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Donors take note!
For the second time in just over a year, Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal finds himself standing up for donor intent. In February 2009, the attorney general's office stepped in to stop Trinity College from taking funds away from the Shelby Cullom Davis Professorship in American Business and Economic Enterprise. In that case, chair holder Gerald Gunderson courageously blew the whistle on the administration's efforts to raid the endowed chair and divert its funds to other uses. Now, Blumenthal has given notice to Yale that its efforts to cap gifts and limit prize awards will be reviewed closely, with due deference to donor intent.
As colleges face historic economic downturns, they are scrambling for funds. And as these cases indicate, adherence to donor intent may be lost in the shuffle. By law, the attorney general's office represents the public interest in the proper use of these assets. But the fact is: If trustees were fulfilling their stewardship role, outside intervention would not be necessary. Surely, the recent settlement in Robertson v. Princeton should prove that donors won't simply put up and shut up anymore. If trustees don't want to kill the golden goose of private support, it's time they took note as well.
Posted by Anne D. Neal on April 16, 2010 at April 16, 2010 09:33 AM
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