On March 31, 2017, The NonProfit Times featured an article on a recent Venable event on best practices for dealing with charitable gifts titled "Dealing with Nonprofit Donors: Risks, Restrictions, and When to Say 'No Thanks'." Moderated by Jeff Tenenbaum, the event featured Bob Waldman and Rebecca Rothey, vice president, development and senior development advisor for The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region as the primary speakers.
While discussing issues surrounding restrictive gifts, Waldman advised organizations "to decipher whether the restriction benefits the donor more than the gift benefits the recipient and whether, if the restriction were made public, it would cause embarrassment for the organization." When donors or their donations become controversial, he said organizations have three options including distancing themselves from the situation, consider returning the donation, or crafting a solution to address the issue.