Privacy Policy

Effective date: 6 December 2025
Last updated: 6 December 2025

Cambridge Female Founders Network CIC (“CFFN”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal data when you visit https://www.cambridgefemalefounders.com (the “Site”), sign up to our events, donate to our organisation, engage with our membership community, or interact with us in any other way.

We are the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or your rights, please contact our Data Protection Officer:

Data Protection Officer
Xann Schwinn
Email: dpo@cambridgefemalefounders.com

Our legal entity details:
Cambridge Female Founders Network CIC
Company No. 16467857
Registered office: Office 259, 23 King Street, Cambridge, CB1 1AH, United Kingdom

1. The Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process the following categories of personal data:

1.1 Information you provide directly

Newsletter & mailing list sign-ups

Name
Email address
Company name
Communication preferences

Contact forms

Name
Email address
Company name
Message content

Membership & community registration

Name
Email address
Company name & role
LinkedIn profile
Phone number
Location
Optional biography
Long-list of business-related questions
Occasionally ethnographic information (if provided voluntarily)
Information submitted to our member portal and interactive spaces

Donations / Payments

Name
Email address
Billing and contact details
Donation history
(Payment card information is not collected or stored by us; it is processed by Stripe.)

Event registrations

Name
Email
Company & LinkedIn
Dietary or accessibility requirements (where relevant)
Attendance consent

1.2 Information collected automatically

Through your use of our Site, we automatically collect:

IP address
Browser type & version
Device information
Cookies and tracking identifiers
Site usage and interaction data

This is processed through our analytics provider Posthog.

1.3 Data from third-party platforms

Where you interact with us on:

Luma (event registration)
WhatsApp Groups (community)
LinkedIn (social engagement)

…we may receive information you choose to share on those platforms.

2. How We Use Your Personal Data & Lawful Bases

We process personal data for the following purposes:

We do not use personal data for automated decision-making or profiling.

3. Sharing Your Personal Data

We only share your data with approved third parties when necessary to deliver our services.

We share data with:

Stripe - to process donations/payments
SendGrid - to send newsletters and system communications
Posthog - Site analytics
AWS & Cognito - authentication, password storage, and secure hosting
Our custom dashboard and member portal (built via Lovable) - to support community and event services

We do not sell your personal data.

We may share data if required by law (e.g. HMRC, regulators, court orders).

4. International Transfers

We primarily store and process personal data within the UK and EEA.

Where processors transfer or store data outside the UK/EEA (e.g. email providers), we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place such as Standard Contractual Clauses.

We do not transfer sensitive data internationally.

5. Cookies & Analytics

We use:

Essential cookies (required for site function)
Functional/analytics cookies via Posthog

We do not currently use a cookie banner, as we only use essential and functional analytics cookies.

If we introduce marketing or non-essential cookies, this Policy will be updated.

6. Data Retention

We retain your data only for as long as necessary:

After these periods, data is securely deleted or anonymised.

7. Security Measures

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including:

AWS hosting and backups
Encrypted password storage via Cognito
Access controls
Secure third-party processors (e.g. Stripe, SendGrid)
Regular monitoring and security reviews

No system is 100% secure, but we implement industry-standard protections.

8. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

Access your data
Correct inaccurate data
Request deletion
Restrict or object to processing
Request data portability
Withdraw consent (where consent is the basis)
Lodge a complaint with the ICO

To exercise your rights, contact: dpo@cambridgefemalefounders.com

9. Marketing Communications & Consent

You can:

Withdraw consent
Unsubscribe from newsletters
Request removal from communications

by emailing dpo@cambridgefemalefounders.com

We do not use “soft opt-in”; users must opt-in to marketing emails.

10. Children & Minors

CFFN is an 18+ organisation and does not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under the age of 18. If you believe a minor has provided data, please contact us immediately.

11. Community Behaviour & Code of Conduct

All community interactions including WhatsApp groups, member portal, events, and communications are governed by our Code of Conduct: https://www.cambridgefemalefounders.com/code-of-conduct

Misuse of data within the community (e.g., scraping the Member Directory) is prohibited.

12. Links to Other Websites

Our Site may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices or content.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last Updated” date. Continued use of our Site indicates acceptance of the new terms.

14. Complaints

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
https://ico.org.uk/
Telephone: 0303 123 1113

We encourage you to contact us first so we can address your concerns.

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, please contact:

Data Protection Officer
Cambridge Female Founders Network CIC
Email: dpo@cambridgefemalefounders.com