Effective Date: August 3, 2026 | Last Updated: August 3, 2026
1. Introduction & Mission
CONNECT HELP INITIATIVE ("we", "us", "our") is a registered non-governmental, non-profit organization committed to using technology and innovation to improve access to healthcare, education, community development, capacity building, humanitarian support, and empowerment opportunities for underserved and rural communities across Nigeria.
We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal data of our donors, volunteers, beneficiaries, partners, website visitors, and community members. This policy outlines how we collect, use, store, and protect your information when you interact with our portal.
2. Legal Compliance (NDPA 2023 & GDPR)
Connect Help Initiative processes all personal data in strict compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023, guidelines issued by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), and applicable international standards, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
3. Personal Information We Collect
- Donors & Financial Supporters: Name, email address, phone number, billing address, donor classification (Individual, Corporate, Foundation, Govt), donation frequency, and payment transaction reference numbers. Note: Raw payment card numbers and CVVs are NEVER stored on our servers; payments are processed securely by PCI-DSS certified gateways (Paystack, Flutterwave, Stripe).
- Volunteers & Applicants: Name, gender, date of birth, phone, email, home address, State/LGA, educational background, skills, CV/resume uploads, passport photos, emergency contact details, and public verification identifier codes for issued Digital Volunteer Certificates.
- Beneficiaries & Field Program Participants: Name, gender, age group, location (State/LGA/Community), vulnerable group category (Student, Farmer, Woman, Youth, Child, Elderly, PWD), assistance records, and media/testimonials captured with explicit consent.
- Subscribers & Website Visitors: Email address, newsletter preferences, inquiry messages, IP addresses, browser types, device markers, and essential session cookies.
4. Purpose & Legal Basis of Processing
We process personal data to manage online donations, onboard and schedule volunteers, deliver targeted humanitarian assistance, report anonymized impact metrics to grantmakers, and verify digital volunteer certificates.
5. Protection of Minors & Vulnerable Persons
We do not collect personal data from children under 18 years of age without explicit written consent from a parent or legal guardian. Media featuring minors or Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) are captured and published ONLY after signed consent is granted.
6. Digital Volunteer Certificate Public Verification
To prevent certificate forgery, Connect Help Initiative generates cryptographically verifiable Digital Volunteer Certificates. Public verification links (/verify-certificate.php?code=XXXX) display only the volunteer's full name, certificate title, date of issuance, and certificate status.
7. Data Security Architecture
We employ enterprise-grade security controls including HTTPS encryption, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), SQL Injection protection via PDO prepared statements, XSS sanitization, CSRF token verification, and automated audit logging.
8. Your Data Subject Rights & Automated Request Portal
Under the NDPA 2023 and GDPR, you have the right to request access, export, or deletion of your personal data. Exercise your rights via our self-service portal: Data Request Portal (data-request.php).
9. Contact & Data Protection Officer
Connect Help Initiative — Data Protection Officer
Email: privacy@connecthi.org