Then clearly your fund-raising drive would have benefited from a mechanism for publicizing and externalizing support.

Charitable organizations commonly use a variety of such methods. The example you gave is just one. If correctly designed the mechanisms do not cause support to be swamped by criticism, and they can operate without suppressing any free thought or speech.

E.g. publishing (with their agreement) the names of donors, the amounts, and endorsements; using that information to solicit from other donors; getting endorsements from respected people; appointing wealthy donors to use their own donations as an example when leading solicitation drives among other wealthy donors etc.

The situation does not seem as dire as you suggest.

And you'd better bet that synagogue fund-raising drives get all the gripes that you received, and more!