At a time when political tensions are already running high, a renewed fight is emerging over something many Americans rarely think about: donor privacy. According to Lawson Bader, president and CEO of DonorsTrust, the issue is quickly becoming one of the most important battles for free expression and civil society.
He emphasizes that protecting donor privacy shouldn’t be a partisan fight. “Philanthropic freedom is part of free expression,” he said. “Whether it’s George Soros or someone giving fifty bucks to a local group, people should be able to support the causes they believe in without fear.”
Bader, who has led DonorsTrust for more than a decade, says the push to expose donors isn’t new, but its recent resurgence is concerning. “We’ve always had political hostility,” he noted. “But social media magnifies everything, and a lot of politicians are thin-skinned. They don’t like criticism, and sometimes principle goes out the door.”
For many nonprofits, donor privacy is more than a courtesy. It’s a shield that protects supporters from intimidation, harassment, and political retaliation. Bader points out that these protections were essential during the civil rights movement, when states attempted to force groups like the NAACP to disclose their supporters. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected those efforts, recognizing anonymity in charitable giving as a fundamental part of free speech. That precedent still guides the law today.
Yet some states (red and blue alike) have recently tried to chip away at those protections. Lawmakers frustrated with advocacy groups that criticize them have proposed rules requiring donor disclosure for testimony, political engagement, or even basic nonprofit operations. Bader warns that these efforts, whether from the left or the right, erode the same freedoms everyone depends on.
That concern goes hand in hand with broader trends shaping philanthropy. Bader notes that while donor-advised funds have helped democratize giving by making charitable tools more accessible, the philanthropic landscape remains lopsided. “There’s a lot of money in philanthropy, and a lot of it leans left,” he said. “It’s an uphill battle. We need to protect what we have.”
DonorsTrust was founded more than 25 years ago to help conservative and libertarian donors safeguard their charitable intent. Part of its mission is ensuring that funds continue to support causes aligned with limited government, free enterprise, personal responsibility, and principles.
As more states revisit the rules that govern charitable giving, Bader sees both risk and opportunity. The energy around state-level policymaking on school choice, regulation, and civic engagement has brought new donors into the space. But it has also intensified the political pressure to unmask them.
“We all work with other people’s money,” he said. “That should make us more accountable, not more vengeful.”
