Data Protection

Data Protection Update, August 2026

On Monday 3rd August, we received a notification of a cyber-security incident from Beacon, the database we use for our donors, supporters, and newsletter audience. Here is Beacon’s most recent update on the incident: https://www.beaconcrm.org/incident

Please read the below information carefully as this may affect you.

Who this may affect

Beacon is a widely used CRM system for charity fundraising and communications, and we are one of 1,500 UK charities who use the system. We have been using Beacon to keep track of contact information (e.g. name, email address, phone number) donations and contact history with people and organisations who support our work. This includes our newsletter subscribers, people who have donated to us or fundraised for SWEDA, and organisations who may be interested in supporting SWEDA.

How this might affect our Supporters

We do not yet know whether the information on our system has been used, so we ask everyone in our SWEDA community to please be vigilant.

• Please think twice about any suspicious communications such as possible phishing or scam emails, telephone calls or letters.
• Please don’t click links or share passwords, codes or bank details in response to messages you weren’t expecting.
• We have no plans to contact you by phone, post or email asking for your bank details, or to say that our bank details have changed. If you have any questions over the validity of any communications referring to or from SWEDA, please contact us directly at [email protected]

How has SWEDA responded?

We immediately followed the guidance set by Beacon and assessed the impact on our supporters. We have filed reports with the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) and the Charity Commission. We have taken the decision to inform anyone who may be affected and for whom we have an email address, and ask them to be vigilant. If we receive any further information which may help them to protect themselves, we will pass this on as quickly as possible.

Please contact our Data Protection Officer (Sam Best, SWEDA Chief Operating Officer) and support team if you have any concerns about how this may affect you: [email protected].  A member of our team will aim to get back to you as soon as possible. 

We are incredibly grateful for our clients' and supporters' trust in SWEDA and their ongoing support for our work. We are very sorry for any concern this incident may cause.