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About the Project
One of the duties of Attorneys General is to represent the public’s interest in the protection of assets held for charitable purposes. In most states, that duty is part of the common law powers of the office, which may be supplemented by statutes that codify and expand on the common law. In other states the power to oversee charitable organizations and their assets is purely statutory. Regardless of the source of authority, when charitable assets are abused it is the Attorney General that generally has the authority and responsibility to rectify the situation. Some state Attorney General offices have active, staffed charity enforcement programs to respond to allegations of charity fraud or abuse. Many states, however, do not have the resources, experience, or a well-developed body of law that would enable the Attorney General to respond swiftly and with confidence when suspected charitable abuse comes to light.
The Charities Law Project of the State Attorneys General Program at Columbia Law School has recently been created to provide a resource to Attorneys General in fulfilling their charities enforcement responsibilities. The Project is a resource to Attorneys General in three ways. First, Attorneys General who find themselves in need of external advice or direction on a charities issue can receive it from the experienced Project staff. To obtain more information about this resource, telephone our office at (212) 851-1061. Second,a clearinghouse for information relating to the law of charities is being created. The clearinghouse will contain articles and papers on charities law generally, as well as Attorneys General enforcement activities and best practices. Third, the Project will convene forums at which Attorneys General and their staffs will hear about and discuss what other offices have done and are doing to protect their citizens and their states’ charitable assets. In March of 2008, the Project hosted a Charities Conference to continue the discussion initiated at its first conference held in February 2006. To follow-up on issues raised at the Conference, the Project will host mini-conferences on specific issues related to Charities Law and the Attorney General. More information to follow!
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Calendar of Events
>>March 28-29, 2008
Charities Conference
Columbia Law School
>>October 4, 2007
Board Meeting at CLS
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