Tips For Donors and Charities

Paul Sullivan's Wealth Matters column reveals an unusual corner of philanthropy: helping companies with ill-gotten gains give away their tainted funds.

Lesson for donors: Giving money away usefully can be hard work. Wealthy individuals who fund a new dorm for their alma mater or a new wing for the local hospital have it easy. Donors who have to come up with their own ideas do not. Giving away money effectively, Steve Jobs believed, was more difficult than making it.

Lesson for charitable recipients: Donors expect feedback. Most charities who received portions of the ill-gotten gains failed to report on how they used the money. The minority who did won additional grants.