Click to read this short thought piece covering You Would Cringe if You Knew, as published in Inspiration and Insights online magazine on June 4, 2025.

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You Would Cringe if You Knew

Last updated: July 7, 2026

If your family has established a private family foundation, you may be surprised to know the amount of private information about you that is publicly available.

When I used to run a Donor Advised Fund, the first thing I did whenever I went into a meeting with a new client was to look up the family’s last name on Guidestar, and if they had a family foundation, I would print out the foundation’s annual tax filing Form 990PF, drop it on the conference table in the first meeting and ask, “Are these the details of your family’s philanthropic vehicle? Is that your home address? Is that your signature?”

They are supposed to black out the signature, but they don’t always do so.

Unless the Family Foundation uses “care of” the CPA’s or the wealth management firm’s address as their address for purposes of their annual tax filing, the default is often the family’s home address.

And so anyone who cares to look will see publicly available your name, your signature, how much you give in the aggregate, which causes you give to, in what amounts you give to each charity, all kinds of information about you that you would cringe if you knew.

For privacy, make sure that your tax preparer uses their business address on your Foundation’s tax filing instead of your home address. It will help reduce the number of unsolicited grant seekers sending you mailings. Also think about not using your last name in your family foundation’s name to offer enhanced security.

Beyond that, you might consider using a Community Foundation or Donor Advised Fund as your family’s giving vehicle. In addition to a higher level of anonymity, it also provides higher income tax deductibility thresholds and a number of other advantages over a private family foundation.