This is very sad and, I would suggest, misguided. Misunderstanding and misconceptions can never be challenged and resolved by simply withdrawing from communication. Far better to make your case, respond to comments and suggestions, and strive to get people on board rather than leaving them to speculate and assume that the 'gossip' is true.
In addition, marketig theory, practice, commonsense and my own experience all tell me that ANY feedback an organisation can get from its potential customers is very useful indeed in understanding your market. In trying to understand what the 'market' of potential donors thinks, I'd place an aviation website pretty high up the list, and PPrune higher up than many others!
BTW, I am a VTST Member and donor and I'm now off to chuck another tenner in the pot!