Privacy & Cookies
Below you can read how we handle your personal data.
Copyright - Dutch Council for Refugees
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Privacy Statement - Dutch Council for Refugees
Version: 7 January 2026
The Dutch Council for Refugees respects your privacy
The Dutch Council for Refugees respects the privacy of its donors, volunteers, partners, campaign supporters and website visitors. Your personal data is handled and protected with the utmost care. We comply with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the codes of conduct of Goede Doelen Nederland. We also hold the CBF Recognition Seal (the Dutch regulator for charities) and, as a member of the Data-Driven Marketing Association (DDMA), follow that organisation’s codes of conduct.
This Privacy Statement applies to all activities (including print media, radio, television and internet) of the Dutch Council for Refugees. We may amend this Privacy Statement from time to time. The version date is shown at the top of this statement.
About the Dutch Council for Refugees
The Dutch Council for Refugees is a charitable organisation that safeguards the interests of refugees and asylum seekers in the Netherlands, from arrival through to integration into society. To carry out this work, we recruit donors, volunteers and other interested individuals.
We process the personal data that these (prospective) donors, (prospective) volunteers, interested parties and other contacts provide to us, as well as data we obtain through visits to and use of our websites: vluchtelingenwerk.nl, actie.vluchtelingenwerk.nl and actievoorvluchtelingenwerk.nl.
Who does this privacy statement apply to?
If you donate to the Dutch Council for Refugees, campaign on our behalf, register as a volunteer, order an item from us or otherwise contact us, we record your details. We need this information to manage the relationship you enter into with us.
We are responsible for your personal data
The Dutch Council for Refugees is responsible for the processing of your personal data and attaches great importance to handling your personal data with care. This means, among other things, that:
- We treat your personal data confidentially.
- We have implemented security measures to protect your personal data against loss, unauthorised access and theft.
- We delete personal data when they are no longer required for our activities.
The data controller responsible for all processing activities described below is:
Stichting VluchtelingenWerk Nederland
Surinameplein 122
1058 GV Amsterdam
Chamber of Commerce no. 40532333
When we receive your data
To support refugees, we rely in part on our donors and volunteers.
When you make a donation to the Dutch Council for Refugees, we process information such as your name, address and bank account number. These details are necessary to register and process your donation.
If you apply online to become a volunteer, we process information such as your name, address and email address.
Your personal data may also be processed when you use our services. For example:
- When you contact our Public Information Service by email or telephone;
- When you make a donation by SMS;
- When you subscribe to our newsletter.
In these cases, we may process your telephone number, email address and name.
We may also process personal data that you share with us online. Examples include signing a petition, creating an online campaign page, and information such as your gender or place of residence that can be inferred from social media. This enables us to offer targeted and relevant information and gain insights into interest levels within specific regions. We aim to tailor our communications as closely as possible to your interests.
In some cases, personal data may be validated or combined with information from external sources. For example, we may consult publicly available sources and enrich our data through third parties, such as EDM, to keep our database up to date.
Why do we process your personal data?
Have you donated to the Dutch Council for Refugees?
We use your personal data because this is necessary for processing donations. We may also use your data to optimise our services and further promote our mission.
We only process personal data that is necessary for handling donations or that contributes to achieving our mission. Specifically, we process personal data to:
- Process and manage donations;
- Maintain donor and membership records;
- Register petition signatories;
- Inform donors and newsletter subscribers about our work;
- Keep records of who may and may not be approached with marketing communications;
- Promote new campaigns and request additional donations;
- Conduct research among donors and members;
- Manage disputes where necessary;
- Maintain our financial administration and comply with tax legislation.
To inform you about new campaigns and invite you to make a further donation, the Dutch Council for Refugees may use donor email addresses to reach supporters via social media platforms such as Facebook.
The Dutch Council for Refugees uses the email addresses of donors and contacts for Facebook Custom Audience targeting. A Custom Audience is created by uploading email addresses into Facebook’s advertising tools so that this group can be informed about specific campaigns.
If you do not wish to be included in a Custom Audience, please contact Donor Services on 020 346 72 07 or send an email to donateurs@vluchtelingenwerk.nl. You can also read our Cookie Statement below.
Have you registered as a volunteer?
We only use the personal data that you provide in the registration form to contact you and to match you with a suitable volunteer position.
If you have consented to this, we may also send you news and updates about refugees by email.
What legal grounds do we use to process your personal data?
Have you donated to the Dutch Council for Refugees?
The Dutch Council for Refugees processes personal data only when there is a lawful basis to do so.
The processing of your personal data may be based on compliance with a legal obligation. For example, tax legislation requires us to retain certain financial records. In most cases, the legal basis is your explicit consent or our legitimate interest. For example, when making a donation, you may give consent to receive the Dutch Council for Refugees newsletter.
You may withdraw your consent at any time. Once consent has been withdrawn, we will cease processing personal data for purposes that depend on that consent.
Have you registered as a volunteer?
The legal basis for processing your personal data is the intention to enter into a volunteer agreement. For example, when you register as a volunteer, we use your details to help find the volunteer role that best matches your interests and skills.
Do third parties receive data from the Dutch Council for Refugees?
We never provide personal data to third parties for commercial purposes.
However, we use carefully selected suppliers (processors) to support our fundraising activities and volunteer recruitment. We enter into processing agreements with these parties to ensure that they process your personal data only in accordance with our instructions and applicable legal requirements.
Have you been contaced by the Dutch Council for Refugees?
To keep you informed about our campaigns and activities, the Dutch Council for Refugees may also contact you by telephone. We will only do this if you are a donor or if you have explicitly consented to the use of your telephone number.
