The Case Against Donations
Former Harvard dean (and current professor)
Harry Lewis states his case against Harvard's new, if selective, policy of matching donations to victims of natural disasters.
Writes Lewis: "Harvard really has no money of its own. It is merely the trustee for money given or paid to it for education and research, and funds resulting from reinvestment of such gifts and payments—funds which should themselves be invested in education and research at Harvard. "
I think this argument can safely be called the traditionalist, or purist, view of Harvard's role in the world, whereas Larry Summers' decision to implement this policy reflects his expansionist perspective: Harvard as international geopolitical player, led by Summers, who used other people's money in similar ways while at the World Bank and the Treasury Department....
A tax lawyer friend of mine raises the question of whether it's even legal for a non-profit to redirect contributions in such a manner..... There's a real case to be made that it is not.
