Deciding on whether one wants to disclose details of their philanthropic endeavors or not is a personal decision. In most cases where a formal foundation has been set up, then charitability laws determine how much and which information must be disclosed to the public. Approaches to telling the stories of philanthropy are very different, some institutions or individuals require due recognition for their investments while others prefer to give anonymously with no associated branding expectations.

Making a clear distinction between the funder and the program or project being funded helps identify where communication is useful.

The growth – communication – evidence – data continuum is essential to a project’s long term success. Without investment in all the elements, outputs are unlikely to move towards transformative outcomes and long term impact. Many projects remain at the point of circling around in a small location delivering first order outputs, which as highlighted maybe necessary but are an insufficient level of true transformation.