FAQs & Privacy
What is the supportsomerville.com site?
This is Somerville's fundraising website for year-round giving and one-off Crowdfunding projects such as a lift for the MCR. You may have read about or supported some of our previous crowdfunding projects such as the REACH Access Crowdfunder or the Covid Hardship Fund which we hosted on our old fundraising website. This site provides a quick and secure method for Somervillians around the world to support their College and keep in touch with our students' projects! Having a large number of donors encourages others to support us too, so we would love as many Somervillians support our appeals as possible.
What difference will my donation make?
Somerville has such a strong history of successfully improving the opportunities and experiences for our students through alumni giving what they can. Any contribution you can make, no matter the size, will make a real difference to students and Fellows in the College today.
What is Gift Aid?
Donating through Gift Aid means charities can claim an extra 25p for every pound you give. It will not cost you any extra when you make your donation. There is an option for us to claim Gift Aid on your donation as you go through our donation page. Your donation should qualify as long as it is not more than 4 times what you have paid in tax that year. You must tell us if you stop paying enough tax. For example, you donate £100 and if we are able to claim Gift Aid, we can claim an additional £25 from HMRC. This means we receive £125 in total.
How do I know my payment is secure?
This website uses Stripe, an off-site processor for credit and debit card donations. Stripe is Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant and has the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry.
Can I make a gift offline?
Yes! If you would like to send a cheque in the post, please address it to the Development Office, Somerville College, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6HD or call 01865 270581 to make a donation over the phone.
How do I get in touch if I have any further questions?
Please contact the Somerville Development Office via development.office@some.ox.ac.uk or on 01865 270581.
How is my data processed?
In relation to all User Personal Data collected on the platform, Gravyty serves as the Controller of User Personal Data and Somerville serves as the Processor.
Privacy Policy
Last Updated: July 1, 2022
This privacy policy (this “Policy”) explains how personal information is collected, used, and disclosed by Headhunter Systems Ltd. (t/a Gravyty) (collectively, “Gravyty” “we,” “our” or “us”). This Policy applies to users (individually, “you”) of Gravyty’s Advance platform (the “Site”). By using the Site to the extent permitted by applicable law, you are consenting to us gathering and using information about you in accordance with this Policy, although consent may not be required for all of the elements described in this Policy.
Privacy and confidentiality are at the heart of the services being provided through the Site. We treat Personal Data acquired from you seriously and make every effort to comply with our obligations under applicable privacy statutes, including the UK Data Protection Act (2018) (“DPA 2018”) and/or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)(EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”). Additionally, we understand the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of any information stored about you while using the services through the Site. We respect your privacy and Gravyty in its provision of Services upholds the treating of Personal Data properly, in the strictest confidence, with sensitivity and in accordance with applicable law. For the purposes of the GDPR, Gravyty serves as a processor in its use of your Personal Data, as described in this Privacy Policy.
The Personal Data you provide by using the Services is owned by you, and you may ask us to correct or delete any such information at any time, by sending us an email stating in the subject heading, “Remove Details”. Further information about how you can manage and delete information about you is set out in paragraph 5 below. If you are a citizen of the United Kingdom or of the European Economic Area (EEA), additional information about your rights pursuant to the GDPR, are set out in paragraph 7 below.
Please note that this Policy does not cover third parties or their services (including the third- party payment processors referred to by the Site) and we do not take any responsibility for how such third parties may use any information they collect. For information about third-party privacy practices, please consult with them directly.
1. Information We Collect
Personal Information. By using the Site, we may collect the following categories of personal information (“Personal Information”) you provide to us: name; email address; and other information you may provide about yourself to the Site or to which you provide us with access via third-party platforms. We do not collect personal information considered as sensitive personal information such as health-related or financial information on the Site. However, our Site may include text boxes which are designed for you to provide your choice of certain information about your marketing preferences and future use of the Site. Device Information. When you visit the Site or open communications (such as emails), some information is automatically collected from devices (e.g., mobile, computer, laptop, tablet) used to use the Site including, but not limited to, operating system, access times, browser information (e.g., type, language, and history), settings, and other data about your device that we use to provide the services or as otherwise described in this Policy (“Device Information”). We also collect information about your usage and activity on the Site using certain technologies, such as cookies, web beacons and other technologies (see Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies for more details).
2. How we use your information
We may use your information for the following purposes (“Purposes”), to: provide you with the services provided through the Site and fulfil your requests, including, but not limited to; communicate with you about your enquiry or use of the Site, services, or functionality; respond to, or follow up on, your questions, and otherwise provide customer service; communicate with you about marketing communications; operate and improve the Site, services, and functionality; perform statistical analysis; protect, investigate, and deter against fraudulent, unauthorised, or illegal activity; comply with our policies ,procedures and legal obligations; and as otherwise consented to by you and as required or permitted by applicable law.
If you do not provide us with certain of your information, we may not be able to fulfil the requested Purpose of collection, such as to respond to your queries or to provide you with the services offered through the Site.
Electronic Communications. Consistent with the above Purposes, we may communicate with you via email to, for example: send you information relating donation campaigns and upcoming events.
Retention. We will retain your information for the period necessary to fulfil the Purposes outlined in this Policy and as otherwise needed to comply with applicable law and internal company policies.
3. How we share your information
We do not share your information with third parties other than as described above and as follows:
• We may disclose your information to regulatory authorities, courts, government agencies and other third parties where we believe that doing so would be in accordance with or permitted or required by any applicable law, regulation or legal process, to defend the interests, rights, and/or property of Gravyty or others, or to respond to emergencies.
• We may otherwise share your information as directed by you or subject to your consent.
4. Security of your information
Gravyty takes commercially-reasonable technical, administrative, and physical security measures designed to protect your information from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction.
