Wessex Museums Privacy Policy 

Introduction 

The privacy and security of your personal information is extremely important to Wessex Museums. This privacy notice explains how and why we use your personal data, to make sure you stay informed and can be confident about giving us your information.  

We keep this notice updated and published on our website to show you all the things we do with your personal data. 
 
Who we are 

Wessex Museums will be the Data Controller for the personal information you provide. In this notice, whenever you see the words ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’, or ‘the Trust’ it refers to Wessex Museums. 

Wessex Museums Trust is a Registered Charity (No. 1171104). We are a consortium of the principal museums across Dorset and Wiltshire that tell the stories of Wessex – Dorset Museum, Lydiard House Museum, Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway, The Salisbury Museum Poole Museum, and Wiltshire Museum. Our aim is to support the museums and their collections for the benefit of the public, and to inspire more people to explore and enjoy the outstanding art and heritage of the region. 

Why we collect your personal information 

Your personal data is any information which identifies you, or which can be identified as relating to you personally.  This includes personal details (name, date of birth, email, address, telephone number); financial information relating to donations or memberships (credit or debit card, direct debit details, gift-aid), and your opinions and attitudes about our partner museums, their activities and events, and your experiences.

We’ll only collect the personal data that we need. This will be in connection with specific activities such as subscriptions to newsletters; organising events; consent forms for the use of images; processing donations, and conducting research.  

Under strictly controlled circumstances we may give some of your personal data (e.g. contact information) to a research agency (e.g. Arts Council England) who will carry out research and analysis on our behalf.   

We won’t share or sell your personal information to anyone else. 

The legal basis for using your information 

According to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, we must have reasons to collect and use your information.

The legal reasons why we need to collect and use your personal information are: 

We’d like to use your details to keep in touch about things that may matter to you.  

This might be about visiting our museums, volunteering with us, events and activities, or fundraising.   
 
We’ll only send these to you if you agree to receive them and we will never share your information with companies outside the Trust for inclusion in their marketing. 

We’ll always act upon your choice of how you want to receive communications (for example, by email, post or phone). However, there are some communications that we need to send. These are essential to fulfil our promises to you, for example transaction messaging and ticket booking confirmations if you’re a donor or supporter. 

Fundraising, donations and legacy pledges  

Where we have your permission, we may invite you to support the vital heritage, learning, conservation and collections development work of our partner museums. This might be by making a donation, getting involved in fundraising activities or leaving a gift in your will.  
 
We may invite some supporters to attend special events to find out more about the ways in which donations, gifts and legacies can make a difference to specific projects and to our cause. We’ll also send you updates on the impact that you make by supporting us in this way. 

If you make a donation, we’ll use any personal information you give us to record the nature and amount of your gift, claim gift aid where you’ve told us you’re eligible and thank you for your gift. 

If you’ve told us that you’re planning to, or thinking about, leaving us a gift in your will, we’ll use the information you give us to keep a record of this – including the purpose of your gift.  
 
If we have a conversation or interaction with you (or with someone who contacts us in relation to your will, for example, your solicitor), we’ll note these interactions throughout your relationship with us, as this helps to ensure your gift is directed as you wanted. 
 
Charity Commission rules require us to be assured of the provenance of funds and any conditions attached to them. We follow a due diligence process which involves researching the financial soundness, credibility, reputation and ethical principles of donors who’ve made, or are likely to make, a significant donation to the Trust. 
 
Research  

We carry out research with our supporters, staff and volunteers to get feedback on their experience with us. We use this feedback to improve the experiences that we offer and ensure we know what is relevant and interesting to you.   

If you choose to take part in research, we’ll tell you what data we will collect, why and how we’ll use it. All the research we conduct is optional and you can choose not to take part. For some of our research we may ask you to provide sensitive personal data (e.g. ethnicity). You don’t have to provide this data and we also provide a ‘prefer not to say’ option. We only use it at an aggregate level for reporting (e.g. equal opportunities monitoring).   

Accessing the information we hold about you 

You have the right to request, in writing, details of the information that is held about you and also the right to access a copy of the information. 

How long we will keep your information 

We will only use and store your information for as long as it is required for the purposes it was collected for. How long it will be stored for depends on the information and what it is being used for, but for no longer than six years after our last contact with you. 

Updating your data and marketing preferences 

If, at any time, you want to update or amend your personal data or marketing preferences, please contact our data protection responsible officer, Kristina Broughton:  

Wessex Museums Partnership Manager, c/o Poole Museum, 4 High St, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1BW 

Email: kristina.broughton@bcpcouncil.gov.uk 

Telephone: 07792407101 

Verification, updating or amendment of personal data will take place within 30 days of receipt of your request. 

You also have the right to contact the Information Commissions Office (ICO) if you have any questions about Data Protection. You can contact them using their help line 0303 123 113 or at www.ico.org.uk. 

June 2023