Privacy Notice for alumni, donors, friends and student award recipients
How University Advancement (UA) collects, uses, shares and protects Personal Information in connection with activities of the office of UA.
Last updated: March 21, 2025, 4:11 p.m.
This Privacy Notice explains how University Advancement (UA) collects, uses, shares and protects the Personal Information of alumni, donors, friends and student award recipients in connection with activities of the office of UA. This Privacy Notice also explains how to exercise the rights of access and correction for the Personal Information held by UA.
For information related to UA’s collection and use of Personal Information of active students, please see section 5 of the Student Privacy Notice.
Choosing to provide Personal Information via our website or any other service involving the transmission of Personal Information for one or more purposes (the “Purpose(s)”) constitutes consent for the information to be processed as described in this Privacy Notice. Personal Information that has been provided to us will only be used for the Purpose(s) described in this Privacy Notice.
Consent can be updated at any time by following the process outlined further below titled, What rights do you have regarding your personal information?.
Overview
Alumni, friends and supporters play an important role in the life of the University contributing to Concordia’s achievements through the years. UA supports the University’s mission and is committed to keeping the Concordia community informed of relevant activities that might be of interest.
Our work
UA’s mandate is to engage with alumni and constituents regarding activities and information of the University that afford the opportunity to learn about the academic and community achievements and successes of our collective efforts. We also seek to raise philanthropic support of our students, faculty and programs in support of the University’s mission.
UA works to keep donors engaged and provide information on the positive impact that their philanthropic support has on students and the University community.
Why do we collect Personal Information?
Depending on the Purpose(s) consented to, UA collects Personal Information:
- To communicate with constituents regarding University events, news and announcements, surveys and opportunities to support the University
- For payment processing related to events and donations
- To provide donors with an income tax receipt for donation
Please note that University Advancement may also contact student award recipients to request consent in order to share their Personal Information with donors.
What Personal Information do we collect about you & why?
With the required consent, we only collect Personal Information that is necessary for the exercise of our activities. The collection of Personal Information depends on the relationship with the university:
1. To communicate with you, if applicable
What information do we collect?
- Identifying information (such as your legal and preferred names, student ID, and netname, as applicable)
- Demographic information (such as your date of birth, citizenship, and gender), if applicable
- Contact information (such as your phone number, email address, and your home and mailing addresses)
- Enrolment information (such as your student status, program of study, faculty, year of study), if applicable
- Information related to your graduation, if applicable
- Information related to a financial award offered to you, if applicable
- Where applicable, any other information or document provided to us
Why do we collect it?
- To contact you and answer your requests
- To offer you information and news related to your education, such as upcoming events, scholarship opportunities, surveys and opportunities to support the University
- For demographic information
Who has access to it?
- University Advancement employees
What information do we collect?
- First and last name
- Optionally your middle name
- Email address
- Your mailing address
- Optionally your telephone number
- Credit card number, expiry date and security code, if applicable
- Cardholder first and last name, if applicable
Why do we collect it?
- Process payment of donation
- Process payment to attend an event
- Issue a donation tax receipt
- For demographic information
Who has access to it?
- University Advancement employees
What information do we collect?
- Identifying information (such as your legal and preferred names, student ID, and netname, as applicable)
- Demographic information (such as your date of birth, citizenship, and gender), if applicable
- Contact information (such as your phone number, email address, and your home and mailing addresses)
- Enrolment information (such as your student status, program of study, faculty, year of study), if applicable
- Information related to your graduation, if applicable
- Information related to a financial award offered to you, if applicable
- Where applicable, any other information or document provided to us
Why do we collect it?
- To contact you
- To request consent from student award recipients for donor stewardship purposes, e.g. to request consent from students in order to provide donors with information of who their award supported
- For demographic information
Who has access to it?
- University Advancement employees
How do we obtain your consent?
We collect, use and disclose Personal Information with consent or as permitted or required by law. How we obtain your consent (i.e., the manner in which we obtain it) depends on the circumstances.
Directly with you
Typically, we will seek your consent for the purpose(s) at the time your Personal Information is collected. If we want to use your Personal Information for a purpose not previously identified to you at the time of collection, we will seek your consent prior to our use of such information for this new purpose.
From a third party
If you provide us with Personal Information about another person, you are responsible for obtaining that person's consent.
With whom do we share your Personal Information?
Your Personal Information is shared internally with UA staff, and at times, with other Concordia faculty and staff, for only the Purpose(s) consented to. We may share Personal Information with service providers to perform services on our behalf, the whole in accordance with the law.
Please note that this section pertains strictly to alumni, friends, and donors concerning the Personal Information we share with third parties.
Category of third parties
- Payment processing service
- Address updates
What do we share with them
- First and last name
- Mailing address
- Payment information
What they do for us
- Process payments
- Address updates
How do we protect your Personal Information?
We have procedures in place that provide security measures for access to physical and electronic records containing the Personal Information that is under our control. For example, only authorized personnel have access to both the physical and electronic files containing Personal Information. Personal Information stored electronically is adequately protected by security measures and passwords and is accessible only to personnel who require access to perform their duties.
Where do we keep your Personal Information?
If your Personal Information is stored and-or processed in another province or country it is done in compliance with this Notice and applicable privacy laws.
How long do we keep your Personal Information?
We will keep your Personal Information in accordance with our business and legal obligations and only as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill those obligations, subject to the time limits set out in our retention schedule.
What rights do you have regarding your Personal Information?
We take steps to ensure that your Personal Information is kept as accurate, complete and up-to-date as reasonably possible. Where necessary, we expect you to provide us with updates to your Personal Information.
Right of access and correction
You may request access to and a copy of the Personal Information we have about you.
If any Personal Information about you is inaccurate, incomplete or misleading, or if its collection, disclosure or retention is not permitted by law, you may request that it be rectified.
If any Personal Information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, in some instances, you may be able to correct the information by contacting University Advancement by email at records.alumni@concordia.ca.
You may also request information from us about the ways in which your Personal Information was collected from you, as well as the names of the individuals and organizations who have access to your information and details about how long we store it.
Right of updating consent
You may refuse to consent to the collection, use or disclosure of your Personal Information. In some cases, refusal to consent to the collection request may mean that we will not be able to process your donation, to answer your request or register you for an event.
You may also withdraw your consent to our collection, use or disclosure of Personal Information for any of the Purpose(s) by clicking unsubscribe to an email you received from us or contacting us by email at records.alumni@concordia.ca. Likewise, you may also change your mind and choose to provide consent by contacting us by email at records.alumni@concordia.ca. However, before we implement the changes to your consent, we may require proof of your identity.
Note that in some cases, withdrawal of your consent may mean that you will not be able to obtain required services.
Since some communications programs may already be in progress at the time such a request is received, if applicable to the Purpose(s) you consented to, you may continue to receive communications for a short time while the change is being implemented.
How to contact the Privacy Officer?
Please direct any questions, complaints or comments regarding this Notice or our privacy practices to the Privacy Officer at the contact information provided below.
Privacy Officer
Me Frederica Jacobs
1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Room GM-620
Montreal, QC, H3G 1M8
privacy.office@concordia.ca
How will we update our website Privacy Notice?
Please check this page regularly to stay informed of changes to this Notice, as we may update it from time to time.
If we change the website Privacy Notice, we will make an updated notice available on our website 15 days before the changes take effect, indicating:
- the date of the update Notice,
- the amendments made and
- the effective date of the amendments (if later than the date of the publication).
Your continued use of our website following the implementation of the revised Notice indicates that you have read, understand and agree to the current version.
