[nardi]

But then the donor tells the recipient that they are the ones who donated all of that money. And so they get all of the benefits anyway.

[amluto]

I just gave you $10M. Can I have a private dinner?

Do you believe me? If an anonymous donation is done with some degree of care, you have no way to verify my claim.

[evancox100]

If a $10M anonymous donation had just showed up in my account and I hadn't told anyone, then yes I would be inclined to believe you.

[amluto]

That would be part of handling anonymous donations sensibly. The transaction should be between the development office and whatever trustee or foundation gives the gift. The ultimate beneficiary shouldn’t be notified of the donation until, say, the end of the fiscal year, at which point all anonymous donations are aggregated.