The legal terrain regarding institutions' rights for use of major charitable gifts has clarified somewhat in recent months. While this may encourage institutional fundraisers, it is also clear that extreme care still must be taken about the acceptance and terms set for use of transformational gifts. As recent lawsuits demonstrate, careful planning…

This third and final volume of the 2007-08 edition of "Trends" focuses on the resources that Canadian universities have to support their teaching and research activities. The volume begins by comparing the combined funding for teaching and research in Canadian universities with higher education funding in some of its most important…

Recently, spending and fees at colleges and universities have been rising faster than family incomes. If this trend persists, increasing emphasis will be placed on endowments as a source of finance. This paper examines financial planning when growth rates for the sources and uses of funds differ. First, we examine concepts of "intergenerational…

University faculty and students have not had sufficient opportunities to participate in the knowledge producing enterprise known as research. This article describes how two educators, Walter Green Daniel and his wife Theodora Christine Williams, advance knowledge through their benevolence. It describes their families, their educational…

Social enterprises are businesses with primarily social objectives that reinvest their surplus in the community rather than seeking to maximise profit for shareholders. However, there is a debate regarding the drivers and the role of the social enterprise, the outcome of which is expected to have serious implications for the future of the…

For most families, financial planning involves paying the monthly bills while putting money aside for the children's college funds and the parents' retirement. However, for parents of children with special needs, planning often takes on a very different meaning. Ensuring that children will have the resources to meet their financial, educational,…

As tuitions continue to rise, Congress is looking for ways to mitigate the costs of college attendance for students and their families. Legislators are giving particular scrutiny to how colleges spend money from their endowments, which have grown significantly over the past decade. Some lawmakers have proposed that institutions with endowments of…

The authors present estate planning suggestions that address concerns about lifetime care for the disabled children of aging parents. Aspects covered include disinheriting children, trust funds, and medical and legal assistance and food stamps. (CL)

Information is provided for parents regarding planning for their disabled child's future. Aspects considered include guardianship of the estate, trusts, transfer of property, power of attorney, joint bank accounts, and criteria for selecting a successor. (CL)

The article explains how parents can set up a trust to provide for a disabled child's financial future. The trust instrument is described and the assignment of imperative or discretionary powers to a trustee or cotrustees is considered. (DB)

An attorney describes problems that can arise if property is left outright or in a standard type of trust to or for the benefit of a disabled person. (CL)

Concern over Social Security's forecasted long-run deficit is occurring at a time when the program has a short-term surplus. One proposed strategy to address this forecasted deficit is to allow the investment of a portion of payroll taxes into private savings accounts (PSAs). The author analyzes recent proposals for PSAs and concludes that PSAs…

This Winter 2007 quarterly newsletter from the Community College League of California includes: (1) Incumbents: Some Win, Some Lose in November Trustee Elections; (2) Voters Approve $2 Billion in Bonds; (3) Photos from the "Together We Can" conference; (4) Report, Media Criticize Transfer, Completion Rates and Colleges; (5) District…

The paper offers guidelines for estate planning, defined as the art of arranging one's affairs to best care for loved ones while, at the same time, minimizing transfer costs. An understanding of the basics of estate planning is essential if one is to provide for the future of a severely handicapped child. Definitions are given for federal estate…

Discusses the use of short-term trusts to reduce federal income tax liability and outlines the basic legal requirements governing such trusts. (JG)