Not in Our Name posted his name on its website, along with 30,000 others, and claimed that he was a prominent signatory to its Statement of Conscience petition. Although Abdoo denied ever signing anything, his protestations did not dissuade a conservative Milwaukee radio talk show Although Abdoo had his defenders, including a man who told a local reporter host named Charlie Sykes from attacking him on the air. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel followed suit with a vitriolic editorial. Although Abdoo had his defenders, including a man who told a local reporter he had just purchased about $4,400 worth of Wisconsin Energy stock but would not give his name, the utility company received a barrage of irate calls. Abdoo ended up sending an apologetic email to his employees.

The amount of the donation that incurred this wrath? $250.

Perhaps donors should prepare for such a reaction at a time when op-ed pages, radio talk shows and dinner table conversations ignite over clashing policy, economic and political viewpoints. Indeed, in its most recent survey of philanthropic trends, the Foundation Center, a New York-based research organization, discovered that only 2.6 percent of all foundation dollars in the United States went to the potentially explosive category called International Affairs Development, Peace and Human Rights, and 2.9 percent to the equally partisan stratum of reproductive health care. Clearly, charity-minded individuals and the foundations they oversee are steering clear of controversial topics.