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Donor Standing To Enforce Charitable Gifts: Civil Society Vs. Donor Empowerment, Iris Goodwin

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Philanthropy has a dirty little secret -- that a gift to public charity restricted to a specific purpose is often used in ways not intended by the donor. In most states, the attorney general is the agent for enforcement of such gifts. Attorney general offices are beset with difficulties that make it impossible to monitor how each charity administers restricted gifts. Donors are increasingly aware that their restrictions are ignored and, frustrated by lax enforcement, they are pursuing standing to enforce restrictions.

In Smithers v. St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital, the donor's widow succeeded in obtaining standing, even after the attorney general …