Cancer Ctr. gift keeps donors in control

Madlyn and Leonard Abramson's recent $100 million pledge to the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center comes with significant strings attached -- strings that could, in theory, leave the University with none of the second-largest donation in its history. Rather than pledging the money directly to the Cancer Center, the funds will go to an organization with a separate board of directors: the Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at the University Cancer Center. The nine-member board of the Abramson Institute, to be chaired by Madlyn Abramson, will include five Abramson appointees and four members chosen by the University. Since the institute is a separate entity from the Cancer Center, the University would have to submit proposals to the institute's board, which "would decide whether or not to fund" them, according to University spokesperson Ken Wildes. Center and institute Director John Glick acknowledged that University proposals need not be accepted by the board of the institute. Indeed, there is no reason that the Abramson's money could not theoretically be given to some other institution. Such an arrangement was made "at the wish of the donor," Glick said. Medical research organizations with the institute's tax designation typically qualify as public charities, exempting them from Internal Revenue Service requirements that they give 5 percent of their funds annually to other organizations, according to Donald Kramer, a Philadelphia attorney who specializes in such gifts. If the institute does have public-charity status, there would be no requirement that it distribute funds to any organization. University officials could not say whether the institute would be subject to the IRS requirements. Marina Dundjerski, a reporter at the bi-weekly Chronicle of Philanthropy who covered the Abramsons' donation, said the project-by-project funding, and the lack of a schedule for the Abramsons to actually donate the funds, were unusual for such gifts. But Glick said the possibility that the money could go somewhere else "doesn't faze" him. "The money is going to come to Penn as we present them with exciting new research proposals and treatment paradigms," he said. Harvey Shapiro, a Philadelphia attorney who specializes in charitable contributions, said the arrangement allows the Abramsons "to ensure that their purposes are carried out." "They've got a hammer to influence decisions," Shapiro explained. Glick, who successfully treated Madlyn Abramson for breast cancer, noted that it is "to everyone's benefit to understand what the donor's goals are," a goal which the separate, Abramson-controlled board will help facilitate. Experts agreed that a separate board is "not unusual" with donations of this size. Such a setup "allows for significant donor involvement," Shapiro said. Had the money been given directly to the Cancer Center -- even with stipulations regarding use of the funds -- any "difference of opinion" about allocating the funds could have resulted in a lawsuit, Shapiro said. Such litigation may arise when individuals give direct donations because "it's not clear that [they] continue to maintain control over it." Glick added that 80 percent to 90 percent of funding will be targeted for research. The remaining funds will be used for "more social workers and counselors" as part of a pilot program that will eventually be expanded to all patients at the Cancer Center. The Abramsons were unavailable for comment.