Montana § 72-30-303 - Protections Afforded

§ 72-30-303. Protections Afforded

Protections afforded. (1) Except where specifically required or authorized by federal or state law, a charitable organization that accepts a contribution pursuant to a written donor-imposed restriction may not violate the terms of that restriction without potential penalty. (2) If a charitable organization violates a donor-imposed restriction contained in an endowment agreement, the donor or that person's legal representative, 90 days after written notification is provided to the charitable organization at the organization's address of record, may file a complaint within 3 years after discovery for breach of the endowment agreement. The complaint may be filed in a court of general jurisdiction in the county where a charitable organization named as a party has its principal office or principal place of carrying out its charitable purpose or in a court of the United States whose district includes the county. The complaint may be filed regardless of whether the agreement expressly reserves a right to sue or enforce, and it may not seek a judgment awarding damages to the plaintiff. (3) In the event a charitable organization is unable to fulfill a term in an endowment agreement, the donor or that person's legal representative must be notified 90 days in advance and offered an alternative solution that closely matches the initial term in the endowment agreement. (4) A charitable organization may obtain a judicial declaration of rights and duties expressed in an endowment agreement containing donor restrictions as to all of the actions the agreement contemplates, including without limitation the interpretation, performance, and enforcement of the agreement and the determination of its validity. The charitable organization may seek the declaration in any suit brought under this section or by filing a complaint. (5) If the court determines that a charitable organization violated a donor-imposed restriction in an endowment agreement, the court may order one or more remedies consistent with the charitable purposes expressed in the endowment agreement. The court may not order the return of donated funds to the donor or the donor's legal representative or estate. (6) Nothing in this act affects the authority of the attorney general to enforce any restriction in an endowment agreement, limits the application of the judicial power of cy pres, or alters the right of an institution to modify a restriction on the management, investment, purpose, or use of an endowment fund in a manner permitted by the endowment agreement and by the Montana Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, Title 72, chapter 30.