How Public Is Private Philanthropy? Separating Reality from Myth
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H O W P U B L I C I How Public Is S P R I V Private Philanthropy? A T E How Public Is Separating Reality from Myth P H I SECOND EDITION L A N Private Philanthropy? T H In recent years, some public officials and advocacy groups have urged that R O Separating Reality from Myth P private philanthropies be subject to more uniform standards and stricter Y ? SECOND EDITION government regulation—ranging from board composition to grant distribution to philanthropies' charitable purposes. A major justification cited by advocates of these proposals is the claim that the charitable tax exemption and deduction Evelyn Brody and John Tyler are government subsidies, and thus philanthropic funds are "public money" and should be publicly controlled. Some advocates also claim that philan - thropic assets are public money because philanthropies operate under state charters and are subject to state oversight. In the second edition of this mono - graph, legal scholars Evelyn Brody and John Tyler evaluate the legal basis of the "public money" claim. They conclude that it is not well founded in legal authority. State oversight of philanthropies is not based on an assertion that philanthropies are subject to state direction or that their assets belong to the public, they write. Similarly, the fact that philanthropies have state charters does not make them state agencies or subject them to the constraints that B R apply to public bodies. Finally, the philanthropies and their donors receive their O D Y federal tax benefits in return for the obligation to pursue public rather than A private purposes and to comply with the laws designed to ensure the pursuit N D of such purposes. There is no evidence, Brody and Tyler find, that these benefits T Y were m eant to give government other types of control over philanthropies. L E R Evelyn Brody is a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. John Tyler is vice president and corporate secretary at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. PhilanthropyRoundtable.org (202) 822-8333 Free copies of this book are available to qualified donors. An e-book version is available from major online booksellers. PRINCIPLES OF PHILANTHROPY How Public Is Private Philanthropy? Separating Reality from Myth Second Edition How Public Is Private Philanthropy? Separating Reality from Myth Second Edition Evelyn Brody and John Tyler First edition copYright © 2009; second edition copYright © 2012, The PhilanthropY Roundtable. All rights reserVed. Published bY The PhilanthropY Roundtable, 1730 M Street NW, Suite 601, Washington, DC, 20036. This monograph and a separate, related laW reVieW article Were suggested and supported bY funding from The PhilanthropY Roundtable. The opinions eXpressed in these pieces are those of the authors alone. This monograph Was edited bY SuZanne Garment. Free copies of this book are aVailable to qualified donors. To learn more, or to order more copies, call (202) 822-8333, email [email protected], or Visit philanthropYroundtable.org. An e-book Version is aVailable from major online booksellers. A PDF maY be doWnloaded at no charge at philanthropYroundtable.org. No part of this publication maY be reproduced, stored in a retrieVal sYstem, or transmitted in anY form or bY anY means, electronic, mechanical, photocopYing, recording, scanning, or otherWise, eXcept as permit - ted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 U.S. CopYright Act, Without the Written permission of The Phi - lanthropY Roundtable. Requests for permission to reprint or otherWise duplicate should be sent to [email protected]. ISBN 978-0-9851265-1-3 LCCN 2012932752 First printing, March 2012 . Table of Contents 9 Foreword to the Second Edition 11 Acknowledgements 12 Preface 17 Introduction: The Semantics of the Public-Money Debate A. The Roots of Confusion B. The Modern Public-MoneY Claim 26 Chapter I: The Parens Patriae Claim. Neither the fact that foundations and other charities haVe public purposes nor the fact that theY are subject to the AttorneY Gen - eral’s parens patriae poWer supports a claim that these organiZa - tions must serVe the same ends as those of goVernment or that goVernment maY undulY intrude in their goVernance and other de - cision-making. A. PriVate parties haVe the authoritY to determine the charitable purposes that particular foundations and other charities pursue. B. The state’s authoritY to regulate and superVise charities does not grant the state directiVe poWer oVer foundations or other charities or transform their assets into propertY of the state or the general public. How Public is Private Philanthropy? 