In recent years, more and more donors have decided to use donor-advised funds to make philanthropic gifts. These donations are meaningful for nonprofits, but they can be challenging for fundraisers to process — especially when they are made anonymously.
In his recent report on popular ways donors give anonymously, my colleague Drew Lindsay talked to experts about how fundraisers should handle an influx of anonymous DAF gifts. A common theme: Just because a donor’s name isn’t on the fund, doesn’t mean the gift was intended as anonymous.
“Sometimes donors are confused about what anonymous means,” says Dan Heist, a professor at Brigham Young University and co-director of the DAF Research Collaborative. “They think that when they click ‘anonymous,’ the charity will still get their name and address, but the charity just won’t publicize it.”
It helps to ask the DAF sponsor whether the donation was intentionally anonymous. That’s an occasional practice at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis — and typically leads to direct contact from the donor.
Gumshoe investigations can help, too. Jesse Winters, vice president of resource development at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis, says his team will poke around online to see if they can identify the donor behind the fund name on a DAF gift. Often, he says, they can.
After they make that connection, Drew writes, the organization assures donors it finds that their name won’t be made public. The message, according to Winters: You invested in us, and you’re trusting us with your money. So, we want to make sure that you know what’s happening with that money.
Read “Getting Anonymous DAF Donations? 7 Things To Do” for more insights and advice.
Have a great week,
Emily Haynes
Senior Editor, Nonprofit Intelligence
