To mark its five-year anniversary, The DPO Centre has announced the launch of its Charity and Community Fund. The Fund provides charities and not-for-profits (NFPs) access to industry-leading data protection consultancy services at a rate reduced by 80 per cent. 

The Charity and Community Fund consists of £100,000, set aside by The DPO Centre so that eligible charities and NFPs can apply for up to £10,000 of funding each towards The DPO Centre’s consultancy services.   

The DPO Centre is one of the largest teams of data protection professionals available, who provide straightforward, practical advice, backed by the experience gained from five years of working with hundreds of charitable and commercial organisations around the globe. Successful applicants to the fund will gain peace of mind that their data protection commitments are being addressed, allowing them to focus their resources on their core purpose. 

Rob Masson, CEO, The DPO Centre said:

“In our years of working with charities and not-for-profits, we have come to appreciate the balance they must draw between the cost of accessing high-quality professional advice and the need to focus their precious financial resources on their cause.  

“We are proud to launch our Charity and Community Fund to help them address this balance, to provide them with access to the highest level of support for their data protection compliance and in turn, enable them to build greater trust, loyalty and engagement with their service users, partners and stakeholders.”  

Successful applicants will have support from our subject matter experts, leading to a decrease in the opportunity for compliance failure, fewer data breaches and a reduction in their reputational and regulatory risk. The specific services offered include:  

• Compliance reviews and gap analysis
• Policy drafting and reviews
• Conducting Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs)
• Creating and reviewing data sharing and data processing agreements
• Data protection training for staff, volunteers and stakeholders  

To apply for funding from the Charity and Community Fund, organisations need to visit www.dpocentre.com/cc-fund and submit their application by the 18^th of November 2022. All applications will be carefully considered by The DPO Centre’s dedicated funding panel and applicants will be notified of the outcome.  

To be eligible, organisations must satisfy the following criteria: 

• Be based in the United Kingdom
• Have a management committee of at least three unrelated people in place  
• Have a bank account in the charity/NFP name
• Be willing to carry out a case study once the project has been completed 

Multiple applications can be made over time by a charity, but only one application in each 12-month period will be considered.