Special Report: Surviving Tough Times

PROGRAMS GEARED TO CLIENTS' PROBLEMS, which often then prove to be hot-button issues like the mortgage crisis, have helped the Atlanta Legal Aid Society attract donors and diversify its fund raising.

A MORIBUND BOYS & GIRLS CLUB in Flint, Mich., found new life when leaders and board members adopted an approach to service and fund raising that reflected the city's blue-collar work ethic.

FORWARD THINKING  — including a partnership with the public library and a "risky" board restructuring — keeps the Children's Theatre of Charlotte financially robust.

PROJECT ACCESS NOW, an Oregon charity that works to distribute charity care more evenly among doctors and medical facilities, got its start in a shaky economy by soliciting gifts of products and services before it asked for money.

TWO SOCIAL-SERVICE CHARITIES in Maine weathered a downturn made worse by severe state-budget cuts by merging to achieve great efficiency and economies of scale.

Special Report: Achieving Diversity

BLACK MEN are few and far between in the nonprofit work force, due in part to the dearth of black male college graduates, but some already in nonprofit jobs say charities could still do more to recruit them.

CHARITIES LOSE OUT on some potentially valuable employees, experts say, when they reject candidates with a criminal record, which is one reason nonprofit groups have so few black men in their ranks.

IN A SURVEY whose results will be reported this fall, the Foundation Center has attempted to learn how carefully grant makers track the racial, ethnic, and gender makeup of their grantees.

GAY EMPLOYEES are increasingly welcome at nonprofit organizations, as a growing number of charities, following the lead of business, adopt policies designed to attract and retain them.

OFFERING DOMESTIC-PARTNER BENEFITS is among the steps charities can take to become more hospitable to gay employees: tips from nonprofit officials and other experts.

FINDING A GOOD FIT with a charity's mission can help gay employees feel comfortable on the job, though exercising discretion with the group's clients is still sometimes necessary.

TO CORRECT THE RACIAL IMBALANCE on nonprofit boards, several organizations have sprung up in recent years to serve as pipelines for minority trustees.

HISPANIC VOLUNTEERS are in great demand among charities that serve America's growing Latino population.

MERELY TRANSLATING APPEALS into Spanish is not enough — to recruit Hispanic volunteers, a personal approach is more effective: advice from experts.

RESEARCH GRANTS from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation routinely went to "the usual suspects" until the grant maker started a program aimed specifically at supporting the work of minority researchers.

TO BETTER SERVE IMMIGRANTS here at home, the YMCA of the USA has embarked on a program to send many of its leaders on educational trips overseas.

About Gifts and Giving

THIS YEAR'S CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE, set for next week, will focus on the effectiveness of the humanitarian projects that grew out of its previous annual gatherings of movers and shakers.

BILL CLINTON, in an interview with The Chronicle, discusses what the next president can do to promote philanthropy and other topics.

THE A BILLION + CHANGE CAMPAIGN is an effort by the Corporation for National and Community Service to encourage more volunteers to put their professional skills to work for charity.

ELI AND EDYTHE L. BROAD have pledged $400-million to endow a new biomedical-research center to be jointly run by Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: An Atlanta hairdresser offers homeless women and other needy people free beauty care.

RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers.

About Fund Raising

MANY OLDER DONORS plan to cut back their giving because of the unfavorable economic climate, but younger givers say they will increase theirs, a new survey shows.

TAKING PROSPECTIVE DONORS on a fund-raising tour by Segway caps a typical daily round of activities for Brian Payne, head of Indianapolis's community foundation (Day in the Life).

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

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

About Managing Nonprofit Groups

RELIEF EFFORTS following Hurricane Gustav were vastly improved over the often-muddled response to Hurricane Katrina three years ago, charity leaders agreed, but they were still far from perfect.

WHISTLE-BLOWERS have more places to turn for help now, as a growing number of charities step in to assist the parade of public employees speaking out about government misdeeds.

CHARITIES AND FOUNDATIONS in growing numbers are putting policies in place to protect whistle-blowers on their own staffs.

A PENSION PACKAGE worth $2-million for the head of the United Way of Central Carolinas has raised public concerns and threatens the group's ability to reach this year's fund-raising goals.

HOPING TO CHALLENGE the constitutionality of restrictions on politicking by tax-exempt groups, a legal-advocacy organization has recruited more than 40 pastors to endorse a political candidate during their Sunday sermons.

SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY has sent letters to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, and the University of Chicago Medical Center demanding detailed information related to their tax-exempt status (Tax Watch).

TAX WRITE-OFFS: The Internal Revenue Service has released a new version of an informational tax return for small charities; the tax agency has also changed the way groups apply for tax-exempt status; and a senator has asked the agency to devise a special tax return geared to colleges and universities.

About Technology

A WEB SITE created at the University of California at Berkeley provides potential donors with lists of charities that match their specific giving interests.

A NEW ONLINE PRODUCT from Convio can help charities manage their contacts with donors and other supporters.

GETTING GAMERS TO THE POLLS on Election Day is the aim of a new partnership between Rock the Vote and the video-game platform Xbox.

TECHNOLOGY BITS: Microsoft has given more than $5-million in software to two charities, and a software company has released a Spanish-language version of a product that helps charities manage their donor records.

About Careers in the Nonprofit World

NEARLY THREE-QUARTERS of older Americans do some volunteer work, but many report obstacles — like lack of time and information — to doing more, according to a survey commissioned by the AARP.

THE RED CROSS'S new chief executive and senior fund raiser are making ambitious plans to help the organization raise the money it needs to carry out its mission.

Also in This Issue

OPINION: Larry Ottinger speaks up for the importance of community organizing, now that the presidential race has made it a topic of interest;Joshua Horwitz extols the real benefits of virtual offices; and Jerr Boshee urges nonprofit leaders to overcome their distrust of the profit motive and embrace social enterprise.

LETTERS: on the human benefits of philanthropy directed to animals and on fund raising and the issue of privacy.

PRESS CLIPPINGS: Forbes reports on the money that health charities pour into biotechnology companies, and Vanity Fair honors humanitarians.

NEW BOOKS: A handbook on financial planning for nonprofit groups, a guide to improving a phonathon, and a memoir of a humanitarian worker.

PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world.

AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy.