People have all sorts of motivations for giving money to charitable causes – sometimes it’s as simple as wanting to announce to the world that you supported a new hospital wing by having your name on that building. In order for a building to sport your name, it usually requires a charitable gift in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Of course, every organization has their own policies when it comes to naming stuff after big donors (as do the donors themselves!) – there are no hard and fast rules. But donors giving at that level are often heavily involved with the organization, for example serving on the board of directors, or at least having frequent fancy lunches with the CEO or Executive Director of the organization.
Posts Tagged ‘anonymous giving’
So you want your name on the side of that building, huh?
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010How do you decide whether to give anonymously?
Thursday, October 8th, 2009Ultimately, there is no correct answer to whether or not you should attach your name to your donations – it’s entirely a personal choice. However, there are valid arguments for either option.
People who want their donations to bear their names often want the recognition that comes with giving, but sometimes there’s a deeper motive. By making your donation public knowledge, you’re setting an example for others – saying, in effect, that this is a worthy cause to which your peers can and ought to donate. To some people, giving anonymously can feel like they’re somehow ashamed of their donation or that they don’t want to own up to it. Public donors want to give the exact opposite impression.
People who do decide to give anonymously often believe they are being more genuinely altruistic by doing so. If they give privately, they get no recognition for giving, and some people think this makes their motives more pure. In addition, some people who want to give outside their own foundation or organization choose to donate to other causes anonymously, basically in order to avoid the question, “If your organization is so great, why are you giving to another one, instead of sending all you can spare to your own cause?” (The answer, of course, is that there are always multiple causes worthy of attention, and you can’t necessarily be involved on an administrative level in all of them.) Since you’re already doing good by giving in the first place, choosing whether to be anonymous or not is basically a win-win situation – just pick whatever option, in your opinion, makes a good thing even better.
No Really, Let Us Engrave Your Name On That Building…
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009Sometimes it’s really important for donors to take all the credit.
- The rise in anonymous giving has people wondering whether or not it’s a good thing.
- On the one hand, people who give huge donations publicly are sometimes seen as arrogant, since the media ranks big donors against each other – just like a competition.
- On the other hand, in general, the best givers are those who have given in the past. Giving anonymously makes it harder for fundraisers to pinpoint these important donors. Arguably, the media hype they attract can also inspire smaller donors to get more involved.
Facts & Figures
- In 2008, 19% of donations over $1 million were made anonymously, compared to the 3-5% norm for the past decade.
- Americans gave a record $306 billion to charity in 2007.
- While anonymous giving rose to an unprecedented 19% in 2008, total U.S. giving declined for only the third time in 50 years.