On your privacy, and our promise.

A short, honest note

We are a small storytelling team that takes care with people’s lives every day. We take the same care with your information. This policy explains, plainly, what we collect, why, and how we look after it.

If anything here is unclear, write to foundation@storiesbyaradhana.com — we’ll respond personally.

Who this applies to

This policy applies to anyone who:

• —Visits storiesbyaradhana.com.
• —Submits a form (collaborate, contact, press, foundation enquiry).
• —Makes a one-time donation or joins the Foundation for Change Circle (FCC).
• —Contributes to a specific crowdfunding campaign run by the Foundation.

What we collect

We only collect what is genuinely needed to do our work. Specifically:

When you contact or enquire with us:

• —Name
• —Email address
• —Phone number (if provided)
• —Brand or organisation (if provided)
• —The message you write to us

When you donate or join FCC:

• —Name
• —Email address
• —Phone number
• —Postal address (street, city, state, postal code, country)
• —PAN (only if you choose to receive an Income Tax Exemption certificate — required under Indian tax law)
• —Donation amount, date and transaction reference

When you browse the site:

• —Standard, anonymised analytics (page views, device type, country, referrer) to help us understand which stories are reaching people and how the site is performing. We do not track you across other websites.

We do not see or store your card number, CVV, UPI PIN or banking credentials. All payment data is handled directly by Razorpay, our payment processor, under their own security standards (PCI-DSS compliant).

Why we collect it

• —To process your donation and issue a receipt (including Income Tax Exemption certificates shared as per the applicable provisions of the Income Tax Act).
• —To send confirmations, monthly impact updates, behind-the-scenes content, and meetup invitations (for FCC members).
• —To respond to your enquiries, collaboration requests, or press queries.
• —Your postal address is collected for statutory record-keeping under Section 8 / 80G compliance, to issue physical receipts and certificates where applicable, and to send occasional acknowledgements or impact reports by post for FCC members.
• —To meet our statutory obligations as a registered Section 8 company under Indian law.
• —To improve the website and our storytelling work.

We will never sell your data. We will never share it with third parties for marketing purposes. Full stop.

Who we share data with

We share information only with carefully chosen partners that help us run the Foundation, and only the minimum necessary:

• —Razorpay — to process donations and recurring FCC subscriptions.
• —Resend — to send donation confirmations and impact updates by email.
• —Statutory and tax authorities — only where required by Indian law (e.g., for 80G compliance, annual filings).

Each of these partners has their own privacy and security commitments, available on their respective websites.

How long we keep your data

• —Donation records (incl. PAN, amount, date) — retained for as long as required by Indian tax and Section 8 law (typically 8 years), as we are legally obliged to maintain audit trails.
• —Enquiry / collaborate / press form submissions — retained for up to 3 years unless you ask us to delete sooner.
• —FCC member benefit data (email for updates) — retained for the duration of your membership and up to 12 months after cancellation, then deleted.
• —Anonymised website analytics — retained for up to 14 months, then purged.

Your rights

You have the right to:

• —Access the information we hold about you.
• —Correct any inaccurate information.
• —Delete your personal information (subject to our statutory retention obligations for donation records).
• —Withdraw consent to receive updates or marketing communications at any time.
• —Cancel your FCC membership at any time (see the Refund & Cancellation Policy).

To exercise any of these rights, write to foundation@storiesbyaradhana.com. We aim to respond within 7 business days.

Cookies & tracking

The website uses a small number of essential cookies (for things like remembering your scroll position) and anonymous analytics cookies. We do not use advertising cookies, do not run retargeting, and do not sell or share cookie data with ad networks.

You may disable cookies in your browser at any time — the site will continue to work, though some small conveniences may not.

Security

We protect your information with reasonable industry-standard measures — encrypted connections (HTTPS) across every page, restricted internal access to donor records, and secure storage with our hosting and database partners. Payment data never touches our servers; it is handled end-to-end by Razorpay.

If, despite our best efforts, a data breach were to occur and affect your information, we will notify you and the appropriate authorities promptly, as required by law.

Children’s privacy

The Foundation’s work often features minors as beneficiaries (with consent from their guardians), but our website and donation flow are intended for adults aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time as our work and the law evolve. The most recent version will always be available at this URL, with the “Last updated” date refreshed below.

Contact

For any privacy-related question, request or concern, write to foundation@storiesbyaradhana.com. We read every message personally.