Privacy Policy

Jewish Federation of British Columbia

Last updated: 27.10.2026

1. Introduction

Jewish Federation of British Columbia ("JFBC," "we," "our," or "us") is a registered Canadian charity dedicated to strengthening and supporting Jewish communities throughout British Columbia, in Israel, and around the world.

We value the trust placed in us by our donors, prospective donors, volunteers, program participants, event registrants, grant and scholarship applicants, employment applicants, community members, website visitors, and partners. Maintaining that trust requires that we be transparent and accountable in how we collect, use, store, and protect personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use and disclose it, how we protect and retain it, and the rights you have in relation to it. It applies to personal information collected through our website and through our programs, events, campaigns, services, communications, and fundraising activities.

By using this website or providing personal information to JFBC, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

2. Applicable Privacy Legislation

JFBC is subject to the Personal Information Protection Act (British Columbia) ("PIPA"), which governs how private sector organizations in British Columbia, including non-profit organizations, collect, use, and disclose personal information.

Where applicable, we also observe the requirements of the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA"), Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation ("CASL"), the Income Tax Act (Canada) and Canada Revenue Agency requirements relating to charitable receipting and record-keeping, and the privacy legislation of other Canadian provinces where it applies to information we hold about residents of those provinces.

3. Accountability and Our Privacy Officer

JFBC is accountable for the personal information under its control, including personal information transferred to third parties for processing on our behalf.

We have designated a Privacy Officer who is responsible for JFBC's compliance with this Privacy Policy and with applicable privacy legislation. Questions, access requests, consent withdrawals, and complaints may be directed to:

Privacy Officer

Jewish Federation of British Columbia

200 – 950 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5Z 2N7

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 604-257-5100

We have also developed internal policies and practices governing the handling of personal information, and we make information about those policies and practices available on request.

4. Personal Information We Collect

We collect personal information that you provide to us voluntarily, which may include:

Name, title, and preferred form of address
Email address, mailing address, and telephone number
Donation history, pledge information, and payment details
Event and program registration information, including dietary, accessibility, and emergency contact information you choose to provide
Volunteer information, including areas of interest and availability
Grant, scholarship, and funding application information
Employment application information, including resumes and references
Communication and mailing preferences
Family or household information you provide in connection with programs or donor records
Any other information you choose to provide to us

We may also collect information about you from publicly available sources, from community partners with your consent, and from third parties who provide philanthropic research services, where permitted by law and used for the purposes described in this Policy.

When you visit our website, certain technical information may be collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies, including:

IP address
Browser type and version
Device type and device identifiers
Operating system
Referral source
Pages visited
Date, time, and length of visits
General geographic location
Cookie and analytics information

5. How We Use Personal Information

JFBC uses personal information for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances, including to:

Process donations and pledges and issue official charitable tax receipts
Administer grants, scholarships, allocations, and community programs
Register and communicate with participants for events, missions, and initiatives
Respond to inquiries, requests, and applications
Communicate about our programs, services, campaigns, and community activities
Manage volunteer recruitment, placement, and recognition
Conduct fundraising, donor stewardship, and prospect research activities
Recognize and acknowledge donors, subject to Section 9 below
Evaluate and improve our programs and services
Administer employment applications and recruitment
Improve our website, services, and user experience
Meet legal, regulatory, financial, audit, and reporting obligations
Protect the security and integrity of our systems, premises, and community

We will not use personal information for a new purpose that is materially different from those described above without first obtaining your consent, except where permitted or required by law.

6. Consent

We collect, use, and disclose personal information with your knowledge and consent, except where PIPA permits or requires us to do so without consent.

How consent is obtained

Consent may be express (for example, when you complete a donation form, register for an event, or subscribe to a mailing list) or implied by your actions and the circumstances. Where you voluntarily provide personal information to JFBC in connection with a donation, registration, application, inquiry, or other interaction, you are deemed to consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of that information for the purposes described in this Policy.

The form of consent we seek reflects the sensitivity of the information involved. We will obtain express consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of sensitive personal information.

Withdrawing consent

You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, by contacting our Privacy Officer using the contact information in Section 3. Withdrawal of consent may limit our ability to provide certain services to you, and we will explain the likely consequences before acting on your request.

Withdrawal of consent does not affect our ability or obligation to retain records we are required by law to keep, including donation records required by the Canada Revenue Agency.

7. Donor Privacy

JFBC values the trust placed in us by our donors. Information about your donations, pledge history, philanthropic interests, communications, and involvement with JFBC is treated as confidential and is used to support JFBC's charitable mission, donor stewardship activities, fundraising initiatives, and legal obligations.

JFBC does not sell, rent, exchange, or trade donor lists or personal information.

