Compliments, Complaints

Our commitment

At Elam Ministries, we are committed to providing high-quality support and services to all those we work with. We welcome all feedback — whether compliments, complaints, or comments — as a valuable opportunity to learn, grow, and improve.

We aim to ensure that every concern is handled fairly, consistently, and respectfully, and that any issues are resolved as quickly as possible.

Who can give feedback or complain?

Anyone who interacts with Elam — supporters, beneficiaries, volunteers, staff, or partner organisations — is welcome to provide feedback.

Positive feedback is recorded and shared with our team. It may be used — anonymised — for reports, marketing, or funding purposes unless you ask us not to use your feedback.

Data Protection complaints

You can also raise a complaint about how we use your personal data.

If your concern cannot be resolved informally, or it involves safeguarding, legal, or ethical concerns, a formal complaint can be submitted by email to feedback@elam.com.

Please mark your message clearly as a data protection complaint and include as much detail as possible:

• Your full name
• Your phone number
• Description of how and when Elam has used your personal data
• Description of why this is a complaint

All data protection complaints will be handled confidentially and in accordance with Elam’s Data Protection Policy and applicable privacy laws.

We will investigate your complaint as outlined in Stages One, Two and Three below.

How to provide feedback or raise a complaint

We encourage informal feedback and believe most issues can be resolved through open and honest communication. Please send your comments to feedback@elam.com, and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.

If your concern cannot be resolved informally, or it involves safeguarding, legal, or ethical concerns, a formal complaint can be submitted by email to feedback@elam.com.

Please mark your message clearly as a complaint and include as much detail as possible:

• Your full name
• Your phone number
• Description of the issue
• Dates of events
• People involved (if known)
• Any steps you’ve already taken to resolve the issue

To help us respond effectively, please report your concern as soon as possible, but no later than three months after the incident occurred.

What we will not investigate

Elam Ministries is committed to taking all genuine concerns seriously. However, we may not proceed with complaints that are:

• Vexatious or abusive
• Persistently repeated without new evidence
• Unrelated to Elam’s work
• Anonymous (unless they involve safeguarding or serious legal/ethical concerns)

If your complaint is accepted for investigation, we will proceed to Stage One.

Stage One — Initial Resolution

We aim to:

• Acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days
• Provide a full response within 20 working days

If more time is needed, we’ll let you know when to expect a response and why we need more time to investigate. A member of our Communications Team will handle the complaint.

You will receive details of:

• The complaint, as we understand it
• Actions taken and by whom to address the complaint
• Expected timelines for any outstanding actions

If you’re not satisfied, you may request escalation to Stage Two by emailing us at feedback@elam.com, explaining your remaining concern and why our response falls short.

Stage Two — Further Investigation

If the complaint is escalated, we aim to:

• Acknowledge your request within 5 working days
• Provide a full response within 20 working days
• Complex issues may take longer, but we will keep you informed

The Executive Director and/or Director of Administration will lead the investigation.

An email will be sent to you outlining the nature of the complaint as we understand it, what actions have been taken, and whether or not we consider the issue resolved. If you’re still not satisfied, you may escalate to Stage Three within 10 working days of the date of the Stage Two response. If no request is made, the matter will be considered closed.

Stage Three — Final Review

• We’ll acknowledge your Stage Three request within 5 working days
• A provisional response will be provided within 20 working days
• As this involves volunteer Trustees, more time may be needed — we’ll keep you informed

The Board of Trustees will review the case, and an email will be sent to you with the final decision within 20 days of the provisional response. The Stage Three decision is final.

If you remain dissatisfied, you may contact an external body such as:

• The Charity Commission in the UK
• The Internal Revenue Service in the US
• The Federal Trade Commission in the US
• The UK Fundraising Regulator
• The UK Advertising Standards Authority
• The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk, or with the relevant supervisory authority in your country of residence

Depending on the nature of the complaint and your country of residence.

Safeguarding and urgent complaints

Complaints involving:

• Safeguarding concerns
• Legal or ethical violations
• Financial misconduct

…will be handled as a priority and in line with Elam’s Safeguarding Policy and legal obligations. The findings of any investigation will be reported to external bodies as required by legislation and relevant guidance.

Confidentiality and monitoring

All complaints will be handled confidentially and only shared with those directly involved in resolving the matter or where required by law (e.g. safeguarding or criminal activity).

Elam maintains a confidential log of formal complaints, recording the nature of the complaint, the actions taken, and the outcome.

• Records of all complaints and associated communications will generally be retained for a minimum of six years.
• Safeguarding-related complaints may be retained for longer periods depending on the nature of the ensuing investigations.