This issue provides information that should be of interest to all readers of The Philanthropist—charities, foundations, and corporate donors as well as their legal and financial advisors.
Jim Phillips, a welcome addition to our Editorial Board from the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto, tracks the convoluted and ultimately unsatisfactory law that governs the disposal of funds collected for charitable purposes but unspent. It is surprising that the situations he describes do not arise more often. His solution may commend itself to governments who wish to anticipate rather than just react to such problems.
In the following article George Forster points out the practical action that many benevolent organizations can take to put money into the pockets of those they serve. The piece might be subtitled, “Putting the government’s money where its mouth is”.
David Spiro sets aside his usual duties in the Bookshelf section to take issue with those who attack corporate philanthropy. In rebuttal, he reviews a program devised by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. which offers an interesting alternative to most current practice.
After a brief respite, our Tax Editors, Mary Louise Dickson and Laurence Murray return to Recent Tax Developments. They review a February budget proposal and a March interpretation bulletin affecting donors. A summary of the Appeal Court of Ontario’s decision reversing the lower court’s decision in a case involving the Leonard Foundation Trust will alert readers to the broad issues involved which will be the subject of a Case Comment in a later issue.
In Bookshelf, guest reviewer Michael Trebilcock reviews a book of essays devoted to the economics of non-profit organizations.
As usual in the second number of each of our volumes, readers will find a comprehensive index to the previous volume. Claudia Willets continues her painstaking and most useful enterprise, and we certainly profit from it.
John D. Gregory
Editor
