Anonymity

I’ve been trying to find a better way to say “make my donation anonymous” on online donation forms. I had just been thinking that surely there was a way to make it sound nicer and maybe give donors extra choices in this increasingly donor-centric realm.

Donor Recognition Online

Opting In or Opting Out
I ran into a discussion on the Chronicle of Philanthropy group on LInkedIn. A nonprofit was also trying to come up with better wording – maybe even making recognition an opt-in choice (check this box if you’d like to be recognized) rather than opt-out (check this box to remain anonymous). There was a little backlash on that one – with some comments that donor recognition is so important to the nonprofit that we need to make it difficult (or at least not make it easy) for someone to remain anonymous.

The Online Factor
I really have to question that logic; of all the factors that affect a donors decision to donate, I really think the public list of other donors is pretty low on the list, particularly for someone donating online. And I really wonder how many people don’t mind being recognized offline but maybe not online – the number of people viewing a website can be huge – it’s a whole different ballgame than it used to be when donor recognition meant a plaque on a physical wall somewhere.

Great Wording
One person did suggest a great way to at least make the wording of anonymous donations sound better (Bianca McCarthy). It’s a little long, but I really like it:

We wish to celebrate all our donors by recognizing them publicly, however, if you would prefer your gift remain anonymous check here.

Donor Privacy Policy

I think one way to resolve this would be to create a very specific donor privacy policy that gives people details about how and where their name will be used in terms of recognition. Then they can really make an informed choice about whether or not they want to remain anonymous. A lot of nonprofits have been adding donor privacy policies – that go a little farther than the standard privacy policy; I love the fact that it can be directed specifically to donors, and many nonprofits include the Donor Bill of Rights endorsed by many fundraiser associations. But very few address where and when your name will be used online – they tend to focus on a “we will not sell your name” statement – which is very important of course. But not quite enough.

Example One
Example Two

The Ultimate Form

I’m thinking the ultimate donation form should be ALL about donor choices. Allowing them to choose the specific programs they want to support, how they will support those programs, how often to give that support, and how and where their names will appear in recognition. In terms of recognition, we can minimally have a link to a donor privacy policy that specifies how and when their name will be used, a checkbox with nice wording to remain anonymous if they choose AND a note/comment field to add any specific instructions or feedback!

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