Tietosuojaseloste

This statement describes how Effective Altruism Finland ry (hereafter “EAFI”) collects and processes personal data. As the controller, EAFI is committed to complying with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act (1050/2018).

1 Controller

Effective Altruism Finland ry
Business ID 3074260-3
Matinniitynkuja 4 A 3
02230 Espoo

2 Purpose of processing and legal basis

EAFI processes personal data in order to organise and develop its activities, to communicate about them, and to fulfil the requirements laid down in the Associations Act (503/1989). The processing is based on the data subject’s consent, the controller’s legitimate interest in organising the activities, and the statutory obligations under the Associations Act.

The data subject has the right to withdraw their consent at any time, in which case all personal data relating to the data subject will be deleted without undue delay, in any event within one month of receiving the request. Requests concerning the deletion of personal data should be sent to the following e-mail address: eafinland@altruismi.fi.

3 Data processed

EAFI processes personal data in the following contexts:

Maintenance of the membership register

Under Section 11 of the Associations Act, an association must keep a list of its members. The list must include each member’s full name and municipality of residence. In these respects, the processing is based on a statutory obligation, and providing the data is a mandatory condition for joining the association as a member. We also collect members’ contact details and information on their interests and career plans for the purposes of communication and organising events, courses and other activities aimed at members. The collection of these data is based on the data subject’s consent.

The association’s board of directors, the Executive Director and persons authorised by the board of directors have access to the membership register. From 14 February 2026 onwards, personal data necessary for organising activities may be disclosed between EAFI and other Finnish EA organisations. The membership register is maintained in the Yhdistysavain service, whose privacy statement you can view here (available only in Finnish). Data may be transferred to EAFI’s centralised Customer Relations Management system (CRM) from 14 February 2026 onwards.

Personal data will be deleted from the membership register upon resignation or expulsion without undue delay, in any event within one month of the resignation or expulsion.

Further information on processing is available in the membership register privacy statement.

The monthly newsletter provides updates on current matters relating to EAFI and local groups. In addition to subscribers’ contact details, information on whether the newsletter and the links it contains are opened is automatically collected. The purpose of the processing is to communicate about events and activities and other matters that are important for the community and its activities, and—regarding the automatic collection—to assess the level of interest in the newsletter. The processing is based on the data subject’s consent.

The association’s board of directors, the Executive Director and persons authorised by the board of directors have access to the newsletter register. From 14 February 2026 onwards, personal data necessary for organising activities may be disclosed between EAFI and other Finnish EA organisations. The data are processed on EAFI’s behalf by Rocket Science Group LLC d/b/a Mailchimp, whose privacy statement you can view here. Contact details and information about the newsletter subscription may be transferred to EAFI’s centralised Customer Relations Management system (CRM) from 14 February 2026 onwards.

If a newsletter subscriber cancels their subscription and has not otherwise given consent for the processing of their data in another context, their data will be deleted within six months of cancellation. The six-month period will be applied from 14 February 2026 onwards. Prior to this, the processing time is one month.

Further information on processing is available in the newsletter privacy statement.

Reading groups and events

EAFI organises reading groups and various events, such as an annual retreat, social and speaker events, as well as workshops related to career planning and conferences. In connection with registration, in addition to contact details, information essential for organising and planning the activities is collected—for example, information on community members’ interests, career stage and special dietary requirements. The data are collected with the data subject’s consent. If the data subject gives their explicit consent to this, they may in the future be sent communications about similar events, courses and career opportunities related to their interests.

The association’s board of directors, the Executive Director and persons authorised by the board of directors have access to the data. Personal data necessary for organising activities may be disclosed between EAFI and other Finnish EA organisations. EAFI uses Google services to collect data, and Google acts as a processor on behalf of EAFI. You can view Google’s privacy statement here. Data may be transferred to EAFI’s centralised Customer Relations Management system (CRM).

The data are subject to the general retention period set out in section 6.1 of this statement. However, any information concerning political opinions or philosophical beliefs provided in sign-up forms will be deleted within six months of the end of the reading group or event.

Programmes: Intro Program, In-depth Fellowship and Crash Course

EAFI organises various programmes annually, which may include, for example, the Effective Altruism Intro Program, In-depth Fellowship and Crash Course. In applications, in addition to contact details, information relevant to organising and planning the courses may be collected regarding community members’ interests, career stage, and social and philosophical views. The processing is based on the data subject’s consent.

The data may include, for example:

primary areas of interest (“EA cause areas”)
information on career stage and field
views on effective ways to influence the world’s problems
previous participation in the effective altruism community’s activities
where they heard about the program
information on whether the participant wishes to receive targeted communications about events, courses and career opportunities related to their interests.

