Donor Intent

Deception & Misdirection, Philanthropy
Bannon Charges Show the “Other” Donor Intent Problem
Usually the abuses of donor intent we analyze manifest themselves as a bequest of a now-deceased pro-business or conservative donor falling under the control of the left-progressive management of the…
by Michael Watson on August 24, 2020

Philanthropy
FAKE PHILANTHROPY NEWS: Jane Mayer’s Latest Book Paints Dishonest Portraits of Donors
The 2016 book Dark Money is dishonest in multiple ways. First, it is deeply exaggerated. Author Jane Mayer may work at one of America’s snootiest magazines, the New Yorker,…
by Scott Walter on March 17, 2017

Foundation Watch
The Rhode Island Community Foundation at the Century Mark
The Rhode Island Community Foundation, which turned 100 years old last year, is a massive hub of activity in a tiny state. The problem is its grant-making focuses…
by Kevin Mooney on February 5, 2017

Philanthropy
Whitney L. Ball, RIP
We mourn the death of Whitney Ball, who as founder and longtime leader of DonorsTrust was one of the nation’s leading entrepreneurs in conservative and libertarian philanthropy. Her long…
by CRC Staff on August 20, 2015

Blog
How The Left Robs Dead People
The left delights in grave robbing, which helps to explain why support for inheritance taxes (which go by the more honest moniker, death duties, in the U.K.) remains so high…
by Matthew Vadum on November 9, 2009

Blog
Don’t Feel Sorry for Harvard
Instead of temporarily dipping into its nation-sized endowment, Harvard University has decided to lay off 275 workers, Reuters reports: The Ivy League school took the action to meet budget…
by Matthew Vadum on June 24, 2009

Blog
Are Private Foundations and Charities “Public”?
Last Friday the Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center held a symposium on a new monograph entitled “How Public is Private Philanthropy?” issued under the auspices of the Philanthropy…
by Robert Huberty on June 23, 2009

Blog
Trustees Ignore Leona Helmsley’s Donor Intent
The late hotel magnate Leona Helmsley wanted the bulk of her estate to be spent on the care and welfare of dogs, but her trustees had other ideas. Instead,…
by Matthew Vadum on April 22, 2009

Blog
147 Foundations Lose Millions Investing With Madoff
Private foundations that have lost millions of dollars investing in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme could be subject to a 10 percent IRS penalty for failing to exercise due diligence and…
by Robert Huberty on February 13, 2009

Blog
A Money-Saving Idea: Turn Newspapers into Foundations
Jack Shafer, Slate‘s editor-at-large, doesn’t think much of proposals to save money-losing newspapers by converting them into charities, using their assets as endowments. Some pundits are starting to argue that…
by Robert Huberty on February 5, 2009