Exclusive | America s Richest Foundations Team Up Against Feared Trump Assault – WSJ

Some of America s wealthiest and most powerful private foundations are informally banding together to protect their tax-exempt status from any potential attempt to revoke it by the Trump administration.

Grantmakers across the political spectrum, including the Ford Foundation, the Gates Foundation and the Charles Koch Foundation, are discussing possible ways to respond should the administration make such an attempt, said people involved in the effort. Many of the foundations have discussed whether to seek legal representation as a class or individually should their tax status come under fire. 

Some foundations also have been covering part of the legal and communications expenses behind the effort, said a person familiar with the matter. 

The Trump administration hasn t explicitly pledged to revoke foundations tax-exempt status, though it is exploring ways to challenge the tax-exempt status of nonprofits more broadly. President Trump has also threatened Harvard University with revocation of its tax-exempt status and hinted at future actions against specific nonprofits. 

via www.wsj.com

I wonder how much of a difference it would make if foundations were held strictly to their founders’ intents, with the rules enforced quite woodenly. Yes, it would mean the dead hand of the past had a lot more influence, but surprisingly, this looks like it would turn out to be much better than just letting progressive trustees take over the loot and do what they please with it. See the Ford Foundation for example. And the rachet only seems to work one way, oddly enough.