Two limited exceptions apply, and each is described in this Policy. We publish donor names for recognition purposes unless you ask us not to, as described in Section 9. Where a gift makes you eligible for membership in an affiliated federation and you choose to accept that membership, we share your contact information for that purpose, as described in Section 15.

8. Donations and Payment Processing

When you make a donation, we collect the information necessary to process your contribution, issue an official donation receipt in accordance with Canada Revenue Agency requirements, and maintain the records required by the Income Tax Act (Canada).

Payment card information is processed through trusted third-party payment processors that maintain PCI DSS compliance. JFBC does not store complete credit card numbers on its systems.

9. Donor Recognition and Publication

JFBC may publish donor names in campaign listings, annual reports, event materials, newsletters, plaques, signage, and other recognition materials. We do not publish donation amounts attributed to named individuals except where you have expressly agreed, and we may publish names within giving-level categories.

If you prefer to give anonymously, or to be excluded from any donor recognition materials, you may tell us at the time of your gift or at any time afterward by contacting us or speaking with your JFBC contact. We will honour that preference on a go-forward basis.

10. Photography and Recording at Events

JFBC photographs, films, and records many of its events and programs, and may use those images and recordings in our publications, website, social media, newsletters, campaign materials, and reports.

Notice is provided at registration and on site. If you do not wish to be photographed or recorded, please speak with the photographer or a member of JFBC staff at the event, and we will make reasonable efforts to respect your wishes. If an image of you has already been published and you would like it removed, contact us at [email protected] and we will remove it from materials under our control.

11. Email and Other Electronic Communications

If you provide your email address to JFBC, we may send you fundraising appeals, campaign information, community updates, newsletters, event invitations, impact reports, and information about our programs and services.

JFBC sends commercial electronic messages in accordance with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation. Where consent is required, we rely on your express or implied consent.

Every commercial electronic message we send includes an unsubscribe mechanism and our contact information. You may unsubscribe at any time using that mechanism or by contacting us directly, and we will give effect to your request without delay and in any event within 10 business days.

12. Children and Youth

Some JFBC programs are directed at children and youth. Where we collect personal information about a child in connection with such a program, we do so through a parent or legal guardian, and we limit collection to what is necessary to administer the program safely.

Our website is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children through the website without parental or guardian consent. A parent or guardian may contact our Privacy Officer to review, correct, or request deletion of a child's information.

13. Cookies, Analytics, and Online Tracking

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to enable core website functionality, understand website usage, measure engagement and campaign performance, enhance user experience, and improve our communications and fundraising activities. We may use third-party analytics and marketing platforms for these purposes.

Where required, we obtain your consent to non-essential cookies and tracking technologies before they are used, and you may change your preferences at any time through the consent controls available on our website. You may also configure your browser to refuse or delete cookies, although some website features may not function properly if you do.

Our emails may contain tracking technologies that tell us whether a message was opened or a link was followed. This information is used in aggregate to improve our communications.

14. Disclosure of Personal Information

JFBC does not sell, rent, exchange, or trade personal information. We may disclose personal information in the following circumstances:

To service providers who perform functions on our behalf, including donation processing, event registration, website hosting, customer relationship management and data hosting, data management, email and marketing communications, analytics services, mailing and printing services, and technology support. These providers are permitted to use personal information only as necessary to provide services on our behalf and are required to protect it with appropriate safeguards.
To venues, security providers, caterers, and other suppliers engaged to deliver an event or program, where necessary for venue access, check-in, event security, dietary or accessibility accommodation, and the safe operation of the event.
To organizations with whom JFBC co-hosts or co-presents an event or program, where necessary to administer the registration, attendance, and delivery of that event or program.
To affiliated and partner organizations, including the Jewish Community Foundation, the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island, and Jewish Federations of North America, where necessary to administer shared programs, funds, campaigns, memberships, or systems, and subject to appropriate safeguards.
To professional advisors, including our auditors and legal counsel, in the course of their engagement.
With your consent, or where required or permitted by law, including in response to a lawful request from a government authority, court, or regulator.
Where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend our legal rights, to investigate suspected fraud, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of JFBC or any person.

Personal information will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected unless authorized by law or by your consent.

From time to time we may use a mailing service to distribute information on behalf of other organizations within the Jewish community. In these cases the mailing is administered on our behalf and your contact information is not released to those organizations. You may ask to be excluded from these mailings at any time.

15. Sharing with the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island

Gifts at or above a qualifying level to the Victoria and Vancouver Island Fund make a donor eligible for membership in the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island ("JFVVI"), a separate organization.

Where you choose to accept that membership, JFBC will share your name and contact information with JFVVI for membership administration purposes. JFVVI may contact you about membership matters. Your information is not shared for any other purpose without your consent, and JFVVI is required by agreement with JFBC to limit its use accordingly.

