Since the early 2000’s MAC has operated an “opt-in only” communication policy meaning we only contact customers who have given us full permission to do so.

We currently use your data for:

• Marketing: to tell you about our activities
• Fundraising: to share information on the difference your donations make; to profile customers to ensure that we contact you about our most relevant fundraising campaigns and benefits available to you as a donor; and to make requests for support.
• Research: we look at our anonymised database as a whole to discover things about our users e.g. male/female ratio, how far you travel, background profiling via postcodes, age, how often you come, how much you spend, how you book etc. This helps us make sure we’re achieving our charitable objectives and work smarter. The results (not details of individuals) are shared with the arts sector to benefit everyone.
• We may also collect and retain your information if you send feedback about our services or make a complaint.

Changes under GDPR
Under the new regulations which come into force in May 2018 we may contact you about something we feel is of “legitimate interest” to you based on your previous interaction with us rather than your consent. However, if you have explicitly told us you don’t want to be contacted we will not do so. We hold your preferences on your record and every two years we will ask you to confirm your preferences again. If you do not want to be contacted by us just let us know and we can put a note on your record.

Building profiles of audiences, supporters and targeting communications
We use profiling and screening techniques to ensure communications are relevant and timely, and to provide an improved experience for our supporters. We do this because it allows us to understand the background of our audiences and helps us to make appropriate requests to those who may be able and willing to give more than they already do. Importantly, it enables us to raise more funds and achieve our charitable aims of providing “arts for all”.

When building a profile we may analyse geographic, demographic and other information relating to you in order to better understand your interests and preferences in order to contact you with the most relevant communications. In doing this, we may use additional information from third party sources when it is available.

Third Party Sharing and Research
We do not sell or share personal details to third parties for the purposes of marketing. But, if we run an event in partnership with another named organisation your details may need to be shared. We will be very clear what will happen to your data when you register.

Equally, we will ask you if you wish to have your contact details passed to the artist or company you are booking to see. We will only do this under a data sharing agreement with that third party that sets out our expectations and requirements, especially regarding how they manage the personal data they have collect or have access to.

MAC regularly shares data with a cultural research organisation, The Audience Agency who work nationally with all Arts Council funded organisations. Your data is aggregated which means no individual is identifiable when it is processed. This information is incredibly useful in building a sustainable and impactful future for The Arts in this country.

Other Uses
We may need to disclose your details if required to the police, regulatory bodies or legal advisors. We will only ever share your data in other circumstances if we have your explicit and informed consent.