Membership Data Procedures

 

Version: 2 

Date: May 2019
This document is reviewed and updated annually.

Purpose

The Society has adopted this document following the recommendations of the Information Commissioner’s Office and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation in force from 25 May 2018.

In order to benefit its members, the Society needs to hold and process a minimum of basic personal data about them. Its lawful basis for doing so is their voluntary consent, so all members have a right to opt in or out of communications. 

The Society’s Data Controllers are the Membership Secretary, the Treasurer and the Webmaster; The Society’s Data Processors are the Newsletter Manager and the Distribution Team.

New Memberships

Membership is open to all local residents and others who support the Society’s aims or have an interest in its activities, currently for £8 per person per year or £12 for a household. 

Via Paper Forms

Residents can join the Society by completing a form downloaded from the Barnet Society website, request one to be sent by the Membership Secretary or fill in the slip at the bottom of one of our publicity leaflets. Forms can be posted to the Barnet Society address or handed to a member of the Committee who must then pass it on to the Membership Secretary.

The form collects a person’s first name, surname and address.  A phone number and email address can also be provided and can be used to contact a member in case there are issues with administering their membership.

Via the Barnet Society Website

Residents can also join online via the Barnet Society website. The online form collects first name, surname, address, phone and email (account username) and an account password which is stored on the hosted server.  All membership PayPal transactions take place on the secure PayPal server.

An instant email is sent to the Membership Secretary with all the member details logged through PayPal from the Webmaster denoting everything required except payment information.  The Membership Secretary uses this to update the membership database.

Membership Data Processing and Storage

Member details from paper forms or PayPal are entered into an Excel formatted spreadsheet style membership database by the Membership Secretary. The total number of members on the 31st of March is used as the count of members for the previous year.

There is also an email database that is secured on the website server that is maintained by the Webmaster.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions are paid in five ways; BACS (Electronic Bank Transfer), Cheque, Cash, Standing Order and PayPal.

    • When payments are received via BACS the Barnet Society’s bank account details receives the members name, the membership number and the amount. The Treasurer downloads these details into an Excel file and sends them to the Membership Secretary monthly to record in the membership database.

 

    • Cheques and cash which are received along with the application form or renewal letter are recorded in the database under the Treasury section and main record for the member, using the member’s name, membership number and the actual amount received before being banked by the Membership Secretary. This information is retained for 12 months or until the next renewal is received. The reason for collection is to have proof of receipt of annual subscription.

 

    • When a standing order is received, the form is handed into the account holder’s bank. No details of the member’s bank account are kept on file.

 

    • When a PayPal payment is received, the member makes a payment direct from their own PayPal account, as they would in a BACS payment. These details are downloaded into an Excel file which contains details of the member’s name, amount they paid, address and email address by the Webmaster.

 

Membership Renewals

Members who paid their subscription via PayPal are automatically advised via email that their membership is due.

For those members paying by BACS, cheque or cash, paper renewal letters are sent out throughout the year, but mostly May/June on a previous annual cycle.  Renewal letters are generated by the Membership Secretary using the Excel database and printed.

Returned renewal forms are processed by the Membership Secretary who also updates any of the member’s details if they have changed. The Membership Secretary keeps the paper renewal forms for 12 months in a lever arch file.  They are then shredded and the shredded paper is sent to recycling.

Membership Termination

When a member leaves the Society (either by informing us or through persistent non-payment of their subscription), their personal data is deleted permanently from the membership database.

If a member has not renewed within 3 months of lapsing their membership, they are considered as having terminated their membership and their data is deleted from the membership database. A printed record of the deletion is produced and retained for 12 months, then shredded.

Data Backup

The database is backed up to the cloud via a Dropbox account held by the Treasurer who maintains the account and ensures backup is error free.
Other accounts and payment information are kept in a Dropbox account by the Treasurer.

Newsletter Mailing

Members receive four newsletters each year, one of which includes the Annual Report and notification of the AGM.

Newsletter distribution is managed by the Newsletter Manager Frances Wilson. Labels are produced by the Membership Secretary and given to the Newsletter Manager. These are stuck on each newsletter which are divided into Zones A-Z.

Those in Zone A are put into envelopes and posted.  A separate ‘Others’ List is produced for Newsletters taken to Barnet Library to be distributed to Councillors and Officers of LBB. The rest of the newsletters in zones B-Z are delivered to the deliverers to distribute. An updated copy of the Distribution Zone list (list of roads) is provided if requested.

Email Communications

A mailing list of email addresses for all active members who have provided an email address is maintained by the Webmaster. This is used to periodically send announcements of upcoming Barnet Society events or campaigns for which member support is needed. Personalised emails are always sent.

Email addresses of members are never disclosed to each other. Email communications also contain an electronic link which members can use to unsubscribe from the mailing list at any time.

Social Media

The Society has a Facebook account that is managed by the Webmaster, and a Twitter account that is managed by a member of the Society.