Organisation Details & Legal Registration
We are Blessed to Impact ASBL — a legally registered non-profit organisation in Burundi. Here are our official details.
Blessed to Impact ASBL
(Association Sans But Lucratif)
Non-Profit Association (ASBL)
Registered under Burundian Law
Republic of Burundi
East Africa
[Registration No. — to be inserted
upon official confirmation]
Bujumbura, Burundi
(Full address on request)
2024
contact@blessedtoimpact.org
privacy@blessedtoimpact.org
BTI is a registered non-profit association operating under Burundian law. We are not a business, and we do not generate profit. Everything we do — including how we handle your personal information — is in service of our mission to empower Burundian youth through education and entrepreneurship.
Blessed to Impact (hereinafter "BTI," "the Organisation," "we," "us," or "our") is a non-profit association ("Association Sans But Lucratif" or "ASBL") duly incorporated and existing under the laws of the Republic of Burundi. BTI operates exclusively for charitable, educational, and community development purposes consistent with its stated mission and the provisions of Burundian law governing non-profit entities.
This Privacy Policy and Legal Notice ("Policy") constitutes a binding legal document governing the collection, processing, storage, and disclosure of personal data by BTI in connection with its programs, fundraising activities, website operations, and communications with donors, partners, beneficiaries, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
Who This Policy Covers
This policy applies to everyone who interacts with BTI — donors, partners, program applicants, volunteers, mentors, website visitors, and media contacts.
This policy applies to you if you have donated to BTI, applied to one of our programs, signed up for our newsletter, sent us a message, visited our website, or engaged with us in any professional or personal capacity.
It also applies to young people who participate in our programs, whose information we handle with particular care given the sensitive nature of their circumstances.
This Policy applies to all natural persons whose personal data is processed by BTI, including without limitation: (a) individual and institutional donors; (b) corporate and philanthropic partners; (c) program applicants and participants, including beneficiaries of the BTI Academy, Sponsorship Fund, and Youth Entrepreneurship Support Program; (d) volunteer mentors and pro bono contributors; (e) media and research contacts; (f) website visitors; and (g) any other persons who provide personal data to BTI through any channel.
Where BTI processes personal data relating to minors or vulnerable individuals — including program beneficiaries who are school-aged children or marginalised youth — heightened data protection standards apply as set out in Section 10 of this Policy.
- Donors and philanthropic partners (individuals and institutions)
- Corporate CSR partners and grant-making bodies
- BTI Academy participants and applicants
- Sponsorship Fund beneficiaries and their guardians
- Youth Entrepreneurship Support network members
- Volunteer mentors and pro bono experts
- Media, journalists, and researchers
- General website visitors
Information We Collect
We only collect what we genuinely need. For donors, that's your name, email, and contribution details. For program participants, we need more context to support you effectively. We never buy or rent data from third parties.
Information You Provide Directly
When you donate, apply to a program, contact us, or sign up for updates, you give us information directly. This may include your name, email address, phone number, organisation name, country of residence, and the content of your messages to us.
For program participants, we may also collect information about your educational background, employment status, household situation, and specific support needs — only to the extent necessary to determine eligibility and deliver appropriate support.
BTI collects personal data directly provided by data subjects through the following channels: online and offline contact forms; program application processes; donation transactions; newsletter subscription; email and telephone correspondence; in-person interactions at events and outreach activities; and referrals from third parties (e.g., teachers, community leaders, partner organisations).
Categories of personal data collected include: identification data (full name, date of birth where required); contact data (email address, telephone number, postal address); professional and organisational data; financial data relating to donations (transaction reference, amount, payment method — but not payment credentials, which BTI does not store); socioeconomic and household data collected solely for program eligibility assessment; and correspondence and communication records.
Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, basic technical information is collected automatically — such as your IP address, browser type, and the pages you visit. This helps us understand how the site is being used and improve it. We do not use this to identify you personally.
BTI's website may automatically collect technical data including: IP address; browser type and version; operating system; referral URL; pages visited and time spent; and device type. Such data is processed on the basis of legitimate interest for website security and performance optimisation, and does not constitute profiling of individual users.
How We Use Your Information
We use your information to run our programs, process donations, send you updates you asked for, and improve our work. We never sell it or use it for anything unrelated to BTI's mission.
We use your information to respond to your enquiries, process your donation and send a receipt, enrol you in a program you applied for, send you the newsletter you signed up for, match you with the right mentor or program, and measure how we're doing so we can do better.
We do not use your information for advertising, profiling, or selling anything to you. We do not sell or rent your information to anyone.
BTI processes personal data only for the following specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes: (a) administration of donor relationships, including processing contributions, issuing receipts, and providing impact reporting; (b) delivery of program activities, including eligibility assessment, participant matching, and progress monitoring; (c) fulfilment of communications obligations to newsletter subscribers and registered stakeholders; (d) organisational administration, including financial audit, legal compliance, and board reporting; (e) improvement of program design and website functionality through aggregated, anonymised analysis; and (f) compliance with applicable legal and regulatory obligations.