You will be given the opportunity to indicate your preference at the time of your gift, and you may change it at any time by contacting us. Your choice does not affect your donation or how it is directed. All donations to the Fund are received by JFBC, and official donation receipts are issued by JFBC.

16. Event Safety, Incident, and Exclusion Records

JFBC asks everyone attending its events to observe our Event Code of Conduct and the terms and conditions applicable to the event.

Where an incident occurs at a JFBC event or program, or where a person's conduct breaches our Event Code of Conduct, we may create and retain a record of the incident. Such a record may include the names and contact information of the people involved, a description of what occurred, and any action taken.

Where JFBC decides to decline a person's registration for, or entry to, future events, we retain a record of that decision and may disclose the person's name and the fact of the exclusion to event staff, volunteers, venues, and security providers to the extent necessary to give effect to it.

We collect, use, and disclose this information to protect the safety and security of participants, staff, volunteers, and property, to respond to and investigate incidents, and to enforce our Event Code of Conduct. PIPA permits the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information without consent in certain circumstances, including where it is reasonable for the purposes of an investigation or to protect the safety of individuals.

These records are retained only as long as necessary for those purposes and are reviewed periodically. You may request access to the personal information we hold about you in such a record, and request correction of it, as described in Section 21. Access may be limited in the circumstances PIPA permits, including where disclosure would reveal personal information about another individual or would compromise an investigation.

17. Storage and Processing Outside of Canada

Some of our service providers store or process personal information outside of British Columbia and outside of Canada, including in the United States. Where this occurs, personal information may be accessible to the courts, law enforcement, and national security authorities of the jurisdiction in which it is stored or processed, in accordance with the laws of that jurisdiction.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that service providers who handle personal information on our behalf provide a comparable level of protection to that required under Canadian law. You may contact our Privacy Officer for information about where personal information is stored or processed.

18. Safeguards

JFBC maintains administrative, physical, and technical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information we hold. These safeguards include:

Restricted access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
Restricted physical access to our premises and paper records
Secure computer systems and databases
Password, access, and multi-factor authentication controls
Encryption of information in transit and at rest where appropriate
Confidentiality obligations and privacy training for employees and volunteers
Secure destruction of records when they are no longer required
Ongoing review and monitoring of security practices

While no system of transmission or storage can be guaranteed completely secure, we take reasonable steps to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

19. Privacy Breaches

If we become aware of a privacy breach involving personal information under our control, we will contain and investigate the incident, assess the risk of harm to affected individuals, and take steps to prevent recurrence. Where a breach could reasonably be expected to result in significant harm, we will notify affected individuals and, as appropriate, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia and other regulators.

20. Accuracy and Retention

We make reasonable efforts to ensure that personal information is accurate, complete, and current as necessary for the purposes for which it is used. Please tell us if your information changes.

We retain personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to administer our charitable activities, to maintain accurate organizational and donor records, and to comply with our legal, regulatory, accounting, and reporting obligations. Records relating to donations are retained in accordance with Canada Revenue Agency requirements, which require registered charities to retain duplicate donation receipts for at least two years from the end of the calendar year in which the donations were made, and to retain other books and records for at least six years from the end of the last taxation year to which they relate. Certain governing and historical records are retained permanently.

When personal information is no longer required, we destroy, erase, or de-identify it.

21. Access and Correction

You have the right to request access to the personal information about you that is under our control, and to request information about how it has been used and to whom it has been disclosed. You may also request correction of information that is inaccurate or incomplete.

Requests should be made in writing to our Privacy Officer. We will respond within 30 business days, or notify you if we require an extension as permitted under PIPA. In limited circumstances, PIPA permits or requires us to refuse access, in which case we will explain the reason for the refusal.

There is no charge for most access requests. Where a fee is permitted for a request involving significant time or expense, we will provide an estimate before proceeding.

22. Complaints

If you have a question or concern about how JFBC has handled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer. We will acknowledge your concern, investigate it, and respond to you.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact:

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia

PO Box 9038, Stn. Prov. Govt., Victoria, BC V8W 9A4

Telephone: 250-387-5629 | Toll free in BC: 1-800-663-7867

Website: oipc.bc.ca

23. Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to websites operated by third parties. JFBC is not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or security of those websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any website you visit.

24. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version will be posted on our website together with the date it was last updated. Material changes will be brought to your attention where required by law. Your continued use of our website or services following the posting of an updated Policy constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.

25. How to Contact Us

Questions about this Privacy Policy, requests to access or correct your personal information, requests to withdraw consent, and privacy concerns may be directed to:

Privacy Officer, Jewish Federation of British Columbia