34 Chapter II: The “State Actors” Claim The fact that foundations and other charities haVe state charters does not alone make these organiZations “state actors” or goVern - mental or quasi-goVernmental entities accountable as such to the public. A. The grant of a state charter does not render a nonprofit corpo - ration and its assets subordinate to the state. B. In general, foundations and other charities enjoY constitutional freedoms of association and eXpression, and are not subject to the constitutional constraints imposed on state actors. C. Foundations and other charities generallY are not subject to public access laWs. 53 Chapter III. The Public Money Argument The eXistence of the federal taX eXemption and charitable taX de - duction does not support the public-moneY argument. A. The coVenant underlYing the eXchange of federal taX preferences for charitable actiVitY requires that eXempt charities dedicate their assets to, and use them in furtherance of, charitable purposes and not for priVate benefit. B. IndiViduals and businesses benefit from taX-faVored treatment. Their assets and resources do not therebY become public, and theY are not therebY transformed into goVernmental entities. Founda - tions and other charities should be VieWed no differentlY. Evelyn Brody and John Tyler C. EVen if the taX-faVored treatment of foundations and other char - ities is VieWed as a goVernment subsidY or grant, most charitable assets come not from goVernment but rather from priVate funds. D. Foundations and other charities that are inVolVed With goVern - ment onlY indirectlY, through their taX eXemptions, should not face restrictions or impositions more onerous than the limitations that entities face When theY are inVolVed With goVernment directlY, through grants or contracts. E. The taX-faVored treatment of foundations and other charities, like the taX-faVored treatment of businesses and indiViduals, does not entitle goVernment to impose unconstitutional conditions on recipients. 77 Conclusion 82 Bibliography and Cited Sources 90 About the Authors 93 About The Philanthropy Roundtable Foreword to the Second Edition The PhilanthropY Roundtable is dedicated to helping donors achieVe their charitable objectiVes. The Roundtable offers eXpert adVice and counsel to indiVidual donors and foundations that are its members and brings donors together With others Who share their interest in formu - lating and implementing philanthropic strategies that Work. Part of the mission of the Roundtable is to make its members aWare of the features of the legal and policY climate that maY affect donors’ abilitY to achieVe their charitable aims most effectiVelY. In recent Years, this climate has included increasing pressures from some public officials and adVocacY groups to subject priVate philanthropies to more uniform standards and stricter goVernment regulation. Such changes could sig - nificantlY affect the abilitY of philanthropies to continue to plaY their role in supporting and nourishing American pluralism. A major justification cited bY adVocates of these proposals is the claim that philanthropic assets are “public moneY.” These adVocates argue that the charitable taX eXemption and deduction are goVernment subsidies; thus, philanthropic funds are public moneY and should be publiclY controlled. Some adVocates also claim that philanthropic assets are public moneY because philanthropies operate under state charters and are subject to state oVersight. The Roundtable offered support to tWo noted legal scholars, EVelYn BrodY and John TYler, to prepare a monograph and a longer laW reVieW article eValuating the authorities and precedents applicable to the “pub - lic moneY” claim. This support Was proVided bY the Roundtable With - out anY restrictions on content. The original publication of this 9 How Public is Private Philanthropy? monograph Was in June 2009, When the authors presented the results of their eValuation. The monograph Was Well receiVed and proVided a strong foundation for the position and protection of priVate philan - thropY in the public World. Since the original publication, there haVe been some keY legal deVelopments, including an important Supreme Court case ( Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn ) that bolsters the authors’ original conclusions. The authors conclude the “public moneY” claim is not Well founded in legal authoritY. TheY find that state oVersight of philanthropies is based on the need to ensure that philanthropies pursue charitable rather than priVate purposes, not on an assertion that philanthropies are sub - ject to state direction or that their assets belong to the public. SimilarlY, the authors find, the fact that philanthropies haVe state charters does not make them state agencies or generallY subject them to the con - straints that applY to public bodies. FinallY, the authors find that philanthropies and their donors receiVe