Privacy Policy & POPIA Notice

Empowering Eats NPO

Last Updated: 2026

Empowering Eats NPO ("Empowering Eats", "we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your Personal Information is collected and processed lawfully, transparently, and securely in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, No. 4 of 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa.

This Privacy Policy applies to our website: https://empoweringeats.org.za.

1. Information We Collect and Purpose of Processing

We collect and process personal information primarily to engage with donors, volunteers, beneficiaries, and website visitors, facilitate Section 18A tax certificates, and ensure website security.

  • Comments & Interactions: When visitors leave comments or submit forms on our site, we collect the data provided in the form, as well as the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to assist with spam detection and site security. An anonymized hash of your email address may be sent to the Gravatar service (see Automattic Privacy Policy) to display profile pictures.

  • Donation & Section 18A Data: If you donate or request a Section 18A tax certificate, we collect personal and corporate identifiers (such as name, contact details, tax number, and proof of payment) strictly for tax compliance, donor record-keeping, and legal accountability under South African law.

  • Media: If you upload images to the website, avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Website visitors could potentially download and extract location data from these files.

2. Cookies Policy

We use cookies to optimize site navigation and enhance user experience:

  • Comment Cookies: Opting in allows us to save your name, email, and website in cookies for convenience so you do not need to re-enter them for future comments. These expire after 1 year.

  • Session & Login Cookies: Temporary cookies check browser compatibility upon visiting login pages (discarded on browser closure). Active user login cookies persist for 2 days (or 2 weeks if "Remember Me" is selected). Screen preference cookies expire after 1 year.

  • Editor Cookies: Additional non-identifying cookies are stored when editing or publishing content to mark post IDs (expires after 1 day).

3. Third-Party Links & Embedded Content

Articles or pages on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, payment gateways, or map integrations). Embedded content from third-party websites behaves in the same way as if the visitor visited that external site. These platforms may collect data, use cookies, embed tracking, and monitor your interactions.

4. Data Sharing & Security

  • Spam & Security Services: Visitor comments and form submissions may be verified through automated third-party spam and security detection services.

  • Password Resets: If you request a password reset, your IP address is included in the reset communication for authorization security.

  • No Unlawful Sales: Empowering Eats does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to commercial third parties. Data is shared only with registered software services essential to our operations or legal compliance.

5. Data Retention Period

  • Comments & Metadata: Retained indefinitely to allow automatic recognition and moderation of follow-up comments.

  • Registered Profiles: Information provided in user accounts is stored securely. Users can access, edit, or delete their profile information at any time (usernames cannot be changed).

  • Donations & Financial Records: Retained for statutory periods required by South African tax legislation and auditing regulations for NPOs.

6. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject under South African law, you hold the following rights regarding your Personal Information:

  • Right to Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

  • Right to Rectification: Request correction or updating of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated information.

  • Right to Erasure/Objection: Request the deletion or restriction of processing of your personal data, provided it does not conflict with legal, statutory, or administrative record-keeping mandates.

To exercise any of these rights, contact our Information Officer at: info@empoweringeats.org.za.