If you are a parent or guardian and wish to review, correct, or withdraw information about your child, contact us at info@vjkf.org.
Cookies and analytics
We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the site and to understand how it is used. You can instruct your browser to refuse cookies, though some parts of the site may not work as intended.
We use Google Analytics to measure website traffic. You can opt out using the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. Google’s privacy practices are described at policies.google.com/privacy.
Service providers
We share personal information with third parties only where necessary to operate our programs and organization. These include:
- Salesforce — our constituent database, used to manage applications, scholars, mentors, and supporters
- Our donation platform — used to process gifts and issue tax receipts
- University partners — who receive the student information required to host a program week
- Travel providers — airlines and accommodation providers, where travel is arranged on a student’s behalf
We do not sell your personal information.
How long we keep it
We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described here, including to meet legal obligations such as charitable receipting and reporting requirements, to resolve disputes, and to enforce our agreements. Alumni records are retained so that we can track long-term program outcomes and remain in contact with Kirkness Scholars.
Where your information is held
Your information may be processed and stored on servers located outside your province or country, where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. We take reasonable steps to ensure your data is treated securely and in accordance with this policy.
Your rights
You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of the personal information we hold about you. You may also withdraw consent to receive communications at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email, or by contacting us directly.
We may need to retain certain information where we have a legal obligation or other lawful basis to do so.
Security
We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information. However, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Links to other websites
This site contains links to websites we do not operate, including our donation platform and our university partners. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of those sites, and encourage you to review their policies.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Changes take effect when posted on this page, and we will update the “last updated” date above.
Contact us
Questions about this policy or about the information we hold:
- Email: info@vjkf.org
- Phone: (587) 814-0444
- Mail: The Verna J. Kirkness Education Foundation, #332–1641 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, BC V7M 2J5