Also known as: trust for charity · charitable trust · charitable trusts
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A trust, or portion of a trust, created for a charitable purpose. A charitable trust may be created for the relief of poverty, the advancement of education or religion, the promotion of health, governmental or municipal purposes, or other purposes the achievement of which is beneficial to the community.
Theodore Tucker transferred farmland and cash to a trustee with directions to provide low-interest loans to local farms and lifelong care for working animals. The trustee considered limiting loans to selected family operations. A court determined that the arrangement qualified as a charitable trust because its purpose aligned with community benefit under the governing statute.
Thomas Thompson created a trust directing funds toward relief of poverty among rural agricultural workers and advancement of sustainable farming education. The trustee proposed using some funds for a national expo. A court upheld the trust as serving recognized charitable purposes that benefit the broader community.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Tracy Torres left property in trust to maintain a segregated park. After a constitutional ruling barred the racial restriction, heirs sought reversion. The court refused cy pres modification because the settlor's specific intent could not be reconciled with public policy and allowed the property to revert.
Timothy Tang established a trust to maintain a memorial garden at a specific park location. The city later removed the garden for development. A court applied cy pres principles to permit relocation because the settlors' general charitable intent remained feasible at a new site within the park.
Trevor Tate devised land to a city for a whites-only park under a charitable trust. The city assumed management and later sought to integrate the facility. The Court held that continued operation by the city converted the private restriction into state action subject to constitutional limits.
A charitable trust may be created for the relief of poverty, the advancement of education or religion, the promotion of health, governmental or municipal purposes, or other purposes the achievement of which is beneficial to the community. Courts evaluate whether the dominant purpose produces community-wide benefits rather than private gain.
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The settlor of a charitable trust, among others, may maintain a proceeding to enforce the trust. This statutory grant of standing allows the creator to seek judicial intervention when the trustee deviates from the stated charitable purposes.
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If a charitable purpose becomes unlawful, impracticable, impossible, or wasteful, the court may apply cy pres to modify or terminate the trust. The modification must direct trust property in a manner consistent with the settlor's charitable purposes, and a gift-over to a noncharitable beneficiary prevails only under limited timing conditions.
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The Uniform Trust Code applies to express trusts, charitable or noncharitable, and trusts created pursuant to a statute, judgment, or decree that requires the trust to be administered in the manner of an express trust. Formal trust instruments, asset segregation, and purpose-driven distributions provide objective evidence that the Code governs the arrangement.
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…Court of Georgia affirmed, holding that Senator Bacon had the right to give and bequeath his property to a limited class, that charitable trusts are subject to supervision of a court of equity, and that the power to appoint new trustees so that the purpose of the trust would not fail was clear. 220 Ga. 280 , 138 S. E. 2d 573 . The…