We use the following telephone numbers:
- (020) 764 07 78
- (020) 205 07 14
- (020) 211 17 67
- (020) 8900 620
- (088) 8800 840
- (033) 2011 049
- (020) 5352 143
If you no longer wish to receive telephone calls, please contact Donor Services on 020 346 72 07 or use the designated unsubscribe form.
We do not retain your personal data longer than necessary
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to achieve the purposes described above. For example, the Dutch Council for Refugees is required by tax legislation to retain financial records for at least seven years.
If you register as a volunteer and no suitable match can be found, your registration details will be retained for no longer than one month after the procedure has been completed.
Your rights regarding personal data
You have the right to:
- Request access to your personal data;
- Request correction of your personal data;
- Request the transfer of your personal data (data portability);
- Request the erasure of your personal data.
You also have the right to object to:
- The use of your personal data for direct marketing purposes;
- The continued receipt of certain marketing communications.
You have the right to request the restriction of processing where there are valid grounds for doing so, for example, if you dispute the accuracy of the personal data processed by the Dutch Council for Refugees or if you have objected to the processing of your personal data.
If you submit a request to exercise one of these rights, we will assess whether we are able to comply with your request. For example, we may be unable to do so if we cannot verify your identity. If we reject your request, we will explain our reasons in writing.
You may also submit a complaint to the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) regarding the use of your personal data by the Dutch Council for Refugees.
Unsubscribing from campaigns and newsletters
If you have made a donation, we may use your postal address, email address or telephone number to inform you about new campaigns. This may take place by post, email or telephone.
Every email and telephone conversation includes an option to unsubscribe from that form of communication.
You may also unsubscribe by calling 020 346 72 07 or by emailing donateurs@vluchtelingenwerk.nl.
Withdrawing your volunteer registration
If you have completed a volunteer registration form, your name and contact details may be used to contact you regarding volunteer opportunities at the Dutch Council for Refugees. You may withdraw your registration at any time by emailing werkenbij@vluchtelingenwerk.nl.
Security
We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against loss and any form of unlawful processing.
What about links to other websites?
Our website contains links to other websites. We are not responsible for how those organisations handle your personal data. Please consult the privacy statement of any website you visit.
What about social media links?
Our website includes buttons that allow pages to be promoted or shared via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).
These buttons are generated by code supplied by the social media platforms themselves and may place cookies on your device. Please read the privacy statements of these social media platforms to understand how they process your personal data.
Questions
We take your privacy seriously. If you have any questions, comments or complaints regarding this Privacy Statement, please contact us.
Stichting VluchtelingenWerk Nederland
Surinameplein 122
1058 GV Amsterdam
Email: privacy@vluchtelingenwerk.nl
Telephone: 020 346 72 00
You may also contact our Privacy Officer directly via privacy@vluchtelingenwerk.nl or our Data Protection Officer via fg@vluchtelingenwerk.nl.
Cookies on this website
What is a cookie?
A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your computer, tablet or smartphone when you visit a website. Information is stored in this file and can be recognised during future visits. This makes it possible, for example, to keep you logged in to a website or remember your language preferences.
There are three types of cookies:
- Functional cookies: These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. For example, an online shop may use cookies to remember which products you have placed in your shopping cart.
- Analytical cookies: These cookies collect statistics, such as the number of website visitors and how visitors use the website.
- Tracking cookies: These cookies make it possible to track your online behaviour. For example, after viewing a product in an online shop, you may see advertisements for that same product on other websites.
Cookies on this website
The Dutch Council for Refugees uses functional, analytical and tracking cookies.
Functional cookies are used, among other things, to enable the integration of social media platforms such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) on our website.
We use analytical cookies to improve the quality of our website. By analysing how visitors use the website and which links are clicked most frequently, we can determine which content is most relevant and interesting to our visitors.
We also use cookies to assess whether pages that we believe may be relevant to you can be found easily. For example, if visitors search for specific information on our website but are unable to find it, this can be identified through anonymous statistics collected by cookies. This helps us improve the structure, navigation and content of our website to make it more user-friendly.
We also regularly use cookies for A/B testing. In these tests, two versions of the same web page are compared to determine which performs better. The data collected for these tests are not linked to personal information and are therefore anonymous.
The cookies we use for advertising through Google Ads provide us with aggregated demographic information about website visitors who arrive via Google Ads campaigns. These data cannot be traced back to individual users. For this purpose, we use so-called third-party cookies.
Finally, our Facebook tracking cookie records how often promotional content has been viewed and provides insights into the effectiveness of Facebook advertising campaigns. This helps prevent you from seeing the same advertisement too frequently.
Advertisers and third parties may use tracking cookies to build a visitor profile. If you would like to learn more about Facebook's use of tracking cookies, please consult Facebook's privacy and cookie information.
How can you delete cookies?
You can delete cookies at any time. How you do this depends on the web browser you are using. Common web browsers include Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari. You can also configure your browser to notify you whenever a cookie is received or to block cookies altogether.
Please note that if you block or disable cookies, some parts of the website may not function properly. For more information about cookie settings and browser-specific instructions, please consult the help section of your web browser.
Privacy Regulations for Integration Services
The Dutch Council for Refugees is a national foundation. The Dutch Council for Refugees operates in all asylum reception centres in the Netherlands and has offices in municipalities throughout the country. In carrying out our work, employees of the Dutch Council for Refugees collect, record and use personal data.
Under privacy legislation, specifically the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Dutch Council for Refugees is responsible for ensuring that personal data are handled properly. We are required to protect your personal data and treat them with due care in accordance with this legislation.
These Privacy Regulations apply to all clients who use the integration services of the Dutch Council for Refugees. These services are aimed at supporting integration into Dutch society, for example if you receive social guidance from the Dutch Council for Refugees or participate in a civic integration programme provided by the organisation.