Tom,

A trust is a form of ownership of property in which an individual
("trustor") transfers legal title to property to another person or persons
("trustees") to hold for the benefit of another person or persons
("beneficiaries").  A charitable trust is special type of trust created to
benefit an indefinite class of beneficiaries in certain "charitable" ways.
The rules governing charitable trusts have their origins in medieval English
common law, but today they're mostly governed by state law.

A foundation is a legal entity that is entitled to certain benefits under
federal and state income tax law, e.g. exemption from income taxation,
deductibility of contributions.  These tax laws incorporate some charitable
trust concepts, e.g. the requirement for a charitable purpose and an
indefinite class of beneficiaries.  However, tax-exempt foundations are
usually organized as nonprofit corporations rather than charitable trusts.

Your university's fund-raising office would probably be a good source of
additional information.

Jim Simpson
General Counsel
Public Health Institute
2001 Addison Street, 2nd floor
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 644-8200,fax (510) 644-9319
mailto:xxxxxx@phi.org

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