The association’s board of directors, the Executive Director and persons authorised by the board of directors have access to the data. Contact details will also be shared with program facilitators. Personal data necessary for organising activities may be disclosed between EAFI and other Finnish EA organisations. EAFI uses Google services to collect data, and Google acts as a processor on behalf of EAFI. You can view Google’s privacy statement here. Data may be transferred to EAFI’s centralised Customer Relations Management system (CRM).

The data are subject to the general retention period set out in section 6.1 of this statement. However, any information concerning political opinions or philosophical beliefs provided in applications will be deleted within six months of the end of the programme.

Career counselling

In the career counselling application and in the additional information form sent after the application is accepted, the applicant’s contact details are collected, along with information necessary for providing the counselling, including information on the stages of the applicant’s career or studies, plans and interests. The purpose of the processing is to provide counselling that is as useful as possible to the applicant. In addition, to develop the career counselling and measure its effectiveness, information on the timing of counselling meetings and the parties involved is recorded.

The data are processed with the data subject’s consent. During meetings, the career adviser may take notes for possible future meetings if the advisee has given explicit consent to this in their application. The notes are not shared internally within the organisation.

From 14 February 2026 onwards, in addition to career counseling coordinators and counselors, data provided in the career counselling application and the additional information form may be processed by the association’s board of directors, the Executive Director and persons authorised by the board of directors. Personal data necessary for organising activities may be disclosed between EAFI and other Finnish EA organisations, excluding any notes taken during meetings. Disclosures are possible from 14 February 2026 onwards. EAFI uses Google services to collect data, in which case Google acts as a processor on behalf of EAFI. You can view Google’s privacy statement here. Data from career counselling applications and additional information forms may be transferred to EAFI’s centralised Customer Relations Management system (CRM).

The general retention period defined in section 6.1 applies to data provided in the career counselling application. Data provided in the additional information form will be deleted within six months of the last counselling meeting. However, if the advisee gives explicit consent to note-taking and a new meeting is agreed at the end of the meeting, the notes may be retained for a maximum of 12 months for the purposes of a later meeting.

Coordinating volunteers

EAFI may collect data for the purpose of coordinating and developing volunteer work. The data are processed with the data subject’s consent or on the basis of legitimate interest where interest in volunteering has not been expressed in writing.

The association’s board of directors, the Executive Director and persons authorised by the board of directors have access to the data. Personal data necessary for organising activities may be disclosed between EAFI and other Finnish EA organisations. EAFI uses Google services to collect data, in which case Google acts as a processor on behalf of EAFI. You can view Google’s privacy statement here. Data may be transferred to EAFI’s centralised Customer Relations Management system (CRM).

The data are subject to the general retention period set out in section 6.1 of this statement.

Maintenance of the Customer Relations Management system (CRM)

To organise and develop the association’s activities, personal data are processed in a centralised Customer Relations Management system.

The system may include, for example, the following information:

name
e-mail address
Telegram contact details
municipality of residence
information on newsletter subscription
primary areas of interest (“EA cause areas”)
information on career stage and field
participation in EA events (e.g., speaker events and conferences)
information on participation in career counselling, and the information provided in the career counselling application and additional information form
participation in, or expressed interest in, volunteering
free-form notes regarding participation in the community’s activities.

The legal bases for processing are the data subject’s consent and the controller’s legitimate interest based on organising the activities. The data are subject to the general retention period set out in section 6.1 of this statement, unless the data must be deleted earlier on another basis defined in this statement.

The association’s Chair, Vice-Chair and Executive Director, as well as the Google Workspace administrator and persons authorised by the board of directors, have access to the register. Personal data necessary for organising activities may be disclosed between EAFI and other Finnish EA organisations. EAFI uses Google services to process data, in which case Google acts as a processor on behalf of EAFI. You can view Google’s privacy statement here.

Based on areas of interest, advertising relating to future events may be targeted, provided that the data subject has given explicit consent to this, for example in connection with registration for an event or programme.

Project proposals and funding applications

In connection with project proposals and funding applications, EAFI collects the information necessary to assess the matter. The processing is based on the data subject’s consent.

The association’s board of directors, the Executive Director and persons authorised by the board of directors have access to the data. Personal data necessary for organising activities may be disclosed between EAFI and other Finnish EA organisations. EAFI uses Google services to collect data, in which case Google acts as a processor on behalf of EAFI. You can view Google’s privacy statement here.

The data are subject to the general retention period set out in section 6.1 of this statement.

Travel grants and expense reimbursements

At its discretion, EAFI may award travel grants, for example to support participation in conferences and the annual retreat. In addition, EAFI may provide expense reimbursements for expenses already incurred in connection with its activities. In applications, the information necessary for handling the matter is collected with the data subject’s consent.

