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As someone who transitioned from IT management to alumni relations/fundraising at an NFP, I've experienced a couple of these 'complications'- they crop up in al

by tobtoh 7y ago

As someone who transitioned from IT management to alumni relations/fundraising at an NFP, I've experienced a couple of these 'complications'- they crop up in all sorts of ways. A couple of examples: 1. Donor (decades ago) created a scholarship for boys from his old school (boys schools) to come and study at my institution. However, since then, the school has become co-ed and we now get the occasional situation when no boys apply, but we have exceptional female students applying. The trust which controls the scholarship will not allow us to award the scholarship to females as that will contravene the will. 2. We had one recently deceased donor donate $10k in her will for daffodils for our grounds. Our grounds are not that large nor are there many suitable places for the daffodils - eek! Luckily we were able to discuss the issue with her daughter and modified the request to become some memorial benches and daffodils.

sandworm101 7y ago
Then the trust is being bone-headed. The legal system is full of such issues. There were/are countless laws that refer to males by default (ie "The defendant shall submit his notice.") Where such rules have yet to be rewritten they are treated as gender-neutral. My advice would be to submit such applications as "the graduate from the school" and leave it to the trust to reject them. Leave the box unticked. The trust will then be risking legal challenge when they demand that a child identify itself as either male or female. Remind the trust that it will be much easier to make things gender neutral today than have to deal with the inevitable female applicant who self-identifies as a boy. Such people tend to fight these things. And more power to them.
- sandmite 7y ago
  Risking legal challenge from whom, and under what law? Private scholarships are not equal opportunity. Also, do you think that fighting with the trust of a deceased or elderly donor is a good idea, for somebody in the business of asking wealthy people for donations? It is definitely not.
  - AndyMcConachie 7y ago
    It's really sandy in here.
  - sandworm101 7y ago
    Well, I don't know your particular jurisdiction, but many have come to see such wills as against public policy. That can make them unenforceable. So the estate might not be able to come after the school, but the specific mechanism will depend entirely on how the scholarship was setup. >>An Ontario judge has struck down a deceased doctor’s attempt to set up university scholarships exclusively for white, single and heterosexual student. [...] Her decision invoked a little-known legal principle — stemming from an 80-year-old Supreme Court of Canada judgment — that allows courts to quash people’s final wishes if they clearly offend the interests of the state. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ontario-judge-overturns-doctors-will-that-would-have-granted-scholarships-only-to-white-heterosexual-students https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ontario-judge-overturns... While US courts still tolerate race and gender-based discrimination in wills invoking close family members (ie "my son only inherits if he marries a Jewish girl.") they are less tolerant of bequests held out to members of the public. "100$ to every non-black man in town" would be easily challenged. Specifying only "boys" is a step towards that line. I still see the occasional land deed in my area with a "no chinamen" stipulation, but everyone knows to either ignore or erase such things.
kylec 7y ago
Maybe you should just not award the scholarship altogether, if the funds cannot be allocated fairly.
- belorn 7y ago
  Getting rid of scholarships that differentiate on gender, race, or religion on a national level would be a nice improvement to society. I suspect however that such change has very little political support.
danieltillett 7y ago
Unless the entire year is female how can there situations where no boys apply? Are the boys not told about the existence of this scholarship?
stevekemp 7y ago
Wills can lead to some fascinating outcomes. Here's one that I always enjoy: Henry Trigg (c. 1667 – 6 October 1724) was an English grocer who became famous following his death for his eccentric will which had his body placed in a coffin in the rafters of his barn, which became a tourist attraction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Trigg_(testator) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Trigg_(testator)

by tobtoh 7y ago

sandworm101 7y ago

Then the trust is being bone-headed. The legal system is full of such issues. There were/are countless laws that refer to males by default (ie "The defendant shall submit his notice.") Where such rules have yet to be rewritten they are treated as gender-neutral. My advice would be to submit such applications as "the graduate from the school" and leave it to the trust to reject them. Leave the box unticked. The trust will then be risking legal challenge when they demand that a child identify itself as either male or female. Remind the trust that it will be much easier to make things gender neutral today than have to deal with the inevitable female applicant who self-identifies as a boy. Such people tend to fight these things. And more power to them.

sandmite 7y ago
Risking legal challenge from whom, and under what law? Private scholarships are not equal opportunity. Also, do you think that fighting with the trust of a deceased or elderly donor is a good idea, for somebody in the business of asking wealthy people for donations? It is definitely not.
- AndyMcConachie 7y ago
  It's really sandy in here.
- sandworm101 7y ago
  Well, I don't know your particular jurisdiction, but many have come to see such wills as against public policy. That can make them unenforceable. So the estate might not be able to come after the school, but the specific mechanism will depend entirely on how the scholarship was setup. >>An Ontario judge has struck down a deceased doctor’s attempt to set up university scholarships exclusively for white, single and heterosexual student. [...] Her decision invoked a little-known legal principle — stemming from an 80-year-old Supreme Court of Canada judgment — that allows courts to quash people’s final wishes if they clearly offend the interests of the state. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ontario-judge-overturns-doctors-will-that-would-have-granted-scholarships-only-to-white-heterosexual-students https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ontario-judge-overturns... While US courts still tolerate race and gender-based discrimination in wills invoking close family members (ie "my son only inherits if he marries a Jewish girl.") they are less tolerant of bequests held out to members of the public. "100$ to every non-black man in town" would be easily challenged. Specifying only "boys" is a step towards that line. I still see the occasional land deed in my area with a "no chinamen" stipulation, but everyone knows to either ignore or erase such things.

kylec 7y ago

Maybe you should just not award the scholarship altogether, if the funds cannot be allocated fairly.

belorn 7y ago
Getting rid of scholarships that differentiate on gender, race, or religion on a national level would be a nice improvement to society. I suspect however that such change has very little political support.

danieltillett 7y ago

Unless the entire year is female how can there situations where no boys apply? Are the boys not told about the existence of this scholarship?

stevekemp 7y ago

Wills can lead to some fascinating outcomes. Here's one that I always enjoy: Henry Trigg (c. 1667 – 6 October 1724) was an English grocer who became famous following his death for his eccentric will which had his body placed in a coffin in the rafters of his barn, which became a tourist attraction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Trigg_(testator) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Trigg_(testator)