Should Foundations Live Forever? ─ The Question of Perpetuity

A companion to The Great Philanthropists and the Problem of “Donor Intent,” author Martin Morse Wooster considers whether the legal life of foundations should be limited to prevent successor trustees from ignoring the donor’s intent. This volume surveys past congressional attempts to limit foundation perpetuity and offers case studies of donors who have put legal limits on their own foundations, setting a termination date and requiring the foundation to pay out all its assets.

Martin Morse Wooster, a Senior Fellow at Capital Research Center, received his undergraduate degree in history and philosophy from Beloit College. He is a contributing editor of Philanthropy and a columnist for the Washington Times. He has been an associate editor of The American Enterprise, Washington editor of Reason, an associate editor of The Wilson Quarterly, and Washington editor of Harper’s Magazine. He is also the author of The Great Philanthropists and the Problem of “Donor Intent,” Return to Charity?, The Foundation Builders, and By Their Bootstraps. He has also contributed articles on the history of philanthropy to The Encyclopedia of Civil Rights, The Encyclopedia of Philanthropy, The Encyclopedia of the Victorian Era, and Notable American Philanthropists.