About Giving

NORTHEAST OHIO has seen more than its share of economic decline, the current recession being just the latest blow, but a group of donors and grant makers is trying to correct that.

IN CLEVELAND, charities are working to retool the area's economy by helping new businesses with serious potential get off the ground.

MORE IN THE MIDDLE is a $200,000-a-year nonprofit effort to shore up Baltimore's black middle class, a group that nonprofit and business leaders consider a key to the city's economic future.

THE NUMBER OF ANONYMOUS GIFTS TO CHARITY has risen significantly in the last year, a phenomenon many fund raisers attribute, at least in part, to the economy.

A MYSTERY DONOR, whose identity is unknown even to the recipients of the donations, has dispensed gifts of $1.5-million or more to at least 12 colleges, all of them headed by women.

THE FORD FOUNDATION announced plans to close its offices in Russia and Vietnam as a cost-cutting measure.

NEARLY ALL FAMILY FOUNDATIONS are designed to stay in business indefinitely, or are unclear about the possibility of limiting their life span, according to a new survey.

MOST OF THE FIRST GRANTS from Leona Helmsley's foundation went largely to medical-research and human-service organizations, and only a small portion to the care of dogs.

AT THE GLOBAL PHILANTHROPY FORUM in Washington last month, foundation leaders and philanthropists were given a sneak preview of the work of the new White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.

THE GATES FOUNDATION is attempting, with its YouthTruth Survey, to learn directly from high-school students what difference its grant making has made at the schools it supports (Innovations).

THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: Dancing Classrooms teaches young people the basics of ballroom dancing, along with lessons on communication and respect for others.

EMERGENCY GRANTS made by grant makers for social-service needs: a sampling.

About Managing

AT THE NONPROFIT TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE, participants considered the communications revolution that the Internet has wrought and the moral implications of using "open source" software.

LARGE ARTS ORGANIZATIONS are not immune to the layoffs and budget cuts dictated by the recession, but they have the resources to devise creative ways to minimize the damage.

THE FOUNDER OF BE THE CHANGE, Alan Khazei, a key advocate of the new national-service law, might now turn his attention to fighting poverty.

MARIA EITEL, THE HEAD OF THE NIKE FOUNDATION, who is the president's pick to run the Corporation for National and Community Service, will bring to the job her marketing savvy and passion for the causes she supports.

HOW CHARITY-RUN BUSINESSES can cope with the recession, and what kind of nonprofit ventures work best: notes from last month's Social Enterprise Summit.

VOLUNTEER LABOR was worth an average of $20.25 an hour in 2008, Independent Sector reported.

A BUDGET PLAN approved by Congress would make the estate tax permanent at levels in effect this year (Tax Watch).

WRITE-OFFS: The Internal Revenue Service pledges to step up oversight of charities, a new regulator takes over the tax agency's tax-exempt division, the IRS offers advice on the new informational return, and the agency sponsors a meeting on governance issues.

NEW BOOKS: Ditching old-world ideas about philanthropy and taking a new approach to managing nonprofit organizations, a memoir by Bill Gates Sr. includes reflections on the creation of America's biggest foundation, and summaries of other publications on the information gap in the nonprofit world and on fund raising at private schools.

About Fund Raising

ONLINE DONATIONS to charity continue to increase, according to the latest Chronicle survey, but the recession has slowed the pace of growth and organizations are looking for ways to compensate.

SOCIAL-NETWORKING SITES have become increasingly popular ways for charities to connect with supporters, but their potential for raising significant revenue is still an open question.

TEXT MESSAGES PAIRED WITH E-MAIL can make a profitable fund-raising partnership, as the Humane Society accidentally discovered late last year.

ORGANIZERS OF WALKATHONS, bike rides, and similar charitable fund raisers, as well as the people who take part in them, are having a harder time attracting the necessary donations this year.

THE LARGEST ATHLETIC EVENTS held to benefit charity together brought in $1.76-billion in gross revenue last year, according to a new report.

UPDATE ON CAMPAIGNS for endowments, capital improvements, and other needs.

INTEREST RATES for planned gifts, issued by the Internal Revenue Service.

About Philanthropy Careers

MANY YOUNG PEOPLE may be driven from nonprofit work by the recession, but speakers at a conference of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network urged them to look on the downturn as a time when new ideas are needed more than ever.

A VETERAN BUSINESS EXECUTIVE, John McGeehan will lend corporate expertise to a charity, Common Impact, which helps nonprofit groups tap the corporate expertise of for-profit companies (New on the Job).

FOR 22 YEARS, Richard D. Burns has been a gay activist and has shepherded a group that played a big role in New York City's gay-rights movement (Exit Interview).

PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world.

AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy.

Opinion and Letters

EMMETT D. CARSON says the current recession could prove a defining moment that will usher in a renaissance for philanthropy. But he sees too few foundations demonstrating that they understand the opportunities.

JEFFREY L. BRADACH AND NANCY ROOB outline potential pitfalls for government and philanthropy of trying to expand the reach of successful nonprofit programs.

VINCE STEHLE urges grant makers not to let the economic emergency divert all their attention from innovative nonprofit technology projects.

JIM BILDNER AND MARK KRAMER tout loans to charities as a way for foundations to stretch their assets.

BRUCE TRACHTENBERG argues that good communications may be grant makers' greatest weapon in this time of depleted resources.

LETTERS defending one grant maker's reaction to a controversial report on foundations.