Privacy Policy — The Living Ocean Foundation

Effective Date: June 19, 2026

Website URL: https://thelivingocean.org/

Applicability: Global Visitors, Donors, and Volunteers (GDPR & International Standards Compliant)

At The Living Ocean, we are deeply committed to protecting your privacy and safeguarding your personal information. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your information when you visit our website, apply for grants, donate, or register as a volunteer.

1. Who We Are

The Living Ocean operates the website https://thelivingocean.org/. We act as the Data Controller under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable data protection regulations. If you have any questions regarding this policy, you can reach out to us using the contact details provided at the bottom of this document.

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal data directly from you when you interact with our website, join our initiatives, or support our causes. This includes:

Identity & Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, and mailing address (provided when signing up for newsletters, contacting us, or registering as a volunteer).
Financial Information: Payment details, billing address, and transaction details processed when making donations. Please note: Payment details are securely handled by our third-party payment processors; we do not store your full credit card details on our servers.
Grant Applications & Project Data: Information submitted by non-profit organizations or local initiatives seeking grants, which may include details of project coordinators, organizational documentation, and financial profiles.
Technical & Usage Data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, and behavioral data showing how you interact with our platform, collected via essential or analytical cookies.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We process your data legally and transparently for the following purposes:

To Process Donations & Partnerships: Managing transactions, issuing fiscal tax receipts, and maintaining communication with our donor network.
To Manage Grants & Local Initiatives: Reviewing and monitoring grant applications, conducting due diligence, and publishing project progress or milestones.
To Communicate with You: Sending newsletters, campaign updates, or administrative notices that you have requested or consented to receive.
To Administer Volunteering Programs: Reviewing and managing volunteer registrations and matching skills with local hands-on initiatives.
To Improve Website Performance: Standard monitoring, analytical auditing, and technical troubleshooting to optimize your browsing experience.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (EEA & UK Visitors)

If you are located within the European Economic Area (EEA) or United Kingdom, we process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:

Consent: Where you have given explicit consent, such as subscribing to newsletters or accepting non-essential tracking cookies.
Performance of a Contract: When processing data to administer your volunteer registration, process a specific donation, or manage a formal grant agreement.
Legal Obligation: To comply with statutory accounting laws, financial auditing regulations, and anti-fraud protocols.
Legitimate Interests: To improve our advocacy efforts, protect our technical infrastructure, and effectively communicate project milestones to the public.

5. Data Retention Period

We store your information only for as long as strictly necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying any legal, accounting, tax, or regulatory compliance requirements. Financial documentation regarding donations is legally retained for a minimum of 7 years in compliance with standard tax laws.

6. Sharing Your Information

The Living Ocean does not sell, rent, or trade your personal data. We only share information with trusted third parties under strictly controlled circumstances:

Service Providers: Payment processors, hosting entities, IT systems administration providers, and email delivery platforms that assist us in operating our foundation securely.
Legal Requirements: Regulatory bodies, law enforcement, or auditing authorities if mandatory by law or necessary to protect the safety and rights of our staff and community.
International Data Transfers: Since marine conservation is a global effort, some external partners or cloud systems might operate outside the EEA. In such cases, we ensure Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or equivalent certified frameworks are implemented to guarantee your privacy rights remain fully protected.

7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website utilizes cookies to optimize functionality, track anonymous visitor behavior, and ensure secure transaction processing. You retain full control over your cookie choices. You can modify your choices at any time via your browser settings or through our integrated cookie consent panel upon visiting the domain.

8. Your Legal Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you possess specific legal protections concerning your personal data. These include the right to:

Access & Rectification: Request copies of your data or correct inaccurate information.
Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): Request that we delete your data under specific statutory parameters.
Restriction & Objection: Object to processing activities based on legitimate interests or restrict processing during unresolved data disputes.
Data Portability: Request the transfer of your structured data to another provider.
Withdraw Consent: Revoke consent at any time for activities built entirely upon prior permission (e.g., promotional newsletters).

To exercise any of these rights, please submit a written request using the contact information below. We aim to respond within 30 days.

9. Security Measures

We implement strict administrative, technical, and physical security measures (including SSL encryption across our entire domain) designed to protect your personal information against accidental loss, unauthorized access, modification, or disclosure.

10. Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may modify this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect shifts in operational practices, international regulatory adjustments, or legislative updates. Any modifications will be posted immediately on this page with an adjusted effective date line.