Newsroom

The Partnership Issues Statement on Bankruptcy Filing by NHF (4/1/09) Earlier this year, the National Heritage Foundation, a Virginia-based nonprofit, filed for bankruptcy. In so doing, NHF left numerous charitable gift annuity donors at risk of losing all or a portion their remaining annuities. This is an exceedingly unfortunate turn of events. However, NHF’s financial problems should not be taken as a cause for alarm by other CGA annuitants or seen as an indictment of the broader charitable community. A bankruptcy filing by a charity offering CGAs is an extremely rare event. Well managed charities have numerous safeguards in place to protect CGA annuitants, including reserve funds dedicated to supporting the CGA program. Many states have extensive regulatory requirements in place to ensure that only qualified charities can issue CGAs to their residents, as well as an annual review process.   The Partnership for Philanthropic Planning has always promulgated standards and best practices of transparency and disclosure for all charities. The Partnership reminds donors of their responsibility to perform due diligence in their philanthropy.