A receipt for charitable contributions that includes an amount written in by the donor and not the charitable recipient does not satisfy the substantiation requirements to justify a charitable contribution deduction, the Tax Court has held recently.  It has denied claimed deductions of about $8800 for contributions allegedly made to the Islamic Society of East Bay-San Francisco in 2007 and 2008.

The Court has also denied deductions for various claimed business expenses and imposed additional penalty taxes.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation made a $3 million grant to the Collins Center for Public Policy in Florida in 2001, with $1.5 million designated for the purchase of real estate by an independent “land trust.”  The land trust was established and purchased the property to benefit the Overtown community.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals has affirmed a trial court decision upholding the termination of a golf club membership at a special meeting of the board on the basis of the member’s dispute with a golf shop employee and his “cumulative disciplinary history” of two other sanctions while a member of the Club.  The Court rejected the member’s argument that a hearing and an opportunity to be heard were required as a matter of law.

Columbia University published its Institutional Policy on Misconduct in Research in 2006.  It provides that “all reasonable and practical efforts” will be made to protect a complainant from retaliation if the person files a good faith complaint about fabrication or falsification in research.  In 2014, the University also adopted a “Non-Retaliation Policy” to prohibit retaliation against individuals who report possible ethical or compliance issues in good faith.  The policy was specifically intended “to encourage” members of the community to report their concerns.