Legal & policies
How we handle your data, the rules for using this website, and how to raise a concern. Plain language first, legal detail where it matters.
Imprint
Operator of this website and responsible for its content
Oksana Pashchenko and Kateryna Nadtochii, Co-Founders / Co-CEOs of BrainGain.Expert
Email: mgmt@braingain.expert
Status
BrainGain.Expert is an initiative in formation. The BrainGain.Expert Foundation is not yet a registered legal entity. This imprint will be updated with the Foundation's registered details once it is established.
Donations
Donations will be received and administered on behalf of BrainGain.Expert by a fiscal sponsor, under its own terms. Our application with Open Collective Europe Foundation, a public utility foundation, Avenue Louise 500, box 205, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, is under review. Donations are pending: until the sponsorship is confirmed, we do not accept donations.
Representative offices
Croatia - Split
Italy - Milan
Privacy policy
1. Who is responsible for your data
BrainGain.Expert is an international initiative that connects businesses in fragile and recovering economies with a global Fellowship of qualified professionals. The BrainGain.Expert Foundation is being established and is not yet a registered legal entity. Until it is, the joint controllers of your personal data are Oksana Pashchenko and Kateryna Nadtochii, the Co-Founders / Co-CEOs of BrainGain.Expert, who jointly operate this website. When the Foundation is registered, it will take over this role and we will update this policy.
For any privacy question or request, write to mgmt@braingain.expert.
2. What data we collect
- Contact form: your name, email, organisation, the role in which you contact us and your message.
- Newsletter: your email address and the date you subscribed.
- Applications from businesses and Fellows: the information you submit, such as expertise, experience, languages, location and business needs. Each application form will show its own short notice.
- Partners and donors: name, organisation, contact details and our correspondence. Donations will be processed by our fiscal sponsor, which handles payment data under its own privacy policy. We receive only what we need to thank you, check the origin of larger gifts and report to you. Open Collective Europe Foundation shows contributions on our public collective page; you can choose not to be named publicly. Gifts above 1,000 EUR cannot be anonymous to us.
- Technical and usage data: when you visit, our hosting provider processes your IP address, browser type, time of access and the pages requested, to deliver the website and keep it secure. Only if you accept analytics cookies, Google Analytics also records how you use the website, such as pages viewed, time on page, device type and approximate location, linked to a pseudonymous identifier. We do not use this data to identify you.
3. Why we use your data and on what legal basis
- To answer your message: our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries, or steps you ask for before an agreement (GDPR Art. 6(1)(f) and (b)).
- To send the newsletter: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)). You can withdraw it at any time through the unsubscribe link in every email.
- To assess applications and run programs: steps at your request and our agreement with you (Art. 6(1)(b)).
- To manage partnerships and donor relations and report results: our agreement with you and our legitimate interest in accountable reporting (Art. 6(1)(b) and (f)).
- To operate and secure the website: our legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)). To measure how the website is used with Google Analytics: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)), which you can withdraw at any time from the Cookie settings link in the footer.
- To meet legal obligations, such as accounting: Art. 6(1)(c).
4. Matching and automated processing
To shortlist Fellows for a business request, we may use software that sorts profiles by the expertise and criteria you provide. A person always reviews the shortlist, and the business chooses whom to work with after interviews. We do not take decisions with legal or similarly significant effects about you based solely on automated processing.
5. Who receives your data
We never sell or rent your personal data. We share it only with service providers that process it on our behalf under data processing agreements, and with others only where described here:
- Webflow, Inc. (USA): website hosting and form submissions. HubSpot, Inc. (USA): contact management for form submissions and the newsletter.
- Hostinger (Lithuania): email hosting.
- Google Ireland Limited (Ireland) and Google LLC (USA): website statistics through Google Analytics, only with your consent, with data kept for up to 14 months; delivery of web fonts, which transmits your IP address to Google; and our film on the home page, hosted on YouTube. The YouTube player loads in privacy-enhanced mode and only after you press Play; from that moment Google processes your IP address and may set cookies under its own privacy policy.
- Our fiscal sponsor, once confirmed (our application with Open Collective Europe Foundation is under review): receipt and administration of donations.
- Program participants: when a Fellow and a business start working together, each receives the profile information needed for the project, with your agreement.
- Authorities: only where the law requires it.
6. Transfers outside the EU
Some providers are based in the United States. These transfers rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework where the provider is certified, or on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses.
7. How long we keep your data
- Contact messages: up to 24 months after our last exchange.
