Donor Intent
Protecting Donor Intent
The Philanthropy Roundtable is committed to preserving, strengthening, and celebrating the principle of donor intent. We believe that respect for donor intent is essential to philanthropic integrity. All voluntary giving is based on an act of trust, the shared understanding that the gift will be disbursed in a mutually acceptable fashion. If that trust is compromised, it undermines the very condition that makes philanthropy possible. Read more about our commitment to protecting donor intent here.
Back to Bill
Cable entrepreneur Bill Daniels died in 2000, leaving $1 billion to his foundation. Even though he spent the last years of his life carefully detailing his wishes, within a few years of his passing, the board realized the fund was drifting from his principles. That realization triggered something rare in the annals of American philanthropy. It triggered a process of recovery and restoration, of rediscovering Mr. Daniels’ intent for his foundation and instituting a process by which it would be protected in the future. Managing editor Evan Sparks examines Bill Daniels, the Daniels Fund, and its remarkable efforts to honor the intentions of its founding benefactor.
Outsmarting Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes managed to outsmart everyone—including himself. After years of controversy, the saga of the Barnes Foundation has come to an end, and the collection is being relocated to Philadelphia, leaving a cautionary tale behind in Merion. Dr. Barnes went to extravagant lengths to preserve his vision in perpetuity but never anticipated that the very defenses he put in place to preserve his collection would ultimately contribute to its undoing.
Rosenwald’s Shadow
Stephanie Deutsch reviews Alfred Perkins’ biography of Edwin Rogers Embree, the man charged with sunsetting the Rosenwald Fund.
The Carnegie Corporation Turns 100
What would Andrew Carnegie think of his corporation today? As the Carnegie Corporation of New York marks a century of giving, Leslie Lenkowsky looks at their past and present, examining their commitment to their donor’s intent. Would the man who set forth the principles of scientific philanthropy in “The Gospel of Wealth” find the Carnegie Corporation faithful to his vision?
Duke of Carolina
Was James B. Duke more successful than Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller? All three men established lasting philanthropic legacies, but unlike the open-ended mandates of the Rockefeller and Carnegie foundations, Duke’s has a clearly defined and carefully observed philanthropic mission. His is a remarkable success story in avoiding the hazards of perpetuity. Duke left much of his fortune to the Carolinas, and his endowment today continues to enrich the land he loved.
Tiger’s Intent: The Princeton-Robertson Settlement
One of this century’s most important legal disputes over donor intent was finally settled in December of 2008. Adam Meyerson discusses the importance of clear donor intent in the settlement of the Robertson-Princeton case—and its implications for university giving.
Who Left the Dogs Out?
Leona Helmsley generously left nearly her entire estate to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. If only the trustees could now sort out what she intended… Unfortunately, Helmsley left much ambiguity regarding her charitable intent, and her surviving heir, Trouble, was able to provide little input beyond tail-wagging. Mark Hemingway investigates as the trustees sort out what the “Queen of Mean” would have wanted.
Guidebook — debates in philanthropy
Should Foundations Exist in Perpetuity?
Should foundations exist in perpetuity? Heather Higgins and Michael Joyce present opposing cases to answer the question in this Philanthropy Roundtable guidebook. Higgins argues for foundation sunset laws, while Joyce counters that under the right conditions, foundations can be trusted to carry out the wishes of their founders.
The Greatest 20th-Century Donor You’ve Never Heard Of
Julius Rosenwald was one of the twentieth century’s greatest philanthropists. He used his fortune to build thousands of schools for blacks in the South, but today his name has faded from the national memory. Peter M. Ascoli pays tribute to his grandfather’s life and work in his biography ‘Julius Rosenwald: The Man Who Built Sears, Roebuck and Advanced the Cause of Black Education in the American South.’
