1. Introduction

3241 Foundation NPC (“3241 Foundation“, “we“, “us“, “our“) is a registered non-profit company and Public Benefit Organisation operating in South Africa, approved by the South African Revenue Service (“SARS“) to issue Section 18A tax certificates (Section 18A No. 930073407).

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information when you visit our website at https://3241.co.za (the “Website“), create a donor account, make a donation, apply for support, apply to volunteer, sign up for our newsletter, or otherwise interact with us.

This Policy is issued in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA“). By using the Website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Policy.

2. Who we are and how to contact us

3241 Foundation NPC
Registered address: 46 Impala Rd, Johannesburg, 2091, South Africa
Email: info@3241.co.za 
Section 18A Reference No: 930073407

For any queries, requests, or concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact us.

3. The Information Officer

Under POPIA, every organisation that processes personal information must have an Information Officer, who is responsible for POPIA compliance and for handling data subject requests.

3241 Foundation has not yet formally appointed and registered an Information Officer with the Information Regulator. Until this appointment is made, and in accordance with POPIA’s default position, the head of the organisation is responsible for this function. In the interim, all privacy-related queries and requests should be directed to info@3241.co.za, and will be handled by a director of the Foundation.

4. Personal information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

1. Donor account information When you create a donor account or make a donation through our donation plugin, we collect your name, email address, phone number, physical address, and South African ID number. Your ID number is required by SARS to issue a valid Section 18A tax certificate for your donation, and is used for no other purpose.
2. Payment information We do not collect or store your card, bank, or other payment details. All payment information is collected and processed directly by our third-party payment gateway (currently expected to be PayFast or Paystack — to be confirmed) in accordance with that provider’s own privacy policy and security standards. We only receive confirmation that a payment was made, its amount, and a reference number.
3. Beneficiary (Apply for Support) applications If you apply for support from the Foundation, we collect the personal information you provide in your application, which may include your name, contact details, household or circumstantial information, and, depending on the nature of the application, special personal information such as details about your health, living conditions, or vulnerability. We only collect this information with your consent and to the extent needed to assess and process your application.
4. Volunteer applications If you apply to volunteer with us, we collect the information you submit, such as your name, contact details, availability, skills, and relevant experience.
5. Newsletter sign-up If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your name and email address for the purpose of sending you updates about our work. You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in any newsletter email, or by contacting us directly.
6. Comments and testimonials If you submit a comment or testimonial on the Website, we collect the content you submit along with your name and, where provided, your email address and any image associated with your submission.
7. Automatically collected information When you browse the Website, we automatically collect certain technical information through cookies and similar technologies, including your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and time spent on the Website. This is described further in Section 8 (Cookies and Analytics) below.

5. Special personal information

Some of the information we may collect, particularly through beneficiary applications (for example, health information, or information revealing vulnerability linked to poverty or need), is classified as “special personal information” under POPIA. We only process such information:

1. with your explicit consent; and/or
2. where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend a right or obligation in law; and/or
3. for the purpose of providing you with the support you have applied for.

We apply additional care and restricted access to this category of information.

South African ID numbers are similarly treated with heightened care, and are used strictly for the purpose of generating valid Section 18A tax certificates.

6. How and why we use your information

We use personal information for the following purposes, and on the following lawful bases under POPIA:

We do not use your personal information for any purpose incompatible with the purpose for which it was originally collected, and we do not sell your personal information to third parties.

7. Who we share your information with

We may share personal information with:

1. Payment gateway providers (currently expected to be PayFast or Paystack), to process donations and recurring payments.
2. SARS, to the extent required to validate or support Section 18A tax certificates issued to you.
3. Google Analytics, for website analytics purposes (see Section 8 below).
4. Service providers who support our operations, such as hosting, email, and IT service providers, under contractual confidentiality obligations.
5. Regulators or authorities, where required by law.

We do not share your personal information with any third party for their own independent marketing purposes without your consent.

8. Cookies and analytics

Our Website uses cookies and similar technologies to operate correctly, remember your preferences, and understand how visitors use our Website. When you first visit the Website, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner allowing you to accept, reject, or customise the following categories of cookies:

1. Necessary cookies – required for core site functionality, such as secure logins to your donor account. These do not store personal data and cannot be disabled.
2. Functional cookies – support features such as content sharing and third-party tools.
3. Analytical cookies – help us understand visitor behaviour, including through Google Analytics, which may set cookies to collect data such as pages visited, time on site, and general location. This data is processed by Google in accordance with its own privacy policy, and may involve the transfer of information outside South Africa.
4. Advertisement cookies – used to deliver more relevant advertising and measure campaign effectiveness, where enabled.

You can manage or withdraw your cookie consent at any time using the cookie preference settings available on our Website.

9. Cross-border transfers

Some of our service providers, including Google Analytics and our payment gateway provider, may process or store information outside South Africa. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure that such providers apply a level of protection to your information that is at least equivalent to the protections required under POPIA.

10. Data retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Policy, including any applicable legal, accounting, or tax record-keeping requirements (for example, donation and Section 18A certificate records, which SARS may require us to retain for a minimum period). Beneficiary and volunteer application information is retained for as long as reasonably necessary to administer our programmes, after which it is securely deleted or anonymised.

11. Security of your information

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information in our possession against loss, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction, including secure hosting, access controls on our donor dashboard, and reliance on reputable, PCI-compliant payment gateways for all payment data. No system is completely secure, and while we take reasonable steps to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. Your rights

Subject to POPIA, you have the right to:

1. request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you, and to access that information;
2. request correction or updating of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated personal information;
3. request deletion or destruction of personal information that we are no longer authorised to retain;
4. object to the processing of your personal information, on reasonable grounds, including for direct marketing purposes;
5. withdraw any consent you have previously given, at any time (this does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal);
6. lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe your rights under POPIA have been infringed.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@3241.co.za. We will respond within a reasonable time and in accordance with POPIA.

13. Complaints to the Information Regulator

If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal information, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa: https://inforegulator.org.za 

14. Children’s information

Our Website and donation services are not directed at children. Where a beneficiary application relates to a minor (for example, as part of a household or family application for support), we will only process the minor’s information with the consent of their parent or guardian, or as otherwise permitted by POPIA.

15. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, our services, or the law. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

16. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us at:

3241 Foundation NPC
46 Impala Rd, Johannesburg, 2091, South Africa
Email: info@3241.co.za