CharityVillage® Research: The donor's right to privacy vs. the public's right to know

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The donor's right to privacy vs. the public's right to know
by James H. Allen, The Downtown Churchworkers Association
May 27, 1995; Canadian FundRaiser
Little documentation exists in the U.S. or Canada on a donor's right to privacy. There is no place in the U.S. Constitution and nothing in the Canadian Bill of Rights that protects a donor's privacy. All rights so far have been developed mainly through state legislatures. The Donor's Bill of Rights (Canadian FundRaiser, February, 1994) is the first comprehensive guideline endorsed by our profession in this area. Its acceptance universally will go a long way towards rectifying misunderstandings between charities, donors and the public at large.
In spite of our professional pro-activity in this area, issues involving the confidentiality of donor records, once thought to be sacrosanct, are now being attacked in the courts. At a recent NSFRE conference, Martin D. Robbins, Vice-president for University Relations at the University of Toledo, reported that the city's newspaper, The Toledo Blade, sought access to the donor records of the university's foundation. When the foundation refused access on the grounds of confidentiality, they found themselves involved in a court case that they ultimately lost in the Ohio Supreme Court. The decision was based on the opinion that the foundation was doing the public's business, and hence all books must be open to the public.
Donors ridiculed openly
The Toledo Blade was eventually given access to all the donor records. They took anything they wanted, and openly ridiculed donors, by name, in the newspaper, including amounts of donations, what donations were used for, and even information on proposals that were not funded by individual donors.
While this incident may seem extreme, we can not assume that it could never happen in Canada. The reality is that our donors and the public will demand more of us, not less. While we may feel that we have valid proprietary interests in our donor records, and while our donors expect confidentiality, we must be on our guard for more disclosure pressure in the future.
To protect our organizations, we should include in our files only items that can stand the light of day. We should collect only what we need for cultivation and solicitation. We must be sure that it is verifiable, for in the final analysis, the recent legal attacks upon donor confidentiality in the U.S. have sharpened the conflict between donor rights and the public's right to know.