Are donor names public information?

When the Louisville Courier-Journal made a public records request for the identities of donors to the University of Louisville Foundation, the separate nonprofit fundraising arm of the public University, the Foundation rejected the request. It said it was not a public agency and even if it were, the disclosure would be an unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of the donors. The newspaper sued.

 

The trial court found that the Foundation was a public agency and that the records were not exempt from disclosure.