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Tracy Gary has been making grants and donations for over 25 years. During that time she has worked intensively with other donors who share her values and views about changing the world. She currently advises new donors and works with NGOs to improve their infrastructure and operational capabilities. We asked Tracy to talk about the question of donor identity and identification.


Tracy, you know when we were putting together this website we wondered how donors would feel about openly participating as donors in such a public forum. Do donors prefer anonymity?

I can't say donors prefer to be anonymous or public in their philanthropy. Donor identity is a very personal choice, which fortunately has many options and variations. Sometimes we want acknowledgement for our ideas, contributions or work on behalf of an organization. Sometimes we want to challenge other donors to put their voices (and knowhow) where their money is. And sometimes we want people to know who we are so we can share information and leverage projects.

Other donors I know feel that philanthropy is a private affair, and they simply do not wish to be thought of as philanthropists. Some have grown up with the cultural or religious belief that the highest form of giving is anonymous giving. Often donors choose anonymity if they are giving a large gift to the agency where they work because they don't want to disturb their relations with other volunteers or staff.

Access to information, the right kind of information at the right time, is essential for international philanthropy. How can donors stay anonymous while at the same time get the information they need to make wise philanthropic investments?

By setting up a donor advised fund with a community foundation, a donor can remain generally anonymous, but still get access to project information and the philanthropic community through the foundation's staff. Donors often hire advisors or consultants for much the same purpose.

Are there considerations other than personal which donors should think about in terms of how much they want their philanthropy to be public?

I think the degree to which a you want to be public about your philanthropy should be informed by strategic as well as personal considerations. By strategic I mean asking yourself what kind of impact you want to make. All philanthropy is about partnership and exchange of information, which, even through the medium of advisors, requires a degree of openess with other people.

That's one of the reasons we started the International Donors' Dialogue, to give donors a place where they can be relatively open about their philanthropy in order to increase their effectiveness. Donor networks like IDD help a donor cultivate partnerships and creative collaborations. They also help a donor to gain knowledge and develop interests without having to deal with a number of requests and applications.

What advice do you have for donors concerning international giving and participation on this site?

With respect to international giving, I think donors would want their philanthropy known at least to a limited degree. As in all philanthropy, but particularly in international philanthropy, I can't emphasize how important it is to be in touch with people who know about the issues that concern you and the areas of the world where you want to focus your funding activity. You want to be able to call up these people for advice and you want them to call you if they hear of anything they know would be of interest to you.

With respect to participating on this site, I don't think the identity question should be of much concern. Anyone can participate on this site with a username, or a "nom de plume" for those of us who did not grow up in the cyber-age. Hopefully, donors don't stop there, but go on to make real connections and form real partnerships with other donors.


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