Privacy Policy

Who We Are

Akanishta Kadampa Buddhist Centre (hereafter referred to as Akanishta KBC) is a UK Registered Charity (RCN: 1125213) and company limited by guarantee registered in England (CN: 06619807). Akanishta KBC is committed to protecting the privacy and security of individuals who visit meditationincheltenham.org.uk (the “Site”).

Purpose of this Policy

The purpose of this privacy policy is to inform you as to what information may be collected from you when visiting the Site, how such information will be used, your choices regarding the collection, use and distribution of such information, your ability to edit, update, correct or delete such information and the security procedures that we have implemented to protect your privacy. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy policy.

We will update this policy at least annually and changes will be published on this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from June 2026.

How do we collect information from you?

Information is obtained when you use our website, for example when booking for an event, making a payment or signing up to a newsletter. Information may also be collected when not using these features, as described below.

What information do we collect from you?

This includes:

  • When using this website, which is managed and hosted by Squarespace (Squarespace Privacy Policy). This may include technical information, such as IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting, operating system and platform, URL clickstream to, through and from our site (including date & time), pages you viewed or searched for and page interaction information. This data is collected by Google Analytics, configured with IP anonymisation enabled and advertising features switched off. We do not use this data for advertising, and it is not shared with third parties for marketing purposes. Akanishta KBC has no access to any identifiable information from this data. Please see Google’s Privacy Policy. We do not send the API provider any personally identifying information, or information that could uniquely identify your device. We use SEOSpace to manage SEO optimisation for this website (SEOSpace Privacy Policy).

  • When signing up to our newsletter. We use KIT for our newsletters (KIT Privacy Policy). The information you give us may include your name, address, e-mail address & phone number. We also collect statistics on email opens and clicks, using industry-standard technologies, which help us to monitor and improve our e-newsletters.

  • When registering for events we may use Ticket Tailor to provide booking and ticketing for events (Ticket Tailor Privacy Policy). The information you give us may include your name, address, e-mail address & phone number to help us manage your booking and get in touch with you about events. For instance, to remind you about an event, to let you know if an event has been rescheduled or cancelled. You can manage your booking(s) either through the Ticket Tailor app or via their website clicking the appropriate link in booking confirmation emails.

  • When making payments through the website, or through Ticket Tailor, we may use Stripe or PayPal to process payments including standing orders and direct debits (Stripe UK Privacy Policy, Paypal UK Privacy Policy). We do not directly collect any specific user information when processing payments beyond that collected by Stripe and PayPal for processing payments within their privacy policies (see above). Any information collected by Stripe or Paypal is used solely for the purposes of managing payments, including refunds.

We may also:

  • Create or make Images and video during events organised and hosted by Akanishta KBC. By entering and by your presence at our events, you consent to be photographed and/or filmed and to any use of the material produced. This material may be featured on social media, our website, event publicity, brochures etc. If you do not consent, please let our volunteer photographer (or event organiser) know and we won’t use images of you. Akanishta KBC acknowledges its responsibilities in capturing images by photography or other means under applicable law.

What do we do with this information?

We use the information you provide us with for the purpose it was provided. For example, information collected and processed is used to manage and administer your booking, and to facilitate event planning. We may contact you via email or phone regarding your booking.

If you have made a payment with a booking and we subsequently need to amend or cancel the event, we may contact you to let you know about this.

If you have signed up to our mailing list, we may also send you e-newsletters.

If you have submitted your name & email address via a contact form on our website, we only use this for the purposes of answering your query.

We use analytics cookies, such as those from Google Analytics, to understand how visitors use our site and help us improve it. We do not use this data for advertising, and we do not share it with third parties for marketing purposes.

How do we secure your information?

When you give us personal information, we take steps to ensure that it’s treated securely. Any information is encrypted and protected using SSL. When you are on a secure page, a lock icon will appear at the top of web browsers.

While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your information, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems.

Where we have given (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our websites, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.

How long DO we keep your information?

All data is kept for as long as is necessary to complete our contractual obligations. Your information will be retained for a period of 6 years plus the current year, for statutory record-keeping purposes. After this time, unless we have a legal obligation to retain it for longer, your personal information will be deleted or, where data is required for statistical purposes, anonymised.

Your information used for marketing purposes will be kept until you notify us that you no longer wish to receive this information.

Cookies

Like many other websites, our Site uses cookies. ‘Cookies’ are small pieces of information sent by an organisation to your computer and stored on your hard drive to allow that website to recognise you when you visit. They collect statistical data about your browsing actions and patterns and do not identify you as an individual.

Cookies on this website are managed by Squarespace. It is possible to switch off cookies altogether by setting your browser preferences. Please note, turning off cookies may result in a loss of functionality when using our Site. For more information, you can view Squarespace’s cookies policy.

Links to other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor had visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracing your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

This privacy notice does not cover the links within this site linking to other websites. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit.

Access to and amending your personal information

The accuracy of your information is important to us. If you have an account on this site you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes. You have a right to ask us to view, correct, download or remove information that we hold on you. We will respond to your request within one calendar month. Please contact us using the details below.

Who on our team has access

Centre Managers and trusted volunteers have access to the information you provide us. For example, Centre Managers can access:

  • Booking and order information like who has booked, what was booked or purchased, when it was booked and related information, and

  • Customer information like your name, email address, phone number and billing information via payment processing systems. See details about Stripe and PayPal above for further details.

Our team members have access to this information to manage bookings, process refunds and support you.

ICO complaint procedure

If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your personal data, we’d encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve it directly. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for data protection, at ico.org.uk or by calling their helpline.

Changes to this privacy notice

We keep our privacy notice under regular review. You can see the date the policy was last reviewed or changed at the bottom of the document.

How to contact us

If you want to request information about our privacy policy you can email us at info@meditationincheltenham.org.uk

Akanishta Kadampa Buddhist Centre is a member of the New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union founded by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche. Registered Charity Number: 1125213.

Policy updated: 15/07/2026