You have been thinking about starting a foundation and wanted to consider including a sunset requirement. Before making any final decisions, you researched the topic and have reviewed the Foundation Center’s report Perpetuity or Limited Lifespan: How Do Family Foundations Decide? You have also learned from the experiences of other funders, reading Giving While Living: The Beldon Fund Spend-Out Story.
You next case study might be the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust (1968-2009), which terminated earlier this week after spending out its assets supporting ecosystem studies, music, conservation, and the urban environment.
The Trust’s final report not only describes the Trust’s funding strategies and the impact of its programs, but also includes brief sections that describe its termination strategies and other considerations.
In 1997, trustees decided to spend out in 2009, which was nine years earlier than the intended termination period of fifty years. There were several reasons for this. One factor was the evaluation of the grant programs, which convinced trustees that “the Trust had accomplished most of what it had set out to do under Mrs. Cary’s will.”
For more details, look for the report in the new books section of our library:
Trust Fulfilled: Four Decades of Grantmaking by the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust.
Update:
You can learn more on this topic with a resource list prepared for the Perpetuity or Limited Lifespan program, July 9, 2009, co-sponsored by the Foundation Center and Philanthropy New York.
Comments