Privacy Policy

What is MDXCrowdfund?

MDXCrowdfund (“The Site” or mdxcrowdfund.com) is Middlesex University’s (“the University”) very own crowdfunding platform for students, staff and alumni. The site is the property of Middlesex University and powered by our technological partners, Sponsorcraft Limited (“Hubbub”).

Data Controller

MDXCrowdfund’s Data Controller is Middlesex University, Hendon Campus, The Burroughs, London, NW4 4BT.

GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which came in to effect from May 2018, protects the rights of individuals by setting out certain rules about what organisations can and cannot do with information about people. A key element of the GDPR is an obligation to process individuals’ data lawfully and fairly. In order to meet the fairness part of this, Middlesex University is required to provide information about how we process personal data.

Middlesex University takes its obligations under GDPR very seriously and will always ensure personal data is collected, handled, stored and shared in a secure manner.

This policy (together with the Site’s Terms and Conditions and any other documents referred to in them) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us or on our behalf.

Certain definitions set out in the Site’s Terms and Conditions also apply in this policy. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.

By visiting mdxcrowdfund.com you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy.

How does MDXCrowdfund collect your personal data?

The Site observes Middlesex University’s general privacy policy for the collection, storage and usage of personal data. You can find out more about Middlesex University’s Privacy Policy here.

Date is collected and held within Sponsorcraft Ltd’s secure server environment, which is based in Dublin and hosted by Amazon Web Services. The storage of this data complies with GDPR regulations and is in accordance with Middlesex University’s Data Protection Policy, which can be accessed here.

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

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to the Site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

What personal data does MDXCrowfund collect?

When you register to use the Site, participate in discussions on the Site, use the Site's social media functions, pledge sponsorship monies to a Project, register a Project, or report a user, Project or a problem with the Site, you may provide us with the following information:

  • Your name;
  • A personal description and photo or avatar;
  • Your address and phone number;
  • Your e-mail address and PayPal email address;
  • Your social media information;
  • Pledge information and your Gift Aid choices.

You may also provide us with access to this information when you fill in the enquiries form on the Site or get in touch with us by email, phone or otherwise.

Your financial information

PayPal processes online donations made to crowdfunding projects featured on MDXCrowdfund and PayPal are the only people who see your debit or credit card information. PayPal’s use of your information is governed by its own privacy terms. For further information on PayPal’s privacy policy, please visit www.paypal.com/uk/home. Neither Middlesex University, nor Sponsorcraft Limited who operate the Site, have access to your debit or credit card information.

In the event you decide to donate to a Project offline (i.e. not through PayPal), the Project Creator (“the Creator”) will be in touch upon successful completion of their project to arrange the method of transfer for your donation. This is an agreement entered into by you and the Creator directly. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for offline donations made to Projects featured on the site.

Information that may automatically be collected about you through the site and the use of cookies

With regard to each of your visits to the Site, our technological partners Sponsorcraft Ltd may automatically collect the following data on our behalf:

  • technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet, your login information, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform;
  • information about your visit, including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) clickstream to, through and from the Site (including date and time);
  • page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), methods used to browse away from the page, and any email used to contact us through our contacts form;
  • The Site also uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of the Site. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse the Site and also allows us to improve the Site. For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them see our Cookie Policy.

Information we receive from other sources

We work closely with third parties in order to deliver the services of the Site to the best of our abilities and may receive information about you from them. This includes working with our technical partners Sponsorcraft Ltd, delivery and payment processing services like PayPal, among others (e.g. analytics providers, search information providers, and other business partners and technical sub-contractors working directly with us or one of our third party partners as required).

By using mdxcrowdfund.com, you accept that the collection and processing of some or all of this information is a mandatory condition of Site usage.

Third party links featured on the Site

The Site may contain links to other sites (e.g. a Project Creator’s Facebook page, personal website or YouTube channel, or PayPal for the purposes of donation to projects featured on mdxcrowdfund.com). If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

How and why does MDXCrowdfund use personal data?

Data provided to us by you or collected through the Site or a third party partner (e.g. Sponsorcraft Limited and PayPal) will be used in the following ways:

  • to carry out our obligations arising from any contract entered into between you and Middlesex University in relation to the Site and to provide you with the information and services that you request from us;
  • to notify you about changes to the Site and its associated services;
  • to ensure that content from the Site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer;
  • to administer the Site and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes;
  • to improve the Site and ensure that content is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer;
  • to allow you to participate in interactive features of the Site, including (but not limited to) registering to use the Site, posting a Project on the Site, sending messages to other users of the Site, sponsoring a Project, and using social media tools, when you choose to do so;
  • as part of our efforts to keep the Site safe and secure;
  • to provide you with information about other services or departments within Middlesex University but only where you have given us your express consent to do so. This could include:
    • the distribution of publications;
    • the sending of relevant emails, which will be tracked and stored and analysed to ensure that we are better able to tailor our communications;
    • University fundraising operations;
    • the notification and promotion of events;
    • requests to complete relevant surveys;
    • and for any other use deemed to sit within our data protection statement.

