Privacy Policy
Who we are
Art Speaks: Bridging Cultures to Creativity is a fundraising initiative organized by Across Languages, in partnership with Embassy Cultural House, to raise funds supporting people in Canada who need access to essential services but do not speak the country’s official languages. We host online art auctions (“silent auctions”), “Buy Now” sales, and accept donations through our website [https://www.acrosslanguages.org/artspeaks/].
This Privacy Policy incorporates Across Languages’ organizational commitments under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA – Ontario, Bill 31), and relevant CRA records retention rules for registered charities.
We process personal and personal health information (PHI) as part of auction transactions, donations, communications, and event operations. Retention and disposal follow CRA, PIPEDA, and PHIPA guidelines.
Email: client@acrosslanguages.org
Mailing Address: 920 Commissioners Rd. E. Unit 207, London, ON N5Z 3J1
Scope:
This policy applies to all personal data collected through:
Events, artwork pickups or deliveries.
Our website;
User accounts & profiles;
Auction activities (bidding, “wishlist”, notifications);
Donations;
Newsletters & SMS communications;
Definitions:
Processor: entity processing data on our behalf (e.g. Stripe).
Personal Data: any information that identifies an individual.
Processing: collection, use, disclosure, storage.
Sensitive Info: verification identity, tax receipts.
Data We Collect:
| Identity & contact | Name, email, postal address, phone |
| Account data | Username, alias, password |
| Auction data | Bid history, pseudonym/alias, “wishlist”, outbid alerts |
| Preferences | Artistic interests |
| Technical | IP, device, cookies, UTM |
| Payments | Stripe/WooCommerce payment details (not cards stored) |
Source of Data:
Third-party: Stripe, WooCommerce.
Directly from you: account creation, bidding, donations, preferences.
Automatically: technical data via cookies, UTM, analytics.
Purposes & Legal Bases:
Contract: purchases, bids, shipping, donations
Consent: marketing, non-essential cookies
Legitimate interest: analytics, security, fraud prevention
Legal obligation: accounting, AML/KYC compliance
How long we retain your data:
Accounts & auction data: keep until account deletion + 2 years.
Transaction & donation receipts: it will keep all the time the organization is operating. (for legal/charity records)
Marketing opt-out logs: until suppression plus 2 years.
Technical logs: 1 year.
What rights you have over your data:
Canada: access, correction, consent withdrawal, complaint to the OPC
California (CCPA/CPRA): access, deletion, portability, opt-out of “sale/sharing”, non-discrimination
EU/UK (GDPR): access, rectification, erasure, portability, restriction, objection, withdrawal of consent, info on automated decisions