Understanding supporter privacy #
DashPledge gives fundraisers options for managing how supporter information appears publicly.
Depending on the campaign settings, donors may be able to choose Anonymous Donation, and organizers may have controls affecting whether supporter names are displayed publicly.
Public supporter visibility is different from the transaction information required to securely process and administer a donation.
What is an anonymous donation? #
When Anonymous Donation is available, a donor can choose not to have their name displayed in applicable public supporter areas.
The donation itself still supports the fundraiser normally.
Anonymous giving primarily affects public recognition of the donor.
Can I donate anonymously to the main campaign? #
Yes, when anonymous giving is enabled for the fundraiser.
An eligible anonymous donation made through the main campaign page still contributes to the overall school or organization fundraising total.
Choosing anonymity does not reduce the fundraising credit.
Can I donate anonymously to a student mini-fundraiser? #
Yes, when anonymous giving is enabled.
An eligible anonymous donation made through a student mini-fundraiser can still contribute to:
- The student’s individual fundraising progress
- The overall school or organization campaign total
The donor’s public recognition is separate from how the eligible donation is credited.
Does anonymous mean nobody knows who donated? #
No.
An anonymous donation is not the same as an unidentified financial transaction.
DashPledge and its connected payment-processing services may still require information necessary to:
- Process the payment
- Maintain transaction records
- Send applicable receipts
- Handle refunds
- Investigate disputes
- Provide transaction support
- Meet applicable payment requirements
Anonymous Donation controls applicable public visibility, not the existence of the underlying transaction record.
What can the public see? #
Public visitors should only see supporter information made available through the fundraiser’s public experience.
When an applicable donation is anonymous, the donor’s identity should not appear in public supporter areas covered by that setting.
The exact public presentation can depend on the fundraiser layout and settings.
What can organizers see? #
Authorized organizers may have access to donation information required to manage and administer the fundraiser.
This can be different from what the public sees.
Organizer access to appropriate transaction information does not mean the donor’s identity should be publicly displayed.
Can teachers see donor information? #
Teacher access is primarily intended for classroom participation and progress.
Teachers should not receive unrestricted access to sensitive payment information simply because a donation supports a student in their classroom.
The information available depends on the teacher’s authorized DashPledge tools.
Can parents see who donated? #
The information available through a parent or student fundraiser experience depends on the campaign and supporter-visibility settings.
Parents should not receive sensitive donor payment credentials.
Public supporter recognition and payment administration remain separate.
What is supporter-name visibility? #
Campaign settings can control whether supporter names are displayed in applicable public fundraiser experiences.
This provides organizers with another privacy control for supporter recognition.
The exact setting available depends on the campaign configuration.
Where do organizers manage supporter visibility? #
Authorized organizers can review applicable fundraiser privacy and donation options through:
Fundraiser Admin → Campaign Settings
Review the available fundraiser and donation settings before changing supporter visibility.
What happens if supporter names are hidden? #
When the applicable campaign setting hides supporter names, public fundraiser experiences should respect that preference.
The underlying donation records can still remain available to authorized users where needed for transaction administration.
Is hiding supporter names the same as Anonymous Donation? #
Not exactly.
Anonymous Donation is a donor-level choice when that option is enabled.
Supporter-name visibility can be a campaign-level setting controlling how supporter names are displayed in applicable public experiences.
Both affect public visibility, but they operate at different levels.
Can an anonymous donor leave a message? #
When both Anonymous Donation and Donor Comments are enabled, a donor may be able to leave a message while choosing anonymous giving.
However, donors should avoid identifying themselves in the message if they want to remain publicly anonymous.
For example, don’t sign the message with your full name.
Are donor messages private? #
Do not assume they are private.
A donor message may be displayed according to the campaign’s supporter-message settings.
Never include:
- Payment-card information
- Passwords
- Personal financial information
- Private student information
- Home addresses
- Other sensitive information
in a donor comment.
Can donor messages identify an anonymous donor? #
Potentially.
If an anonymous donor writes identifying information in their comment, the message itself could reveal who they are even if the donation is otherwise marked anonymous.
Anonymous donors should keep messages non-identifying when public anonymity is important to them.
Does anonymous giving affect the donation receipt? #
No.
Applicable receipt or confirmation information can still be sent to the email address associated with the transaction.
Public anonymity does not prevent DashPledge or the payment processor from maintaining the information needed to document the transaction.
Does anonymous giving affect the campaign total? #
No.
An eligible anonymous fundraiser donation contributes to the campaign in the same way as an eligible non-anonymous fundraiser donation.
Does anonymous giving affect student fundraising progress? #
No.
If an eligible donation is made through a student’s mini-fundraiser, it can still contribute to that student’s fundraising progress even when the donor chooses Anonymous Donation.
Does anonymous giving affect the DashPledge tip? #
No.
The optional DashPledge tip remains separate from the fundraiser donation regardless of whether the donor chooses anonymity.
The tip does not count toward the student’s or organization’s fundraising goal.
What if my name appears after I selected Anonymous Donation? #
If you selected Anonymous Donation but your identity appears publicly where it should have been hidden:
- Don’t submit another donation.
- Note the fundraiser where the problem appears.
- Take a screenshot when appropriate.
- Contact DashPledge Support.
Provide enough transaction information to identify the donation without sending sensitive payment credentials.
What if I forgot to select Anonymous Donation? #
It’s best to select the anonymous option before completing the donation.
If the transaction is already complete and you need your public supporter information reviewed, contact DashPledge Support.
Do not make another donation simply to replace the original transaction.
What if my donor message contains private information? #
If a completed donor message contains sensitive or private information, contact DashPledge Support promptly.
Identify the affected fundraiser and donation without unnecessarily repeating the sensitive information in your support request.
Can organizers manually make a donor anonymous? #
Organizer capabilities depend on the donation-management tools available to them.
Do not alter or delete the underlying transaction simply to change public supporter visibility.
If a completed donation requires a privacy correction that cannot be made through the available controls, contact DashPledge Support.
Should anonymous donations be deleted from transaction history? #
No.
Anonymous giving affects public recognition, not whether the transaction occurred.
The donation should remain part of the appropriate financial and fundraising records.
What if I see donor information that should not be public? #
Do not copy or redistribute the information.
Contact DashPledge Support and identify:
- The fundraiser
- Where the information appears
- The type of information displayed unexpectedly
Avoid unnecessarily including the private information itself when reporting the problem.
Protecting donor payment information #
Whether a donation is public or anonymous, sensitive payment credentials should never appear in public supporter information.
Never publish or send:
- Full payment-card numbers
- Card security codes
- Banking passwords
- Stripe passwords
- DashPledge passwords
- Login verification codes
through fundraiser pages, donor messages, or ordinary support requests.
What’s next? #
For related information, see:
- Donations & Donors → How Anonymous Donations Work
- Donations & Donors → How Donor Messages Work
- Donations & Donors → How to Make a Donation on DashPledge
- Privacy & Security → How DashPledge Protects Donation and Payment Information
- Privacy & Security → How DashPledge Protects Student and Family Privacy
