Enforceability Of Charitable Pledges

Jonathan Park is an Associate in Holland & Knight's Los Angeles office

In 2010, billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates went public with their "Giving Pledge" campaign. The campaign asks the wealthiest people in the world to donate at least half of their wealth to charity either during lifetime or as a testamentary gift. As of this summer, some 137 billionaires (or former billionaires if not for their giving), have signed the pledge. The campaign, however, specifically notes that: "[t]he pledge is a moral commitment to give, not a legal contract."

This raises the question: when is a charitable pledge legally enforceable? In California, like most other states, charitable pledges are analyzed as a matter of contract law. This means that pledges are not enforceable unless: (1) the pledgor receives consideration for making the pledge; or (2) the charity has detrimentally relied on the pledge. But the application of this principal varies from state to state. Some