Toward a Deeper Understanding of Donor Intent

Donor intent lies at the center of some of the most ethically complex and highly contested debates in philanthropy, yet the concept remains conceptually fuzzy and undertheorized. Recent trends make it even more essential that we know what we are talking about when we talk about donor intent. This article develops a new framework for understanding donor intent, addressing two key questions: how is donor intent expressed, and how do these expressions vary? Drawing from theoretical analysis of existing debates and a systematic scoping review of scholarly and practitioner literature, we present two typologies. The first identifies the comprehensive range of possible expressions of donor intent – the myriad aspects of giving that intent might affect – grouped into three broad categories: Focus and Principles, Governance and Operations, and Strategies and Practices. The second summarizes four core dimensions along which these expressions might vary: Specificity, Openness, Permanence, and Influence. This deeper and more precise understanding of donor intent is meant to help inform the debates and ethical dilemmas that arise around donor intent in philanthropic practice, and to help structure future theory and research by scholars studying this core philanthropic concept.