BTI does not engage in automated decision-making, algorithmic profiling, or any processing of personal data for commercial, advertising, or non-mission-related purposes. The legal basis for processing is, as applicable: consent; contract performance; legitimate interests; or compliance with a legal obligation.
Information Sharing
We do not sell or share your personal information with outside organisations for their own purposes. We only share it when it's strictly necessary to deliver our work — and only with trusted parties who are bound by confidentiality obligations.
We do not sell your information. Full stop. We may share it internally among BTI team members who need it to do their jobs, and occasionally with carefully selected service providers (such as email systems or payment processors) who help us operate — but those providers are contractually bound to protect your data and use it only for our purposes.
If you are a Catalyst or Cornerstone-tier donor who has consented to an introduction with a program participant, that introduction is handled with explicit prior consent from all parties.
We may also disclose information if required by law or court order.
BTI does not sell, rent, lease, or otherwise transfer personal data to third parties for commercial purposes. Disclosure of personal data is limited strictly to: (a) BTI staff and board members with a legitimate operational need; (b) data processors engaged by BTI under written data processing agreements (e.g., email service providers, payment platforms, cloud storage providers) who act solely on BTI's documented instructions; (c) program participants and donors where explicit prior informed consent has been obtained by both parties for the purpose of facilitated introduction; and (d) competent authorities, courts, or regulatory bodies where disclosure is required by applicable law, court order, or regulatory obligation.
No personal data is transferred to third-party marketing platforms, advertising networks, data brokers, or any entity whose processing is unrelated to BTI's charitable purposes.
Data Retention
We keep your information for as long as we need it to support our work or meet our legal obligations — and no longer. Donor records are kept for audit purposes; program records are kept to support ongoing alumni follow-up.
Donor records — including contribution amounts and receipt information — are kept for seven years to comply with financial audit and legal requirements. Program participant records are kept for the duration of the program plus three years, to support alumni follow-up and impact measurement. Newsletter subscribers' data is retained until they unsubscribe. General enquiry data is deleted within one year if no ongoing relationship results.
Personal data is retained by BTI for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, subject to the following minimum retention periods required by law or legitimate organisational need: (a) donor financial records — seven (7) years from the date of the transaction, in accordance with applicable financial record-keeping obligations; (b) program participant records — duration of program participation plus three (3) years post-completion for alumni follow-up and longitudinal impact assessment; (c) email marketing subscriber data — until unsubscription, subject to periodic re-consent review every twenty-four (24) months; (d) general correspondence — twelve (12) months from last contact unless an ongoing relationship exists. Upon expiry of applicable retention periods, personal data is securely deleted or anonymised.
International Donors & GDPR
If you are based in the European Union or United Kingdom, additional data protection rights apply to you under GDPR. We take these seriously and honour them regardless of whether we are legally required to.
If you are located in the European Union, European Economic Area, or United Kingdom, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or UK GDPR gives you specific rights over your personal data. Even though BTI is based in Burundi, we voluntarily commit to honouring these rights for all international donors and partners.
Your GDPR rights include: the right to access your data; the right to correct inaccurate data; the right to request deletion of your data (the "right to be forgotten"); the right to restrict how we process your data; the right to receive your data in a portable format; and the right to object to certain types of processing.
To exercise any of these rights, contact privacy@blessedtoimpact.org. We will respond within 30 days.
Notwithstanding that BTI is established in the Republic of Burundi and is not directly subject to the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) ("GDPR") or the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation ("UK GDPR"), BTI voluntarily adopts GDPR-equivalent data protection standards as a matter of policy and organisational commitment to best practice.
Data subjects located in the EU/EEA or UK may exercise the following rights as provided under Articles 15–22 GDPR: (a) Right of Access (Art. 15); (b) Right to Rectification (Art. 16); (c) Right to Erasure (Art. 17); (d) Right to Restriction of Processing (Art. 18); (e) Right to Data Portability (Art. 20); (f) Right to Object (Art. 21); and (g) Rights related to Automated Decision-Making (Art. 22, though BTI does not engage in such processing). BTI shall respond to all rights requests within thirty (30) calendar days. Where requests cannot be fulfilled, BTI shall provide a reasoned explanation.
Where international data transfers occur (e.g., use of cloud-based service providers), BTI implements appropriate safeguards consistent with Chapter V GDPR, including Standard Contractual Clauses where applicable.
Your Rights
You are always in control of your information. You can ask us to show you what we hold, correct it, delete it, or stop using it. Just email us.
Regardless of where you are in the world, you have the right to know what information BTI holds about you, correct it if it's wrong, ask us to delete it, and opt out of any communications at any time. We will always honour these requests promptly and without making it difficult for you.
All data subjects whose personal data is processed by BTI retain the following rights, exercisable at any time without charge and without detriment to any existing relationship with BTI: (a) the right to request confirmation of whether BTI processes personal data relating to them and, if so, to obtain a copy thereof; (b) the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data; (c) the right to request deletion of personal data where the basis for processing no longer applies, subject to retention obligations mandated by law; (d) the right to withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing conducted prior to withdrawal; (e) the right to opt out of donor communications and marketing correspondence; and (f) the right to lodge a complaint with a competent data protection supervisory authority.
