• Entheon@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      It’s only anonymous to the public. I imagine the donor and the university are in frequent direct contact.

        • Entheon@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Have you never donated to a “charitable” cause before? You can usually talk to them and ask to not have your name released. There’s no legal requirement for name disclosure so it’s up to the institution’s policy.

          • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Yes, I’ve donated plenty, and typically anonymously, since I’m not trying to use others to advance a personal agenda.

            Non-disclosure would be something quite different from anonymity.

    • solsangraal@lemmy.zip
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      2 months ago

      “i’ll give you 100 million dollars on the condition that $X of it be spent on ______” is how it’s exerting influence

      • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        But if it’s actually anonymous, how is that communicated?

        Edit: mad that you got no answer, eh?

        • Coldcell@sh.itjust.works
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          2 months ago

          Letter, fax, pager, smoke signal, Morse code, tin cans with string, eye blinking code, using the first letter of each word in a New York times obituary, carrier pigeon, skywriting… hmm… wait couldn’t they just say it out loud to each other? In person?

            • Coldcell@sh.itjust.works
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              2 months ago

              You’re bring an astounding level of naivety to the discussion, it should be a demonstration of how people that refuse to think can be led like sheep.

              • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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                2 months ago

                Hard to take anything seriously from someone whose vast majority of comments are on pornography. Did you forget to switch accounts?

                • Coldcell@sh.itjust.works
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                  2 months ago

                  What precisely does any of my post history have to do with you not understanding even the simplest concept of how corruption works? Does everyone speak honestly, confess their sins and never look at porn in your idyllic world? You’re getting angry on the internet, maybe it’s time to let your carer take the computer back?

        • solsangraal@lemmy.zip
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          2 months ago

          lol there is one person in this whole thread who’s getting mad, but it’s not me

          and yes, as someone else said, it’s no big deal for someone to contact the business office of an institution and offer money on the condition of anonymity and other conditions. and the business people say okay, forms are filled out and signed, and money is transferred. they want to be anonymous because they don’t want all the other institutions calling them asking for money too. and/or they don’t want the world to know they’re the ones influencing the school’s spending

          no one wants donors to be able to influence whoever they’re donating to. but that’s how reality works

          • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Yeah, Coldcell is having a real hissy fit.

            If the identity is known, it’s not anonymous, it’s undisclosed. That would be an entirely different thing.

    • Coldcell@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      Is it hard to conceive of agreeing to something behind closed doors and donating anonymously to hide the tracks?