Epstein’s $25,000 to the University of British
Columbia came through another of his
foundations, Enhanced Education. The school
says none of the gift’s documentation, “nor the
university’s due diligence,” indicated a link to
Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting
a minor for prostitution in Florida under a deal
that required him to serve 13 months in jail and
register as a sex offender.
“The crimes Mr. Epstein was convicted of, and
the later accusations, are abhorrent and the
university would not have accepted the donation
in 2011 if it had been aware of a link between
him and Enhanced Education,” Kurt Heinrich, a
university spokesman, said in a statement.
Harvard has refused to disclose exactly how
much it received from Epstein but says the
largest gift was $6.5 million, given to the school’s
Program for Evolutionary Dynamics in 2003.
A Harvard spokesman said the school did not
receive any gifts from Epstein after 2007.
Disputes over tainted money are common at
universities and other nonprofits that rely on
philanthropy, experts say. Many schools appoint
ethics boards to screen donors, but there are no
hard rules when it comes to deciding whether to
accept a gift.
“Universities have to determine for themselves
what is or is not acceptable,” said Leslie
Lenkowsky, a professor emeritus at Indiana
University who specializes in philanthropy.
“There are no clear standards.”
Some nonprofit leaders err on the side of caution,
Lenkowsky said, while some believe that even
“tainted” figures deserve a chance at redemption.