Exercise your rights
Send your request to privacy@blessedtoimpact.org with your full name and a brief description of your request. We will respond within 30 days.
Cookies & Website Data
Our website uses minimal cookies — only what's needed to make the site work properly. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.
When you visit the BTI website, small data files called "cookies" may be stored on your device. We only use cookies that are essential to the site functioning — for example, to remember your language preference or maintain session continuity. We do not use cookies to track you across the web or serve you targeted advertising.
You can disable cookies in your browser settings at any time, though this may affect how some parts of the website function.
BTI's website utilises only technically necessary cookies essential to the delivery of core website functionality. No third-party advertising cookies, behavioural tracking cookies, or persistent cross-site tracking mechanisms are deployed. Where analytics tools are used, data is processed in aggregated, anonymised form and does not permit identification of individual users. Consent for non-essential cookies, should they be introduced in future, will be obtained through a compliant consent management mechanism prior to deployment.
Users retain the right to refuse, delete, or limit cookies at any time through their browser settings. BTI accepts no liability for diminished website functionality resulting from such cookie restrictions.
Donor & Subscriber Communications
We will only contact you with information you asked for. You can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time with one click. We do not bombard people with emails.
If you donated to BTI, you will receive a receipt, and if you gave at the Catalyst or Cornerstone level, a personalised impact update. Beyond that, we only send you messages if you explicitly asked to receive them — such as signing up for the BTI Chronicle newsletter.
You can unsubscribe from any BTI communication at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email or emailing us directly. We will process your request immediately.
BTI communicates with donors, subscribers, and stakeholders on a consent-based or legitimate interest basis. Transactional communications (e.g., donation receipts, program enrollment confirmations) do not require separate consent and will be issued as necessary. Marketing and informational communications (e.g., the BTI Chronicle newsletter, impact reports, event notifications) are sent only to individuals who have affirmatively opted in to such communications.
All marketing communications include a conspicuous unsubscribe mechanism. Requests to unsubscribe will be processed within five (5) business days. BTI does not engage in unsolicited commercial communications and does not share subscriber lists with third parties for marketing purposes.
Children's Privacy & Vulnerable Participants
BTI works with young people, including minors. We handle their information with exceptional care, collect only what is necessary, and never share it without appropriate guardian consent.
Because BTI works directly with young Burundians — some of whom are minors or in vulnerable circumstances — we take the protection of their personal information very seriously. We collect only the minimum information needed to support them. We do not publicly identify beneficiaries by name without explicit consent. For minors, we obtain consent from a parent or guardian before collecting any personal information.
Photos and testimonials featuring program participants are only used with explicit prior written consent, and participants are always informed of how their image or story may be used.
Given the nature of BTI's beneficiary population — which includes minors and socioeconomically vulnerable youth — BTI applies heightened data protection standards to all personal data relating to program participants below the age of 18. Processing of personal data of minors is conducted only with the prior informed consent of a parent or legal guardian, and is limited strictly to data necessary for program delivery and support.
Photographic, video, or testimonial content featuring minor participants or identifiable vulnerable adults is collected and published only under a separate, specific written consent framework, including clear explanation of intended use, distribution channels, and the right to withdraw consent at any time. Identifying information relating to beneficiaries is not disclosed in public-facing materials without explicit individual or guardian consent.
Policy Changes & Updates
If we update this policy in a meaningful way, we will notify you by email before the changes take effect. You are never bound by changes you weren't told about.
We may update this policy from time to time as BTI grows or as regulations change. If we make significant changes — particularly ones that affect how we handle your personal data — we will notify registered donors and subscribers by email at least 14 days before the changes come into effect. The updated policy will always show the date it was last revised at the top.
BTI reserves the right to modify this Policy at any time. Material changes — defined as changes that substantively affect the rights of data subjects or the nature of data processing — will be communicated to registered donors and subscribers via email no fewer than fourteen (14) calendar days prior to their effective date. Non-material updates (e.g., editorial clarifications) may be implemented without prior notice. The version number and effective date at the head of this document will be updated upon revision. Continued engagement with BTI following notification of material changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.
Contact & Complaints
If you have a question, concern, or complaint about how BTI handles your data, please contact us directly first. We will do our best to resolve it quickly and honestly.
For any questions about this policy, to exercise your data rights, or to raise a concern about how we've handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer. We aim to respond within 30 days and will always take your concern seriously.
All enquiries, rights requests, and complaints relating to the processing of personal data by BTI should be directed in the first instance to BTI's designated Privacy Officer. BTI is committed to resolving data protection complaints promptly and in good faith. Where a complaint cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the data subject, they retain the right to escalate the matter to the appropriate data protection supervisory authority in their jurisdiction of residence.
Blessed to Impact ASBL
privacy@blessedtoimpact.org
contact@blessedtoimpact.org
Within 30 calendar days
Blessed to Impact ASBL · Privacy Policy v1.0
Effective January 2025 · Bujumbura, Burundi