I've been thinking more about this as more responses have come in and wanted to add a few more thoughts. I would be curious to know how detailed the values are in the gender identity field Christina mentions in the original post, as well as the source of the information in the source database. Are we talking self-reported identities from the constituent, or are we talking legal gender? If self-reported, I think that is much more useful and accurate in regard to how someone wants to be addressed. Legal gender, on the other hand, is less likely to represent how every person identifies or wishes to be addressed. However, if the value is indeed self-reported, I would caution against making assumptions about how someone wishes to be addressed, and you may want to consider proactively and diplomatically asking the constituent directly how they wish to be addressed.
I agree there can be useful segmentation of data based on these values, so that is definitely a point to consider when determining if your organization needs the information or finds it useful.
I've mentioned this in other threads, but we also established a couple of practices around this. We only add pronouns to a constituent record if we get that information directly from the constituent or from a DO who had a specific conversation with the constituent. For the most part, pronouns come from a specific group of folks with a Carolina Pride affinity who have received a survey that asks about pronouns and titles, as opposed to coming from our entire constituency. The same goes for using the Mx. title on a constituent β it is only added if the constituent specifically requests it. We do not add gender, gendered title, Mx., or pronouns based on assumptions that can be made from first name or even from constituent relationships in the database. If we do not have a gender value or gendered title provided from a feed or from the constituent when making a gift, we do not add a gender value or gendered title to the record at all. Our driving factor with all of this is to simply not make assumptions about the constituent and how they identify.
Regarding internal communication where pronouns are used, I don't think this is as much of a concern as it is to address the constituent as they wish to be addressed. I am part of the LGBTQ community myself, and while some of my people may disagree, I think it is most useful to use the pronouns that you know for internal conversations and simply be respectful. I don't think it is necessary to use "they" on literally everyone, but if you know someone uses they/them pronouns, get used to using them internally, so you will also use them with the constituent. If you simply don't know, err on the side of respect. π
This is definitely an ongoing conversation with no hard and fast rules, especially when it comes to data and database limitations. Lots to think about.
Original Message:
Sent: 1/15/2025 10:02:00 AM
From: John Smilde
Subject: RE: Gender Identity - Legitimate purpose to collect and maintain?
Hi Christina,
Thanks for asking this question and generating a lot of good feedback. What strikes me as interesting about your question is that you are considering not storing gender identity whereas I have most commonly heard questions about the value of maintaining personal pronoun preferences. This is because these distinctions seem most relevant when referring to someone in third person (i.e. he/him she/her they/them) β something it may feel like we don't do often in fundraising.
However, third person is standard when logging contact reports and since one benefit of having good practices around contact reports is for continuity when fundraisers change or prospect portfolios shift, maintaining and using correct pronouns is very important.
Best regards,
John Smilde
Director of Gifts and Records Administration
Advancement and Alumni Relations
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, MSN 1A3
Fairfax, VA 22030
703.993.8680
jsmilde@gmu.edu
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Original Message:
Sent: 1/13/2025 5:06:00 PM
From: Christina Atkins
Subject: Gender Identity - Legitimate purpose to collect and maintain?
Hello All - currently our student and employee system that we interface with collects gender identity and pronouns as optional. We are storing pronouns and our CRM Database now has a place to store gender identity - however, we are determining if we have a legitimate business purpose to collect and maintain it. A group from various areas across my advancement office plan to meet soon to discuss - Right now, I am of the mind to not collect this data within our system and I wanted to ask the group of those that are storing gender identity - what are some of the reasons why?
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Christina Atkins
Wake Forest University
atkinscr@wfu.edu
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