Last updated: 12 October 2026

This notice sets out what personal information we collect and how we use it. It explains the legal bases, and the rights you have.

Please let us know if your contact details change by contacting rowland.hill.fund@royalmail.com.

If you have any questions about this notice or your personal information please contact the Fund Manager at rowland.hill.fund@royalmail.com or by post to:

Fund Manager, Rowland Hill Fund, Royal Mail, 185 Farringdon Road, London, EC1A 1AA

What personal information we collect and why

Enquiries

If you contact us through our website contact form, online chat, e-mail, phone, social media or any other method we will ask for your name, contact details and message information so we can reply to you, usually by the method in which you contacted us.

Donations and volunteering

If you support our work by making a donation, we will ask for your name and contact details, your marketing preferences, and your corporate contact details where relevant. If you donate through your payroll or pension, we will also collect relevant bank or pension information. If you claim Gift Aid, we will also keep that information.

If you volunteer with us or become a volunteer ambassador, we will ask for your name and contact details, so we can send you the newsletter and manage ambassador activities.

We may also ask you for your reasons for supporting the Fund.

Events and auctions

If you are invited to one of our events we will have your name and contact details along with those of the Royal Mail person who invited you. We will also ask if you have any dietary or accessibility requirements. The information is used to run and manage the event, run and manage auction bids and winners, and provide any requirements.

If we run online auctions (sometimes known as silent auctions) we will need your contact details and payment information to run the auction and send you prizes.

Marketing

If you sign up for our newsletter or to hear about our activities, we ask for your name and contact details. You can opt out of marketing at any time by unsubscribing from the e-mail message or by contacting us at rowland.hill.fund@royalmail.com.

Applying for a grant

If you apply for financial assistance, we will ask for the following information, and any other relevant supporting information, which we use to assess your application, make a decision, and manage your grant if successful.

• Name and contact details

• Date of birth

• Application date and referral source

• Employment dates with Royal Mail, Post Office Ltd, Parcelforce Worldwide, Royal Mail Property & Facilities Solutions

• The assistance you require and your personal circumstances that support your application

• Any other family members in your household and their name, date of birth, employment status and relationship to you

• A completed financial details form

• Proof of relevant employment to indicate eligibility (such as pension statement or payslip)

• Bank statements for all accounts, of all members of the household

• Bank details of the recipient, including any relevant formal quotes, sort code, account number and your reference

• Relevant supporting information if applicable, such as mortgage or rent statements, utility bills, loan statements, sickness absence records, any relevant medical evidence, salary and pension details, solicitor’s letters

Case studies

If we provide you with a grant, we may ask if you agree to share your story as a case study. Case studies will be featured on our website, our social media channels and our newsletter.

Information about children and sensitive information

Our purpose at RHF as a charity is specifically on behalf of past and present employees of Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd. We will legitimately require information about the children who are the subject and concern of the cases we are assessing and have assessed.

Where appropriate we will ask for consent from a parent or guardian to collect information about children under 13 years old.

We deal with any sensitive personal information, such as medical information, with the utmost confidential processes.

Information we get from others

Your information may be collected by the Charities Trust and Royal Mail who are working with us regarding Payroll Giving. They will have their own privacy notices about their collection, use and sharing of personal information.

If you have an application with the Postal Family Fund (PFF – formerly POOBI) you may give them permission to share it with us.

If you donate through third-party platforms (such as Enthuse, PayPal Giving Fund), they will pass on your information with your donation.

Who we disclose your information to

• Our Trustees who review applications and make decisions on grants

• Royal Mail Group helpline who may have referred your application to us

• Royal Mail Group payments team to administer grants

• HMRC for Gift Aid

• If you donate through third-party platforms (such as Enthuse, which is our primary donation platform), they will also collect your information

• Third parties who provide services for us, for example, our IT provider for mailing purposes, our auditors and our case management system

• If you agree when applying for a grant, we share your details with PFF so they can assess your case for financial assistance

• If we are required to do so under any legal obligation

We provide our third-party providers with the information that is necessary to provide the service and we will have an agreement in place that requires them to operate with the same care over data protection as we do.

