Mark Cowan, professor, and Joshua Cutler, associate professor from the Department of Accountancy, recently had their book review, “Attached and Interested,” accepted for publication in the Quinnipiac Law Review.
Their analysis examines the book “For-Profit Philanthropy: Elite Power and the Threat of Limited Liability Companies, Donor-Advised Funds, and Strategic Corporate Giving,” written by Dana Brakman Reiser and Steven A. Dean. The book discusses modern philanthropic practices such as LLC-based philanthropy, donor-advised funds and strategic corporate giving, exploring how these approaches challenge the traditional charity models and the regulatory framework known as the “grand bargain” – a compromise in which private foundations received tax benefits in exchange for adhering to strict regulations aimed to balance charitable incentives with accountability.
Cowan and Cutler acknowledge the book’s valuable insights by agreeing with the posed concerns about donor-advised funds. However, they argue that LLCs do not necessarily violate the grand bargain since they lack tax benefits as well as emphasizing the claim that strategic corporate giving is a new and harmful trend.