Legal Question in Business Law in New York

Q. What sort of contract/partnership agreement would have to be drafted between an author who wants to donate a portion of the sales his book and charity or charities he chooses to donate to?

A. None. For there to be a contract each side needs to give something of value. Legally, this is called consideration. The agreement you contemplate is a gift where only one party (the author) gives something in value (money from book sales).

I would suggest a written pledge from the author with an acknowledgment of the gift from the charity. This should allow the author to take the tax deduction (assuming the charity is a 501(c)(3) organization) while the charity is required to acknowledge the gift.

Mike.