Who Would Have Thought: Charitable Trusts as a Viable Entity, State Bar of Texas, Governance of Nonprofit Organizations Course, August 23-24, 2012

This seminar paper explores charitable trusts as an entity structure for Section 501(c)(3) organizations. Many practitioners have moved away from charitable trusts and focus exclusively on nonprofit corporations (and to some extent on newer forms of nonprofit entities including L3Cs and B Corporations). However, the charitable trust, the oldest form of nonprofit entity, still has viability in certain circumstances. This paper explores those circumstances, particularly under Texas law.