Strengthening Charity Law: Replacing Media Oversight with Advance Rulings for Nonprofit Fiduciaries

39 Pages Posted: 2 May 2015

See all articles by Linda Sugin

Linda Sugin

Fordham University School of Law

Date Written: March 15, 2015

Abstract

This Article considers three urgent challenges facing the charitable community and its state regulators: too little fiduciary duty law for nonprofits, the rise of media enforcement of wrongdoing in charities, and an inherent tension in the state’s dual role as enforcer and protector of the nonprofit sector. It analyzes whether the scarcity of law is really a problem by comparing nonprofit organizations with business organizations and concludes that charities lack the self-enforcement mechanisms of businesses and therefore need more government guidance. It evaluates whether the media has made governmental supervision obsolete and expresses skepticism about the press displacing state oversight. The solution presented, an advance-ruling procedure for fiduciary duty questions, proposes that states shift their focus from better enforcement against wrongdoers ex post to better charity governance ex ante by devoting more attention and resources to assisting well-meaning charity directors in carrying out their fiduciary obligations.

Keywords: charities, fiduciary obligations, media

JEL Classification: L30

Suggested Citation

Sugin, Linda, Strengthening Charity Law: Replacing Media Oversight with Advance Rulings for Nonprofit Fiduciaries (March 15, 2015). Tulane Law Review, Vol. 89, No. 3, 2015, Fordham Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2600926, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2600926

Linda Sugin (Contact Author)

Fordham University School of Law ( email )

140 West 62nd Street
New York, NY 10023
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
100
Abstract Views
778
Rank
479,249
PlumX Metrics