Summary of May 16th teleconference on relief and recovery in Burma cyclone disaster (5/19/08)
Summary of Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors teleconference on relief and recovery needs and effective philanthropic strategies in response to the Myanmar (Burma) disaster (5/12/08)
II. What are the legal requirements for public charities wishing to make cross-border grants?
International grantmaking requirements for public charities are significantly less onerous than those for private foundations, yet public charities still have a fiduciary duty to ensure that grant funds are used exclusively for charitable purposes. Although they are not required to do so, most public charities follow the grantmaking rules for private foundations.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006, signed into law by President Bush on August 17, 2006, introduced new rules for international grants made from donor-advised funds. International grantmaking from donor-advised assets now requires equivalency determination or expenditure responsibility. While the Council is seeking guidance as to what expenditure responsibility means for public charities, the regulations for private foundations provide some guidance. Visit the Council website for detailed background information and updates on this topic
The suggested approach by the Council on Foundations for public charities that do not use donor-advised funds for their international grantmaking is as follows:
Obtain English copies of organizational documents and a description of the activities and programs of the grantee.
Enter into a specific written agreement, documenting the grantee’s commitments and the use of funds for charitable purposes.
Obtain a yearly accounting of the funds for each year until the funds are expended.[1]
