Being Charitable: Librarian's $4 Million Bequest Presents Cautionary Tale

Abstract

As a result, upon his death, Robert Morin had amassed an estate of over $4 million which he donated to the University of New Hampshire, his alma mater and employer. Morin’s gift had dedicated $100,000 to the Dimond Library to be used to provide scholarships for work-study students, support for staff members continuing their library science studies and renovations of the Library’s multi-media spaces. The remainder of the gift was not dedicated and in its announcement, the University indicated that $2.5 million was to be spent on an expansion of the career center and $1 million on a new video scoreboard at the football stadium. The University’s decision to apply a quarter of Mr. Morin’s gift to a video scoreboard resulted in a social media uproar. The law governing charitable organizations and donations, comes from a combination of state and federal laws, the common law, the law of contract, and “best practices.” It might be broken down into three main areas: the charitable organization, the donor and donation, and the use of the donation by the organization.