Several coalitions of groups promoting community and national service are urging President-elect Obama and Congress to include a “nonprofit stimulus package” as part of the economic-recovery plan they are drafting.

The package should include money to expand national-service programs and support nonprofit groups that are providing “vital” services in areas like education, youth development, poverty alleviation, and the environment, they say in a letter they are circulating to get more signatures.

“We believe that service and the nonprofit sector have a vital role to play in the nation’s short- and long-term economic recovery and urge you to make significant strategic investments in these two areas as part of the economic stimulus package,” it says.

The proposals were drafted by the coalitions America Forward, ServiceNation, and Voices for National Service. The e-mail seeking...

Want to win a trip to Barack Obama’s inauguration?

“The Change Begins with Me” contest, which is sponsored by the Case Foundation, will award a good Samaritan airfare, three-nights in a hotel room, and tickets to inaugural festivities next month in Washington.

On Case’s Web site, the foundation is asking people to enter the contest by describing their charitable commitments and how they help others.

“As we usher in this exciting new era of change we recognize that everyone has a part to play. So, how will YOU commit to bringing about change in your neighborhood, your community or your nation?” it asks on the Web site.

Earlier this year, Case offered a Social-Citizen Makeover contest.

Is there a philanthropist, charity leader, or friend you would nominate to win the prize? Click on the comment button below to share your ideas.

Earlier this year, Congress passed a set of tax laws that extended a beneficial provision for nonprofit organizations. Individuals more than 70 1/2 years old could contribute up to $100,000 of their Individual Retirement Account savings to charity without incurring taxes.

But some charity leaders worry that another recent law may discourage such donations. The Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 waives a requirement for IRA holders to accept a minimum distribution from their savings — a move aimed at preventing retirees from paying a tax penalty on IRAs decimated by declining stock values.

In a letter to Congressional leaders from the American Council on Gift Annuities and the National Committee on Planned Giving, the two groups called on Congress to increase or remove the $100,000 cap on...

As President-elect Barack Obama develops his multibillion-dollar plan to stimulate the economy, nonprofit leaders should push federal, state, and local governments to use the money to pay for construction projects that help the poor, writes Angela Glover Blackwell, an anti-poverty activist.

Mr. Obama has proposed spending upwards of $300-billion to improve American roads and infrastructure; he says his proposal would create jobs and fight the country’s economic recession.

Ms. Blackwell, chief executive and founder of PolicyLink, a nonprofit group in Oakland, Calif., writes that the plan — if put together wisely — “could be one of the most successful anti-poverty programs the nation has ever seen.”

“First off, we must stop building more and wider roads out to far-flung exurbs. Instead, we need to fix the bridges, transit systems and roads we already have — especially those in...

The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it will hold a public hearing on January 23 on proposed rules to make sure donors keep proper records to prove they made gifts of cash and property to charities.

The IRS published the proposed regulations last summer to explain how the government plans to enforce recent laws that included provisions designed to cut down on abuses by donors and charities.

Members of the public who want to speak at the hearing in Washington must have submitted written comments about the proposed rules to the IRS by a November 5 deadline and must provide outlines of the topics they want to address at the hearing no later than tomorrow, December 23.

The proposed regulations were published in the August 7 Federal Register and are available online.

For more information, including instructions on how to attend the hearing, see IRS Announcement 2008-122...

The National Council of Nonprofits, in Washington, today asked President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team to take steps to help nonprofit organizations weather the widening recession.

The organization, which worked during the 2008 campaign to push the major-party candidates to discuss key nonprofit issues, said today that the recession has pushed many charities to the brink of extinction at a time when they are most needed.

As a result, the group has recommended the new administration:

• Create a proposed Social Entrepreneurship Agency for Nonprofits.

• Provide budget relief for state and local governments to prevent state and local budget cuts that would hurt nonprofit organizations.

• Start a Community Services Protection Fund that would provide money to nonprofit organizations that are performing services that have traditionally been performed or paid for by the ...

With little more than a month left in office, President Bush is showing more of his “sensitive side” and frequently discussing the importance of helping needy people, reports The Washington Post.

Mr. Bush discussed addiction-treatment efforts during his weekly radio address Saturday, the newspaper noted, and has recently promoted his anti-AIDS work in Africa, and met with children whose mother or father is in prison, during which “he extolled the virtue of loving those who are less fortunate.”

Political observers quoted in the article differed on why in his waning days he was focusing on assisting others and social problems.

A former White House aide said the president was reiterating his role as a “compassionate conservative,” which was key to why he ran for office. But an official at the Brookings Institution, a think tank, said the president’s rhetoric did not match his...

Several nonprofit and government officials are applauding Barack Obama’s pick to lead the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department in part because of his willingness to work with charities.

Mr. Obama on Saturday named Shaun Donovan, currently the head of New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, as his nominee for the federal-housing agency, saying that it will play a key role in the mortgage crisis, reports the Los Angeles Times.

One of his accomplishments in New York was creating a $200-million fund with foundations and financial institutions to help small commericial developers and nonprofit groups build and preserve affordable-housing units.

“He has moved our focus beyond the old public sector-driven solutions by giving the starring role to the private and nonprofit sectors,” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the Associated Press.

“I...

Amid growing concern that American students lack the skills to succeed in a global work force, a group of charities is urging President-elect Barack Obama to help schools prepare young people for a world in which U.S. businesses and governments are less isolated from, and more dependent on, other nations.

Led by the Asia Society, the group of charities is calling on Mr. Obama to improve teaching of other cultures and economies, to provide more instruction in foreign languages, and to incorporate global issues into classroom lessons.

“Steering our nation out of the financial crisis we now face requires investing in an internationally competent workforce,” said Vivien Stewart, vice president for education at the Asia Society, a nonprofit educational-research group in New York.

“Our long-term comprehensiveness in a global economy depends on our willingness to reinvent education...

Bill Gates said last week that, if asked, he would consider a position with the incoming Obama administration, according to The Washington Post.

He said his work as chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a full-time job, but “if there was some committee or pretty focused task where I could contribute, I’d be glad to consider that.”

What position would you nominate Mr. Gates for? Education secretary? United Nations ambassador? Philanthropist and chief — or is that Bill Clinton’s unofficial title?

Click on the comments link below to give your ideas.