Last updated: 9 October 2026
1. Who we are
Shepherd’s Keep is the responsible party for personal information collected through this website (shepherdskeep.org.za) under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).
| Legal status | Non-profit company (registered as a Section 21 company, not for gain), Reg. No. 2001/001302/08 |
|---|---|
| Registrations | NPO No. 005-405 · Public Benefit Organisation No. 18/11/13/856 |
| Address | 1195 Bluff Road, Marlborough Park, Bluff, South Africa |
| Telephone / email | 031 466 1045 · info@shepherdskeep.org.za |
| Information Officer | Cheryl Pratley, reachable at info@shepherdskeep.org.za |
2. What we collect and why
| What | When | Why | Lawful basis (POPIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name, email address, subject and message | You use our Contact form | To answer you | Your consent; our legitimate interest in replying |
| Email address | You subscribe to our newsletter | To send you news and updates | Your consent (you can withdraw at any time) |
| Name and email | An account is created for you on the website | To let you log in | Your consent / agreement with you |
| Payment details | You donate through PayPal or PayFast | To process your gift. We do not see or store your card number; it is handled by the payment provider | Concluding the donation; legal obligations |
| Name, bank reference, amount | You donate by bank deposit | To record and acknowledge your gift and provide a receipt on request | Legal obligations (tax and accounting records) |
| IP address and device/browser information | You visit the site | Security and keeping the site working | Legitimate interest |
We collect only what we need. We do not knowingly collect information about children, and we do not sell or rent personal information. We do not use it for automated decision-making or profiling.
3. Who we share it with (operators and third parties)
We share information only where needed, and require them to protect it:
- PayPal, PayFast (Pty) Ltd and Zapper — to process donations.
- Our hosting provider (a South African hosting company) — to run the website and store its data.
- Akismet (Automattic Inc., USA) — checks form submissions for spam.
- Google — loads the fonts on this site and the map on our Contact page, so Google may receive your IP address.
- WhatsApp (Meta) — if you use the chat button, your messages are handled by WhatsApp under their terms.
- Our website developer (Netrep) — for maintenance and security.
- Authorities or the courts, where the law requires.
Some of these providers are outside South Africa. We rely on them to keep your information protected to a standard equal to POPIA (section 72).
4. How long we keep it
- Contact messages: 12 months after we reply, then deleted.
- Newsletter subscribers: until you unsubscribe.
- Website accounts: until you ask us to close them.
- Donation and tax records: 5 years or as long as the law requires.
5. How we protect it
We keep reasonable technical and organisational safeguards: access limited to people who need it, strong passwords and regular updates, backups, and monitoring. If we have reasonable grounds to believe someone has accessed your information without authority, we will notify the Information Regulator and you as soon as reasonably possible, as POPIA requires.
6. Your rights
You may ask us — free of charge for the request itself — to:
- confirm whether we hold information about you, and give you a copy;
- correct or delete information that is inaccurate, outdated or unlawfully held;
- stop using your information, and withdraw consent at any time (without affecting past use); or
- stop direct marketing (every newsletter explains how to unsubscribe, or you can email us at any time).
Contact our Information Officer at info@shepherdskeep.org.za with proof of identity. We will reply within a reasonable time, and within 30 days.
If you are unhappy with our response, you may complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa): https://inforegulator.org.za
7. Cookies
See our Cookie Policy.
8. Changes
We may update this statement and will publish the new date at the top. Substantial changes will be flagged on the site.