Expert: Timmy Chou - 12/23/2008

Question
Hello,

I came across an interesting news item  about the very rich Barclays twins. It seems that they donated 200,000 Uk pounds to a charity on the island of Sark and then, due to the Sark islanders refusing to be dominated by the Barclays twins, threatened the charity, 5 years later, with legal demands for the money back. I was under the impression that English law(common to the US and the UK), doesn't allow people to claim back money from charities, especially if the money has already been spent, I guess. What is the US stance on this issue re prospect of getting money back? If I were to claim back, say, 200 pounds from a charity I'd given money to, would that work?(Not that I'd ever do that!)
Thanks,
Geoff

Answer
Thanks for your question.  

As I always note to questioners, mediators act as neutral third parties to disputes and never "get involved" in judging the merits of conflict, but merely use special techniques to help the parties decide how to negotiate their own settlement.

I am not an attorney and cannot give you legal advice or definitive information on your question, but I can answer your question from my consulting experience.

My experience is that in the US there is no obligation for a non-profit charity to return a donation.  The only exception would be if the non-profit defrauded the donor somehow, and then the donor would have to get a judgment and then enforce it.  Any case would likely turn on fraud statutes and/or case law and not on any question about the charitable status of the recipient.   

I don't believe the law prohibits anyone from trying to recover money if they want.  US law allows people to bring suit for just about anything if they want to pay for it, but without some additional argument I cannot see a court demanding return of the funds just because someone has changed their mind.

Hope this helps!