No More Strings Attached

The tale of the Corcoran sheds light on a legal doctrine to modify restrictions on gifts to charitable organizations.

Museums and other charitable organizations benefit greatly when patrons contribute works of art. But, gifts sometime come with strict requirements that apply for long periods or even in perpetuity. When changing circumstances impede a charitable organization's ability to comply with such restrictions, the organization may be forced to seek relief from a court. Cy pres is the legal theory on which charitable organizations sometimes rely. French for "as near as possible," cy pres relieves an art institution or other charitable organization from gift restrictions that are impracticable or impossible to fulfill. Recently, the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art joined the list—receiving judicial approval of a plan to cease existence and transfer assets to George Washington University (GWU) and the National Gallery of Art (NGA), even though the trust