How long we keep your information for

We will hold your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the relevant activity. By way of example, we normally hold records of donations you make for at least six years so we can fulfil our statutory obligations for tax purposes.

Where we rely on your consent to contact you for direct marketing purposes, we will treat your consent as lasting only for as long as it is reasonable to do so. We may periodically ask you to renew your consent.

If you ask us to stop contacting you with marketing or fundraising materials, we will keep a record of your contact details and limited information needed to ensure we comply with your request.

Data location

Our service providers store information in different countries but we have measures in place with them to maintain the protection and security of your personal information.

Your rights

Access: you can request the information we hold about you and receive a copy of it.

Correction: to update inaccurate information.

Deletion: in certain circumstances you can ask us to delete your information.

Objection: in certain circumstances you can object to us processing your information.

Objection to marketing: you can opt out of marketing at any time by unsubscribing in the e-mail or by contacting us.

Restriction: in certain circumstances you can ask us to restrict what we do with your information.

Portability: in certain circumstances you can ask us to send you back information you have provided us. If it’s technically feasible, you can ask us to send the information directly to another organisation.

Complain to the regulator: you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. They usually expect you to try to resolve any issues with us first. https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

To make a rights request contact rowland.hill.fund@royalmail.com

Legal information

Data controller: Rowland Hill Fund

Our legal bases for processing your information

• Performance of a contract: where we process information to provide you with information or services requested, including grants and bursaries

• Legal obligation: to process and manage donations, meet the Fundraising Regulator’s and Charity Commission’s requirements, keep accounts and records, not send you marketing if you ask us not to, respond to your rights requests

• Legitimate interests: where we have a reasonable interest in processing the information that is not intrusive or does not cause you any harm, for example, to produce anonymous statistics on our grant making

• Consent: to share your information with PFF for consideration if eligible

Making a complaint regarding the handling of your personal data

There may be times when you are concerned about an issue relating to data protection. We hope that any concerns can be resolved on an informal basis. If this is not possible, this document helps to explain the procedure in place for making a complaint.

Under section 164A of the Data Protection Act 2018, someone whose personal data is held by another party may make a complaint if they consider that there is an infringement of Part 3 of that Act or the UK GDPR. Under the UK GDPR, the Trustees are the data controller in relation to items of personal data processed for the purposes of the Rowland Hill Fund (RHF) and so we are required by statute to have a complaints process and to address any such complaint.

This guide sets out the RHF Trustees’ process in relation solely to UK GDPR/data processing complaints.

Who can make a complaint?

You can make a complaint if:

• The RHF Trustees or those acting on its behalf control or process personal data relating to you; and

• You consider that there is an infringement regarding how your personal data has been processed.

If you prefer, you can nominate a representative to make the complaint on your behalf. In that case, the Form must still be completed, and you will also need to sign it to confirm your representative has been authorised by you. The representative may be a legal adviser, a financial or other adviser or a family member or friend.

How do I make a complaint?

Data processing complaints can be made in writing to:

Rowland Hill Fund, 185 Farringdon Road, LONDON, EC1A 1AA

You can also email your complaint to: rowland.hill.fund@royalmail.com

If you need any help, you can contact the Helpline on 0345 600 4586 or by email at the above address.

The RHF Trustees must acknowledge receipt of the complaint within 30 days of receipt. If you have not received an acknowledgement by that time, please get in touch using the above details to check your complaint has been received.

What happens next?

Following receipt of the complaint, we will make enquires into the subject matter of the complaint and request any further information, as appropriate, including from you, without undue delay. Some complaints may take longer than others to investigate. Depending on the extent of the work required, we will either update you or inform you of the outcome of our investigation into the complaint.

What if you are not satisfied with the outcome?

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, we will be happy to discuss it further with you. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner.

The Information Commissioner’s contact details are:

• Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF

• 0303 123 1113

• ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

Nature of Complaint

Please provide as much detail as possible about the complaint, including the specific concerns or issues you have about the handling of your personal data. Please also state what remedy or step you would like to be granted or taken in response to the complaint (please continue on further sheets and/or attach documentation, if necessary).