About Fund Raising

YEAR-END FUND RAISING may not be as weak in 2009 as some charity leaders had feared, new surveys suggest, but nonprofit groups are still scrambling for ways to bring in the dollars.

THE ECONOMIC-STIMULUS LAW is not quite the pot of gold that many charities had hoped: Only a portion of the money is available through competitive grants to typical nonprofit groups, and it's not easy to get.

SOCIAL MEDIA may be the next big thing in fund raising, but many charities are not sure Facebook, YouTube, or other such online tools yield enough gifts or donors to make them worth the effort.

About Managing

THE OUTLOOK FOR PHILANTHROPY in 2010 is colored largely by the sour economy, but also includes some good news, such as the growing interest in volunteerism.

NINETY-THREE PERCENT OF CHARITIES say they are feeling the effects of the recession, says a new report.

CLOSING SOME PROGRAMS to protect a charity's overall mission is painful, but it may be the best way to ride out the recession, and a report from the Bridgespan Group suggests many organizations are going that route.

FEED THE CHILDREN, which started as a tiny charity in Oklahoma City and grew to be one of the most successful in the country, has fired its founder and president following a year of scandal and power struggles.

USING ITS ART FOR GOOD, New York's Museum of Modern Art conducts special tours of its galleries for people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, offering stimulation to patients and respite for caregivers (Innovations).

AUCTIONING OFF thousands of items the organization has collected over the years, valuable pieces as well as quirky memorabilia, the American Red Cross has opened a window on its history (Dispatches).

THE LANDSCAPE for philanthropy is changing, shaped, among other trends, by the shifting makeup of the work force and emerging technological innovations, says a new report from La Piana Consulting.

A BILL proposed by members of the House of Representatives, similar to one introduced in the Senate in March, would change the federal excise tax levied on foundations (Tax Watch).

THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE has released the final two sets of tips designed to help charities complete the revised Form 990 informational tax return (Tax Watch).

PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world.

MERGERS announced by charities.

STAFF AND BUDGET CUTS announced by nonprofit organizations.

About Giving

A FAMILY IN VANCOUVER has taken to leaving small gifts of cash in public places — an approach to charity they've dubbed "guerrilla giving" — and are writing about the experience on a blog.

GOLDMAN SACHS has announced it will donate $500-million to start or expand small businesses around the country, a move some critics quickly dismissed as a public-relations ploy.

PERSISTENCE PAID OFF when a military college won a $6-million gift from Ross Perot (Notable Gifts).

THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: A volunteer for the International Medical Corps realized the organization's wealth of photographs send a powerful message about the organization's work, and culled through thousands of photographs to assemble a coffeetable book in honor of the organization's 25th anniversary.

NEWLY ANNOUNCED grant programs.

About Nonprofit Careers

A FIVE-YEAR CAMPAIGN to raise $200-million will be Benita Shobe's top priority setting out as chief executive of the mental-health charity NARSAD (New on the Job).

A VETERAN FUND RAISER, Katherine Brown will step into the newly created position of executive director of the New York City Ballet, to oversee the financial side of its operations (New Title).

About Technology

VOTES CAST ON FACEBOOK will determine the 100 small and local nonprofit groups to share in $5-million to be donated by the charitable arm of JPMorgan Chase.

NEIGHBORWORKS AMERICA, a network of community-development groups, has begun an effort to improve the technology capacity of housing charities that help borrowers caught in the foreclosure crisis.

PATH, AN INTERNATIONAL-AID CHARITY, has won an award for the creative use of technology for developing Ultra Rice, a nutritionally enhanced variety of the grain.

TECHNOLOGY BITS: A charity effort is withdrawn from the MySpace site, causing much criticism; the MacArthur Foundation is accepting grants for its competition to attract new ways to use digital media to improve education.

Also in This Issue

Opinion: Sean Stannard-Stockton recognizes the value of giving with the heart; Pablo Eisenberg wants foundations to stop going with safe choices when they seek new leaders; John Atlas and Peter Dreier defend Acorn against the "bum rap" they say it's received; Ann Goggins Gregory and Daniel Stid look at how government agencies can help charities get better results; and Michael Watson warns nonprofit leaders to pay more attention to employees' emotional investment in their work.

New Books: Travel accounts of a prominent philanthropist, making the most of small donations, a handbook for philanthropists of modest means, advice on setting executive compensation, and ideas on improving board performance.