To be clear, the Site does not itself store your credit or debit card account information, and we do not have direct control over or responsibility for your credit or debit card account information. We use third party payment processors that are the controllers of your credit card information. Our contracts with third parties that receive your credit or debit card account information require them to keep it secure and confidential, in accordance with stringent industry standard.
Nonetheless, we cannot guarantee that transmissions of your credit or debit card account information or your other information will always be secure or that unauthorised third parties will never be able to defeat the security measures taken by Gravyty or our third-party service providers. Except to the extent that liability cannot be excluded or limited due to applicable law, we assume no liability or responsibility for disclosure of your information due to errors in transmission, unauthorised third-party access, or other causes beyond our control.
You play an important role in keeping your information secure. You should not share your user name, password, or other security information of your Gravyty account with anyone. If we receive instructions using your user name and password, we will consider that you have authorised the instructions.
How we secure your data. Information system and data security is imperative to us to ensure that we are keeping our clients and subscribers happy (please see trust.gravyty.com).
We operate a robust and thorough process for assessing, managing and protecting new and existing systems which ensures that they are up to date and secure against the ever-changing threat landscape.
When you trust us with your data we will always keep your information secure to maintain your confidentiality. By utilising strong encryption when your information is stored or in transit we minimise the risk of unauthorised access or disclosure; when entering information on the Site.
5. Cookies
5.1 We reserve the right to collect technical data about the type of browser software or operating system you are using for the purposes of tracking website use, or improving the services offered through the Site. This information will not be used to identify you personally.
5.2 We may also place a ‘cookie’ on your browser to provide us with information about your use of the Site, and to help us identify you when you return to that Site so that your preferences can be stored. Using cookies helps us to improve our Site and to deliver a better and more personalised service. We may also use cookies to identify repeat visitors.
5.3 You can remove cookies from your computer at any time, and choose to disable cookies in your internet browser settings. Without cookies enabled, we cannot guarantee that the Site and your experience of it are as we intended it to be.
5.4 The length of time a cookie stays on your device depends on its type. We use two types of cookies on the Website, as follows:
5.4.1 Session cookies are temporary cookies which only exist during the time You use a Site (or more strictly, until you close the browser after using the Site). Session cookies help the Site remember what you chose on the previous page, avoiding the need to re-enter information.
5.4.2 Persistent cookies stay on your device after you have visited the Site. For example, when you log onto a Site, a persistent cookie will be used to remember your preferences, so that the system remembers your choice the next time you log in. Persistent cookies help us to identify you as a unique visitor but do not contain any information that could be used to identify you to another person.
5.7 We also use web analytics services from other companies to track how visitors reach our Site and the path they take through it. These companies use cookies to help us improve our service to You.
5.8 Our native cookies are Strictly Necessary and Functional in nature. Third party cookies within external feeds on the Site from partners such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Microsoft are Functional in nature and are required for the purposes of enhancing service capabilities.
6. Marketing
If you do not want to receive marketing and promotional emails from Gravyty, you may click on the "unsubscribe" link in the email to unsubscribe and opt-out of marketing email communications. Alternatively, to the extent that applicable law requires your prior opt-in consent to receive marketing and promotional emails, you can choose not to opt-in. Please note that even if you opt-out of receiving marketing communications from the Site, we may need to send you service-related communications, such as confirmations of your donations.
7. Your Rights
If you are a citizen of the UK or EEA, pursuant to the terms of the GDPR and DPA 2018, you have the right to request the following:
• Access to the personal data we hold about you.
• The correction of your personal data when incorrect, out of date or incomplete.
• That we stop using your personal data for direct marketing (either through specific channels, or all channels).
• That we stop any consent-based processing of your personal data after you withdraw your consent.
• Your right to withdraw consent. Whenever you have given us your consent to use your personal data, you have the right to change your mind at any time and withdraw your consent.
• You can Contact Us to request to exercise these rights at any time. If we choose not to action your request, we will explain to you the reasons for our refusal.
• Relying on a legitimate interest. In cases where we are processing your personal data on the basis of our legitimate interest, you can ask us to stop for reasons connected to your individual situation. We must then do so unless we believe we have a legitimate overriding reason to continue processing your personal data.
• Direct marketing. You have the right to stop the use of your personal data for direct marketing activity through all channels, or selected channels. We shall always comply with your request.
• Keeping 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 in question, what it is being used for and, sometimes, statutory legal requirements.
8. Links to other websites
The Site may contain links to other websites or services that are not owned or controlled by Gravyty (e.g. the third-party payment processors). This Policy only applies to information collected by Gravyty through the Site. We have no control over any third-party websites, your use of the third party-websites and features are subject to privacy policies posted on those websites. We are not responsible or liable for the privacy or business practices of any third-party websites linked to the Site. Your use of third parties' websites linked to the Site is at your own risk, so we encourage you to read the privacy policies of such linked third-party websites.
9. Changes to this policy
We reserve the right to update this Policy to reflect changes to our information practices by posting notices of the updates on the Site, and obtaining your consent, when required. Any updates will become effective immediately after posting the updates to this Policy and apply to all information collected about you, or where required, upon your consent. You agree that you will review this Policy periodically. If we make any changes to this Policy, we will change the "Last Updated" date at the top. You are free to decide whether or not to accept a modified version of this Policy, but accepting this Policy, as modified, is required for you to continue using the Site. If you do not agree to the terms of this Policy or any modified version of this Policy, your sole recourse is to terminate your use of the Site.
If we make any changes to this Policy that materially impacts previously collected information about you, we will obtain your prior express consent.
10. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Policy or information we have collected about you or wish to make a complaint, please contact us at development.office@some.ox.ac.uk. We will aim to respond to all queries as quickly as possible.