The Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good is a “time-limited think tank”¹ run by the Boston College Law School which hosts discussions on philanthropic tax policy. The Forum’s co-founder and director is Ray Madoff, a law school professor known for her criticisms of donor-advised funds (DAFs), popular charitable investment vehicles which Madoff claims are used by the wealthy to avoid taxes.

The Forum primarily hosts gatherings of academics, think tanks, charitable foundations, and government agencies to discuss potential policy changes related to philanthropic giving. Meeting attendees have hailed from the IRS, United Way Worldwide, the American Heart Association, Catholic Charities USA, Americans for the Arts, and the YMCA. ²

The Forum is funded by left-of-center nonprofit organizations, including the Ford Foundation and the William and Hewlett Flora Foundation.

Donor-Advised Funds

The Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good supports greater regulations on donor-advised funds, a unique classification of charitable entities. Individuals can donate to a DAF to take an immediate charitable tax deduction on the donation and bypass capital gains taxes if the donation is made in the form of assets. Unlike traditional charitable funds, the donors retain control of the donations once they have been given to the DAF facilitator through private charitable accounts. Donors are legally obligated to use these funds for charitable purposes, but there is no legal requirement dictating when the funds must be disbursed. According to critics like Madoff, wealthy donors use DAFs to gain short-term tax benefits while indefinitely delaying the intended societal benefits of philanthropic giving. ³

In 2017, then-Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) asked for public recommendations on reforming the tax system. On behalf of the Forum, Madoff and Catholic University Professor Roger Colinvaux published a letter to Hatch with a series of recommendations concerning donor-advised funds. Colinvaux had previously referred to DAFs “the worst development in the history of philanthropy.” ⁴ The letter called for establishing a mandatory payout period, prohibiting private foundations from using DAFs to satisfy their own payout requirements, and creating a two-tiered excise tax on DAF capital gains to encourage the disbursement of funds. ⁵

Leadership

Forum co-founder and director Ray Madoff is a Boston College Law School professor. She is a member of the American Law Institute and an academic fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel. ⁶

In 2020, Madoff partnered with left-of-center billionaire philanthropist John Arnold to write Initiative to Accelerate Charitable Giving, a recommendation to Congress to revise regulations on donor-advised funds. The plan would force DAF account holders to disburse funds at frequent intervals to reduce the estimated $1 trillion of charitable funds currently held within DAF accounts. ⁷

Forum co-founder and special advisor William Bagley is a Boston College Law School adjunct professor. He previously advised a Ford Foundation project on affordable housing and a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development project on eliminating lead poisoning. ⁸

Funding

The Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good is financed by a number of major left-of-center foundations, including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the David Bohnett Foundation, the Barr Foundation, Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Foundation, the Chicago Community Trust, the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, and the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. ⁹

In 2020, the William and Hewlett Flora Foundation gave a $111,111 grant to the Forum. ¹⁰

In addition to funding, the Ford Foundation has also provided spaces for Forum meetings. ¹¹¹²

1. “Philanthropy Forum.” Boston College Law. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/law/centers/philanthropy-forum.html
2. “Why the Charitable Sector Is Critical to Tax Reform.” April 4, 2017. Accessed January 16, 2021. http://lawmagazine.bc.edu/2017/04/whats-the-role-of-the-charitable-sector-in-tax-reform/.
3. Schleifer, Theodore. “How a lawsuit could reveal secrets about Silicon Valley’s favorite philanthropic loophole.” Vox. July 2, 2019. Accessed December 11, 2020. https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/7/2/18691693/silicon-valley-donor-advised-funds-fidelity-charitable-lawsuit.
4. Murphy, Connor. “A Look At Philanthropy, Law, And The Public Good.” The Heights. November 5, 2015. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://www.bcheights.com/2015/11/05/a-look-at-philanthropy-law-and-the-public-good/.
5. “Dear Chairman Hatch,.” Boston College Law School. July 17, 2017. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/bc1/schools/law/centers/philanthropy/Colinvaux-Madoff%20Tax%20Reform%20Submission.pdf.
6. “Biography.” Boston College Law. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/law/academics-faculty/faculty-directory/ray-madoff.html.
7. Gunther, Mark. “Philanthropist Urges Congress to Force More Giving From Donor-Advised Funds and Foundations.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy. October 1, 2020. Accessed December 11, 2020. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/philanthropist-urges-congress-to-force-more-giving-from-donor-advised-funds-and-foundations.
8. “Biography.” Boston College Law. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/law/academics-faculty/faculty-directory/william-bagley.html.
9. “Philanthropy Forum.” Boston College Law. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/law/centers/philanthropy-forum.html
10. “Boston College.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://hewlett.org/grants/boston-college-for-support-of-the-boston-college-law-school-forum-on-philanthropy-and-the-public-good/.
11. “Why the Charitable Sector Is Critical to Tax Reform.” April 4, 2017. Accessed January 16, 2021. http://lawmagazine.bc.edu/2017/04/whats-the-role-of-the-charitable-sector-in-tax-reform/.
12. “Philanthropy Forum.” Boston College Law. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/law/centers/philanthropy-forum.html