Corporate Giving Survey

Big Companies Hold Steady in 2010 Gifts

By Noelle Barton and Caroline Preston

America's biggest companies say profits are rebounding, but charitable giving is likely to remain muted, a Chronicle survey finds.

Charities Face Budget Woes Because of State Shortfalls

By Ben Gose

Nonprofit groups around the country brace themselves for lean support over the next three budget years.

Polarized Politics Spark Threats Against Charities

By Eric Frazier

After a California extremist targets two nonprofit organizations, some social-change charities are feeling anxious about their employees' security.

Learning the Art of Trust

By Caroline Bermudez

At a Sonoma County, Calif., charity, foster children pitch in with farm work -- and learn to trust caring adults.

Fund Raisers Reinvent Retirement

By Debra E. Blum

The bad economy has prompted many senior-ranking fund raisers to take part-time jobs or other roles in the development office before they fully retire.

Real-Life Stories of Haitian Children Help a YMCA Chapter Raise Money for Summer-Camp Trips

By Caroline Preston

By telling individual stories of young Haitians who survived this winter's earthquake, a charity raises money to send the kids to summer camp.

Illinois’s Budget Gap Could Cause Some Social-Services Groups to Close

By Ben Gose

Illinois owes social-services charities in that state $490-million -- and its slow repayment could cause some organizations to close their doors.

Charities Face Budget Woes Because of State Shortfalls

By Ben Gose

Nonprofit groups around the country brace themselves for lean support over the next three budget years.

Nonprofit CEO Pay Under Scrutiny

By Ben Gose

As states look to tighten their belts, some legislators are taking a hard look at nonprofit CEO pay.

N.Y. Plan to Limit Charity Breaks for Wealthy Could Spread Elsewhere

By Grant Williams

The New York Senate has joined the Assembly in passing a budget plan that includes a provision that would limit the charitable deduction for wealthy residents to 25 percent of the gifts' value.

The Legacy of Katrina for Gulf Coast Charities

By Nicole Wallace

Five years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the Gulf Coast, charity leaders celebrate a new collaborative spirit -- and worry about all the work left undone.

Race and Class Divides Still Cause Struggles

By Nicole Wallace

Poor neighborhoods on the Gulf Coast are still struggling five years after Hurricane Katrina, say charity leaders.

A Local Leader Learns How to Slow Down and Step Back

By Nicole Wallace

A Gulf Coast charity leader teaches local residents self-reliance as they seek to solve problems still lingering after the storms of 2005.

A Foundation’s Lesson in Disaster Giving

By Nicole Wallace

After spending $11-million to help the Gulf Coast recover from Hurricane Katrina, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation shares what it learned about responding to disasters.

After Katrina: the Housing Dearth

By Nicole Wallace

The global financial crisis has hampered efforts to increase low-cost housing in the Gulf Coast region.

Charity Staffs Under Strain, Report Says

By Debra E. Blum

Nearly 40 percent of American charities say they have too few employees after reductions caused by the bad economy.

IRS Offers Aid to Small Charities at Risk of Losing Tax-Exempt Status

By Grant Williams

The Internal Revenue Service has given small charities a one-time reprieve, even if they missed a key filing date in May.

How to Create Effective Donors

By Caroline Bermudez

A professor's new book argues that philanthropy works best when donors make gifts that reflect their personal interests

Tips to Make Your Marketing Campaign Work

By Caroline Bermudez

Old-style promotional approaches need to be overhauled, write three marketing consultants.

A Guide on Executive Transitions

By Caroline Bermudez

Not enough thought is given to succession planning, writes a consultant.

Companies Mix Giving and Business Strategies

By Noelle Barton and Caroline Preston

In an era of tightened budgets, many big companies are more closely aligning their philanthropic giving to their business goals.

How The Chronicle’s Corporate-Giving Study Was Compiled

By Noelle Barton

The Chronicle's methodology for its annual study of philanthropy at the nation's biggest companies.

40 Rich Families Sign Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge

By Caroline Preston

Many of the nation's most prominent philanthropists have vowed publicly to award a big share of their assets to charitable causes.

Giving It All Away: Lessons From 2 Foundations

By Caroline Preston

The leaders of Atlantic Philanthropies and the Avi Chai Foundation discuss the nuts and bolts of spending all of a foundation's assets in a set period of time.

How a Social-Service Fund Raiser Lured a $1-Million Gift

By Caroline Bermudez

The famed children's book author Maurice Sendak gave $1-million to a N.Y. charity in memory of his partner, who had been a psychiatrist at the organization.

Mixing Play and Purpose

By Caroline Preston

Kids from several Los Angeles Boys and Girls Clubs play soccer on a model of a structure intended to help people in developing countries gather and process clean drinking water.

Philanthropy and the Fight for Equality

By Sterling K. Speirn

The Obama era may not necessarily signal a "post-racial" climate in America, but some American grant makers are seizing the moment to promote racial equity.

Swaying Donors to Give More

By Hope Neighbor and Greg Ulrich

Even in tough economic times, a new study says, strategic fund raising can help charities of all sizes and missions generate revenue more aggressively.

Philanthropy Must Change for the Gates-Buffett Crusade to Matter

By Pablo Eisenberg

It's time for billionaires to give a bigger share of their wealth to charities that serve vulnerable people, writes a Chronicle columnist.

A Potential Asset for Rural America

By Alex Neuhoff and Pat Wu

Communities in Schools, a nonprofit network of educational charities, helps show how such associations can help both rural and urban charities fulfill their missions.