In an opinion that reaches the opposite result than Kentucky's highest court reached in 2003, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled last week that the fundraising foundation for George Mason University is not a public agency and that its donors' identities remain secret.
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A law student group, Transparent GMU, requested records relating to "grants, cooperative agreements, gift agreements, contracts, or memoranda of understanding" involving the Koch brothers from the George Mason University Foundation, Inc., following reports of Koch influence, including faculty hiring and firing, at the colleges and universities to which the Koch's donate.
The Kochs donated $48 million to George Mason from 2011 to 2014. Along with an anonymous donor who gave $20 million, the Kochs later gave an additional $10 million to the university to rename its law school the Antonin Scalia Law School.
The Virginia Supreme Court unanimously affirmed dismissal of the suit on December 12, concluding that the university and its foundation are separate entities and that donors have privacy rights associated with their gifts.
In 2003, Kentucky's Supreme Court held that the University of Louisville Foundation was a public agency for open records purposes because it is "established, created, and controlled by a public agency," the University of Louisville.
http://opinions.kycourts.net/COA/2002-CA-001590.pdf
In 2008, our Supreme Court ruled that the public's right of access extends to records of donations made to the foundation, expressing concern that "certain donors may not simply wish to conceal their identities, but rather may wish to conceal the true purpose of their donations. Donors, particularly those making substantial gifts, may wish to influence the university's decisions and policies, or to have some type of benefit conferred upon them by the university."
