Indiana passes law allowing nonprofits to keep donor names anonymous
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed a law allowing nonprofits to prevent donors' identities from being publicly disclosed in a move that many believe protects the rights of people to donate to causes without fear of repercussion.
Holcomb signed House Enrolled Act No. 1212 into law on Thursday, along with dozens of other bills that touched on a wide variety of issues.
Introduced in January, Indiana lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the legislation last month by a vote in the House of 74-20 and a vote of 48-1 in the Senate.
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The legislation says that public agencies cannot “compel any person or nonprofit organization to provide the public agency with personal information” or “publicize, or otherwise publicly disclose personal information in the possession of the public agency.”
The new law includes exemptions for state-required disclosures related to campaign finance and lobbying laws, as well as any lawful requests such as an “order or warrant, issued by a court of competent jurisdiction, for the provision, disclosure, or release of personal information.”
HEA 1212 had the backing of the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance, which argued that, if enacted, the bill would encourage more people to donate to nonprofit organizations.
“To me, anyway, the most critical reason is that sometimes we give to organizations that we feel strongly about and others feel differently about. And in those cases, there's an opportunity for harassment, intimidation,” said IPA CEO Claudia Cummings, reported Indiana Public Media, an affiliate of PBS, last month.
Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Zack Pruitt, whose organization has defended in court the right of people to keep their donations anonymous, celebrated the law's passage.
“Every American should be free to peacefully support causes they believe in without fear of harassment or intimidation. We have seen states irresponsibly mandate disclosures that endanger donors, foster a culture of doxing, and discourage charitable giving,” said Pruitt in a statement released Friday.
“We commend Gov. Holcomb and the Indiana Legislature for taking a stand for the ability of individuals to privately support charities and other nonprofit organizations of their choice without unnecessary government interference and the resulting harassment that can ensue.”
In 2021, the United States Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in the case of Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, Attorney General of California that California could not force nonprofits to disclose their private donor information.
“The disclosure requirement ‘creates an unnecessary risk of chilling’ in violation of the First Amendment … indiscriminately sweeping up the information of every major donor with reason to remain anonymous,” read the majority opinion, in part.
“The petitioners here, for example, introduced evidence that they and their supporters have been subjected to bomb threats, protests, stalking, and physical violence.”
