Is conservation and historic preservation a charitable purpose?

A trial court in Pennsylvania has said “no” in a case of a land trust seeking real estate tax exemption. The Commonwealth Court, an intermediate appellate court, has remanded the case for the trial court to reconsider.

The Misingwa Land Trust acquired several parcels of land in Beaver County in 2020 and 2021. The Trust was established for conservation and preservation of lands having historical significance or that constitute open space or natural areas. It sought real estate tax exemption for 2022 and thereafter.

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SAY THAT AGAIN?

June 16, 2026

Pennsylvania recently passed a first-in-the-nation bill to provide that the estates of individuals who died without a will and without relatives who would inherit under the estate intestate law should be given to an endowed fund at a local community foundation rather than to the state. (See Ready Reference Page: “PA Law Gives Estates of Decedents With No Will and No Family to Community Foundations”) Now that the law is in effective, some of the community foundations who don’t want to administer separate funds for each estate may be considering names for a single Fund to cover all such bequests, which can be used for general charitable purposes. Here are some suggestions for their consideration:

You Can’t Take It With You Fund
We’re Better Than the Government Fund
Second Chance Fund
They Never Listened Fund
They Told You to Get It Done Fund
They Never Got Around to It Fund
Maybe Next Time Fund
Just Because You Had No Family to Disinherit Fund
Expectant Immortals Fund
The Immortality Fund
Involuntary Donor Fund
The Fund of the Unwilling

See our "Say That Again" collection

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Is conservation and historic preservation a charitable purpose?

Is conservation and historic preservation a charitable purpose?