The association’s board of directors, the Executive Director and persons authorised by the board of directors have access to the data. The data are collected using Google services, in which case Google acts as a processor on behalf of EAFI. You can view Google’s privacy statement here.

Data contained in travel grant applications will be deleted within six months of the end of the event, and data provided for expense reimbursements within six months of the processing of the application matter.

Annual community surveys and interviews for EAFI actives

EAFI conducts an annual community survey to measure the effectiveness of its activities. The surveys collect information, for example, on whether the ideas of effective altruism have influenced a member’s career plans and charitable giving. EAFI also conducts annual interviews to support our actives. In the interviews, we ask about the organisation’s actives’ successes and challenges as well as what kind of events and other activities they would like to see EAFI organise in the future. The data are collected with the data subject’s consent.

Responses to community surveys and responses given in the interviews are processed within six months of the end of the survey. After this, the data may be retained in anonymised form so that the respondent cannot be identified, for example on the basis of the overall set of responses provided.

4 Recipients of data and international transfers

Personal data necessary for organising activities may be disclosed between EAFI and other Finnish EA organisations. These include Aalto EA, EA Helsinki and EA Tampere. The organisations process the data in accordance with their own privacy policies. The disclosures do not apply to data provided in travel grant or expense reimbursement applications, annual community survey data, or any notes taken during career counselling. Disclosures of membership register and newsletter subscription data are possible only from 14 February 2026 onwards.

We process data using the services of Google, Mailchimp and Yhdistysavain. These parties act as processors of personal data on behalf of EAFI and may transfer data to third countries in accordance with their privacy policies and by applying the transfer mechanisms provided for in the EU General Data Protection Regulation.

Applicable privacy statements for processing:

Google Ireland Ltd: Privacy and Terms of Use
The Rocket Science Group LLC d/b/a Mailchimp:
Yhdistysavain / Vitec Avoine Oy: data protection addendum (available only in Finnish)

Compliance with the obligations laid down in the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act (1050/2018) may require the disclosure of data to national authorities.

5 Protection of personal data

Within the association, data may be processed by the association’s board of directors, the Executive Director and persons authorised by the board of directors. Contact details provided in program applications will also be shared with the facilitators. Data in the Customer Relations Management system may be processed by the association’s Chair, Vice-Chair and Executive Director, as well as the Google Workspace administrator and persons authorised by the board of directors.

6 Retention period

6.1 General retention period

EAFI reviews the currency of its registers annually and deletes the data of data subjects who have not been active in the community during the past two years. The period is calculated from the date on which the data subject last gave consent to the processing of their data, for example when submitting a registration form. Payment of a membership fee is also interpreted as activity. One month before the planned deletion, the data subject will be asked by e-mail whether they wish to remain in the organisation’s registers, and an affirmative reply starts a new two-year period.

6.2 Specific retention periods

Data are deleted from the membership register upon resignation or expulsion without undue delay, in any event within one month of the resignation or expulsion.

Any information concerning political opinions or philosophical beliefs provided in sign-up forms and applications will be deleted within six months of the end of the reading group, event or programme.

Data provided in career counselling additional information forms will be deleted within six months of the application being processed or the last counselling meeting being held. However, if the advisee gives explicit consent to note-taking and a new meeting is agreed at the end of the meeting, the notes may be retained for a maximum of 12 months for the purposes of a later meeting.

Data provided for travel grants and expense reimbursements will be deleted within six months of the end of the event or the processing of the application matter.

Data from the annual community surveys and interviews with EAFI actives is processed within six months of the end of the survey. After this, the data may be retained in anonymised form so that the respondent cannot be identified, for example on the basis of the overall set of data provided.

7 Data subject rights

In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, the data subject has the right to:

withdraw their consent to the processing of their personal data
obtain a copy of the personal data relating to them
have inaccurate or incorrect personal data relating to them rectified
request the erasure of their data or the restriction of processing
object to the processing of their personal data where the legal basis for the processing is the controller’s legitimate interest
receive the personal data they have provided in a machine-readable format in order to transfer it to another controller
be informed of a personal data breach without undue delay where the breach is likely to result in a high risk to their rights and freedoms
receive compensation from the controller or processor for material or non-material damage resulting from an infringement of this Regulation
lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (in Finland, the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman).

8 Contact details

Please send enquiries relating to the register to the following address: eafinland@altruismi.fi. If necessary, the controller may ask you to prove your identity. A response to a request relating to the register will be provided without undue delay, in any event within one month of receiving the request.

Updated 12 January 2026