Abusing Donor Intent: The Robertson Family's Epic Lawsuit Against Princeton University (Paragon House)
Princeton Partners Seth Lapidow and Stephen Orlofsky's representation of the Robertson family in Robertson v. Princeton is profiled in the new book, Abusing Donor Intent: The Robertson Family's Epic Lawsuit Against Princeton University, authored by Doug White.
In 2008, Princeton University settled a claim that it misused a $35 million gift received in 1961 from the heirs of the A&P Supermarket fortune. The gift was the largest one-time amount anyone had ever donated to benefit a university.
The Robertsons claimed Princeton had fraudulently diverted the proceeds from the original purpose, to prepare students at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs for government service. To read more about Blank Rome's representation of the Robertson family, click here.
Abusing Donor Intent: The Robertson Family's Epic Lawsuit Against Princeton University addresses:
- How much control over a gift does a donor have after the gift is given?
- How accountable is a nonprofit recipient for the use of the gift?
For more information, visit www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com.
About the Author
Doug White has more than 30 years of experience in the field of philanthropy. He currently teaches in the master's program for fundraising at Columbia University and is the former academic director of the philanthropy center at New York University. He is the author of The Nonprofit Challenge, Charity on Trial, and The Art of Planned Giving.
Acclaim for the Book
"Robertson v. Princeton may be the most important case higher education has faced over the question of honoring the wishes of the donor." Wall Street Journal
"Doug White's careful and fair study of the seminal Robertson Foundation endowment litigation against Princeton University should be read by all donors and donees. As a former head of the New York State Law Department's Charities Bureau, I know donors have to have both courage and resources to enforce their rights, especially against iconic donees. Fortunately, the Robertsons had both." Bill Josephson, former head of the Charities Bureau, New York State Attorney General's office.
"Robertson v. Princeton, the mother of all donor intent cases, is must-know material for everybody involved in the giving or receiving of large charitable contributions. Happily for his readers, Doug White has turned what could have been a dry legal text into an engaging human story. The lessons to be learned, which are both heuristic and institution-shaking, go down easily in his smooth narrative."—Neal B. Freeman, Chairman, Foundation Management Institute