Merger Windfall Could Spell Gains in Philadelphia Philanthropy

Giving by Philadelphia’s Haas charitable trusts could expand greatly with the recent purchase of its corporate parent, Rohm & Haas Company, by Dow Chemical, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer profile of the philanthropy.

The $2.7-billion trusts, one of Philadelphia’s largest philanthropic institutions, distributed more than $40-million to nonprofit groups in 2007. Money from the Dow deal, finalized April 1, could raise giving to $67-million if the trusts maintain that year’s spending rate.

However, there is no guarantee the windfall will mean greater giving. The trusts do not specify actual spending levels for charity and, because of their age — they were founded by the Haas family in the 1950s and early ’60s — there are no federal requirements on them.