Museums & Foundations

Overview

The intersection of charitable giving and exempt financing is rich and complex territory, requiring educated, smart, and sensitive counsel. Our attorneys are among the best in the business.

We represent numerous museums, colleges and universities, hospitals, and community foundations in all aspects of their charitable giving, from restricted gifts to complex planned giving. These capabilities are fueled by our extensive knowledge about and experience with the investment of charitable assets.

As counsel in complex structured transactions, we focus on maintaining the integrity of the tax exemption on bonds being issued. Our lawyers are often involved in deals that develop tax structures for preserving the borrower’s endowment without yields that restrict its investments.

Representative Experience

• Whitney Museum of American Art—Served as institution’s counsel in connection with the closing on $125 million financing in a new bond issue through the Trust for Cultural Resources of the City of New York. We advised the institution on the structure of the fixed-rate bond issue. The financing, done with the museum’s own “A” rating, was one of 2011’s most noteworthy arrangements for New York cultural institutions. Proceeds of the issue go toward financing construction of the museum’s new facility downtown in the Meatpacking District.
• Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA)—Served as counsel to the underwriters of the inaugural financing for the LCPA. In August 2007, the LCPA selected us to serve as their counsel in contemplation of a second financing. In February 2008, with the collapse of the auction rate market, we assisted the LCPA in purchasing its auction rate bonds and refinancing them with variable rate bonds secured by a letter of credit. We worked with the LCPA to obtain long- and short-term ratings for the first time. We also represented the LCPA in a $100 million new money financing through the Trust for Cultural Resources of the City of New York and represented the institution in an additional $100 million new money financing through the Trust.

Recognition

• Nixon Peabody has been named a Tier 1 National firm for Public Finance Law in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms®.
• The Legal 500 United States 2024 editorial—ranked for Project finance - Infrastructure and PPP
• Ranked in Chambers USA for Public Finance—Nationwide and also in California, District of Columbia, Illinois, New York.
• Nixon Peabody was named by U.S. News/Best Lawyers® 2021 as “Law Firm of the Year” in Public Finance Law.
• Consistently ranked Top 10 in bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, disclosure counsel, special tax counsel, and green bond counsel by Thomson Reuters.