ABSTRACT
An irrevocable gift can leave its donor with extensive power over the institutions spending it. Once a recipient has recruited staff or committed funds of its own, withdrawal becomes expensive. The grant agreement determines who bears that expense. Drawing on United States nonprofit and tax law, this article argues for enforceable obligations attached to reserved powers over funded work. Restrictions on private appropriation protect the charitable endowment, but a lawful termination can still leave a university with unpaid commitments or interrupt a service on which users depend. I propose a recipient-held publication right that survives the end of research funding. Where interruption of a continuing service threatens serious harm, an advance-funded transition obligation would place agreed withdrawal costs with the party controlling that decision. Disclosure of appointment and consent powers would help recipients negotiate before their alternatives narrow. The treatment of tax relief and endowment governance explains why these duties can accompany a genuine surrender of private wealth. Pricing withdrawal may reduce the scale of a grant. The proposal accepts that consequence: a program’s financial adequacy includes the resources needed to bring its commissioned work to an orderly end.
Tan, Albert, Charitable Property and the Accountability of Private Power (October 8, 2026).
Leave a Reply