Individuals who give with fanfare tend to do so at the urging of development officers who maintain that named gifts encourage others to give, says Molly Stranahan, a psychologist based in Tucson, Ariz., and heiress to the Champion Spark Plug fortune.
She adds that donors who insist on anonymity may be hiding in the “green closet” out of fear they’ll be perceived as “that ugly rich person.” Others act from the belief system that “you take away the good you’re doing by taking credit for it,” she says.
For some, anonymity is a spiritual practice.
Dr. Lenkowsky notes that all major religious traditions emphasize the value of anonymous giving. The Koran, the Jewish tradition and the teachings of Jesus describe anonymity as a means of assuring the donor’s motivations are pure. “You don’t want the recipient to feel beholden.”
In other cases, donors have business reasons for keeping their gifts under wraps. Charles Feeney, co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers, secretly transferred his personal ownership interest in the company to a Bermuda trust. The reclusive businessman funnelled more than $620-million (U.S.) to various charities until he was “outed” in 1997 by a business reporter at The New York Times.
“He did not want potential competitors to know how profitable Duty Free Shoppers had become,” Dr. Lenkowsky says, adding that Mr. Feeney also feared his family might be targeted by kidnappers if his riches were known.
All are valid reasons for lying low. But eventually, experts say, closeted donors tend to feel a responsibility to become role models.
Ms. Newell of Vancouver says she gave up a decade of “devoted anonymity” to encourage others to push the boundaries of wealth redistribution.
“I also thought it was important that people understood that there was a woman behind the very serious amount of money that was being activated,” says Ms. Newell, who was appointed a member of the Order of Canada for her philanthropic work.
Ms. Newell says she felt a sense of urgency as she watched the effects of the world’s problems accelerating at a faster rate than capital wealth was growing.
“I believed then, and still do, that we wouldn’t be able to make as great a difference in the future as we could if we tackled the issues now.”