Sharing of personal data

Information we collect will be used by the MDXCrowdfund team and may also be shared with staff members working in other departments at Middlesex University (e.g. Finance for Gift Aid purposes).

Additionally, information might be shared between a Project Creator and a Project Sponsor so that:

  • The payment of offline donations can be arranged;
  • Project updates can be provided;
  • Project-related questions can be asked/answered;
  • Communication can take place in relation to the delivery of Project rewards.

This information will be shared on a ‘need to know’ basis.

Information collected about you through the Site could also be combined with existing Middlesex University records (e.g. if you are a former student, information about you might be added your alumni record or you might be added to an existing communication list if you have indicated a desire to learn more about a particular service or activity) but only with your express consent for this to happen.

We may share your information with selected third parties including:

  • Business partners, suppliers and sub-contractors for the performance of any contract we enter into with you, including Sponsorcraft Limited, which operates the Site and processes your information on our behalf;
  • Analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimisation of the Site.

We may disclose your personal information to third parties:

  • In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal data to the seller or buyer of such business or assets;
  • If Middlesex University or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by it about its customers will be one of the transferred assets;
  • If we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our Terms and Conditions and other agreements; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Middlesex University, our customers, or others.

How long does MDXCrowdfund keep personal data?

How long your personal account data is stored on MDXCrowdfund (i.e. the information you have chosen to provide in your account profile) is at your discretion. If you wish to alter or remove any of the information you have given to us, please log into your account and update your profile, as appropriate.

If you have any issues updating or deleting your profile, please contact us at crowdfund@mdx.ac.uk so we can assist you.

Middlesex University takes its obligations under the GDPR very seriously in terms of not holding onto personal data for any longer than is necessary so any other data collected about you by us (as opposed to information you proactively choose to include within your MDXCrowdfund account profile) will be held in accordance with Middlesex University’s data retention policy.

The University has a retention schedule in place for the different categories of data it holds. For more information, please see Middlesex University's General Privacy Policy.

Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the following rights:

  • to obtain access to, and copies of, the personal data that we hold about you;
  • to require that we cease processing your personal data if the processing is causing you damage or distress;
  • to require us not to send you marketing communications;
  • to require us to correct the personal data we hold about you if it is incorrect;
  • to require us to erase your personal data;
  • to require us to restrict our data processing activities (and, where our processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent, without affecting the lawfulness of our processing based on consent before its withdrawal);
  • to receive from us the personal data we hold about you which you have provided to us, in a reasonable format specified by you, including for the purpose of you transmitting that personal data to another data controller;
  • to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to any of our particular processing activities where you feel this has a disproportionate impact on your rights.

Please note that the above rights are not absolute and we may be entitled to refuse requests where exceptions apply.

To exercise any of the above rights please get in contact with the University’s Data Protection Officer using the contact details provided at the start of this notice.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Regulator (the Information Commissioner’s Office or "ICO") if you believe your request has not been dealt with properly or you have a complaint to raise against the University for any other data protection related issue. A complaint can be raised via the  ICO's website.

You also have the right to withdraw consent for the processing of your personal data by the University at any time, if your consent was initially sought to use your personal data.

Changes to our privacy policy

Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.

Site User’s Code of Conduct

Users of the Site agree not to abuse Creators' personal information. For these purposes, abuse is defined as the use of personal information for any purpose other than those specifically stated in the Creator's Project.

Users of the Site agree not to abuse Sponsors' personal information. For these purposes, abuse is defined as using personal information for any purpose other than to contact Sponsors directly with regard to the Creator's project.

Get in touch

The official contact details for the MDXCrowdfund team are:
MDXCrowdfund team
Middlesex University - Williams Building (Room W237)
The Burroughs
London
NW4 4BT
Email: crowdfund@mdx.ac.uk

To get in touch with Middlesex University’s Data Protection Officer, please use the following contact details:
Data Protection Officer
Middlesex University
The Burroughs
London
NW4 4BT

Tel: +44 (0)20 8411 5555
Email: dpaofficer@mdx.ac.uk