- Newsletter: until you unsubscribe.
- Applications and profiles: while you take part in a program and up to 24 months after your last activity, unless you ask us to delete them earlier.
- Partner and donor records: for the duration of the relationship and as long as accounting and tax law require.
8. Your rights
You can ask us to access, correct or delete your data, restrict or object to its use (including for direct marketing), and receive it in a portable format. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time. Write to mgmt@braingain.expert; we reply within one month.
You also have the right to complain to a data protection authority, in particular in the EU country where you live or work. For our representative offices these are the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency (AZOP) and the Italian Garante per la protezione dei dati personali.
9. Children
This website is not directed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their data. If you believe a child has sent us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
10. Security and changes
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections. We will update this policy when our activities change and show the new effective date at the top.
Terms of use
1. About these terms
These terms apply to your use of braingain.expert. By using the website you accept them. The website is operated by Oksana Pashchenko and Kateryna Nadtochii, the Co-Founders / Co-CEOs of BrainGain.Expert, until the BrainGain.Expert Foundation is registered.
2. Information on this website
The website describes our initiative, programs and ways to take part. It is general information, not legal, financial or professional advice. Programs, criteria and timelines may change. Publishing a program does not guarantee admission, a match with a Fellow or a grant.
3. Applications and what you send us
Please give accurate information and share other people's data only with their permission. You keep ownership of what you send us. You allow us to use it to assess your application, run programs and contact you about them. Do not send unlawful, offensive or confidential third-party content.
4. Our name and content
The BrainGain.Expert name, logo, design and texts belong to us or our licensors. You are welcome to link to the website and quote short passages with attribution. Any use of our brand that suggests endorsement or partnership requires our written permission.
5. Donations
Donations will be received and administered on behalf of BrainGain.Expert by our fiscal sponsor once the sponsorship is confirmed (see Imprint). Whether a donation is tax-deductible depends on the sponsor's country and your own tax situation.
6. Links to other websites
We link to external websites for your convenience. We do not control them and are not responsible for their content or privacy practices.
7. Liability
We take care to keep the website accurate and available, but provide it as it is. We are fully liable for intent and gross negligence and for harm to life, body or health. Otherwise, our liability is excluded to the extent the law allows.
8. Changes and applicable law
We may update these terms; the current version always applies. Until the BrainGain.Expert Foundation is registered, these terms are governed by Croatian law. This does not limit any mandatory consumer protection you enjoy in your country of residence.
Report misconduct
We hold ourselves, our Fellows, our partners and the businesses we work with to high standards. If you see something wrong, please tell us. Every report is taken seriously.
What you can report
- Fraud, corruption or bribery.
- Misuse of donations or grant funds.
- Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
- Harassment, discrimination or abuse of power.
- Exploitation or abuse of anyone taking part in our programs.
- Breaches of data protection or confidentiality.
- A partner seeking to buy access to the businesses we serve or to their data.
- Any other breach of the law or of our principles.
How to report
Write to mgmt@braingain.expert. You may report anonymously, for example from an email address that does not identify you. If your concern involves one of the Co-Founders / Co-CEOs, write to the same address for now: the person concerned takes no part in reviewing it. An independent contact will be added once our team and board are formed.
What happens next
- We confirm receipt within 7 days.
- We assess the report and investigate where needed.
- We tell you what action we have taken within 3 months.
- Your identity is shared only with the people who need it to handle the case.
- No one who reports in good faith will face retaliation. Retaliation is itself misconduct.
These commitments follow the timelines of the EU Whistleblower Directive (2019/1937).
Accessibility
We want braingain.expert to be usable by everyone. We design it against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, level AA.
What we do
- Text colours chosen for readable contrast.
- Navigation that works with a keyboard.
- Text alternatives for meaningful images and icons.
- Animations switch off when your device is set to reduce motion.
Known limitations
Some pages are still being built and some images are placeholders. We are testing the website with screen readers and will fix issues as we find them.
Feedback
If something does not work for you, write to mgmt@braingain.expert. We reply within 10 working days and can provide information in an accessible format.
Support the
Foundation
Individual donations
Whether you have worked in a fragile economy or simply believe expertise is aid, your gift helps a local business get the people it needs to start, recover or grow.
How we accept gifts →Make a donation
Sponsorship and partnership
Companies and foundations can support the BrainGain.Expert Foundation, sponsor a specific program and raise its priority, or contribute technology to the BrainGain.Expert Resource Pool. Let's build it together.
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