Some experts predict that, when the next Giving USA tally of philanthropy comes out in a few weeks, the research will show another drop in giving for 2009, on top of a record decline in 2008.

Not Bob Hartsook. The Kansas City, Mo., fund-raising consultant projects that giving actually increased last year by about 2 percent, because, he writes, "2009 was the year that it was embarrassing to be successful." As a result, he says, many large gifts were not reported or acknowledged last year.

He cites three big donations he knows about personally that aren't being reported, including an $80-million gift last year from a Southern family whose holdings include a company that has laid off people and frozen salaries because of the recession.

If that gift had been reported publicly, notes Mr. Hartsook, it would have been the 12th largest gift on The Chronicle's Philanthropy 50 list of biggest...

Most fund raisers have an elevator pitch—a short speech that explains their organzations' work to people they meet on an elevator, at a social event, or at a conference.

But even the most seasoned pro is usually looking to refine his or her pitch.

To offer inspiration, The Chronicle recently invited some charity...

While online giving grew overall in 2009, not all charities shared in the gains, according to a new study that analyzes online fund raising and advocacy at 31 nonprofit groups.

Together the organizations in the report -- large national charities, such as Oxfam America and the Wilderness Society -- raised 4.5 percent more money through the Internet in 2009 than in the previous year.

But for half of the groups in the study, online donations either held steady or decreased. The decline was driven by a drop in average gift size, which was $81.33 for the charities in the study.

The report breaks down the different type of gifts that make up the charities' online fund raising. One-time gifts make up 78 percent of all online donations, while monthly contributions account for 9 percent, gifts made in honor or in memory of a loved one 4 percent, and other donations such as those made for fund-...

For the past two years, Christopher Davenport, a filmmaker at 501 Videos, a Seattle company that makes documentaries and videos for nonprofit organizations, has offered a free weekly video on fund raising.

Movie Mondays, as the series is known, provides free three- to five-minute videos every week on fund-raising topics such as arranging a visit with a donor, using humor to connect with board members, and seeking gifts through e-mail.

To commemorate the release of his 100th fund-raising video on May 17, Mr. Davenport is asking viewers to help him decide which ones deserve to be featured in a "top 10" DVD of the videos that will given away free to those who weigh in on the decision.

To encourage fund raisers to vote, Mr. Davenport has created an online survey.

When Susan G. Komen for the Cure and KFC, the fast-food chain best known for its buckets of "finger lickin' good" fried chicken, decided to start a new fund-raising effort, they probably never expected the deal would cause so much indigestion.

With its Buckets for the Cure promotion, KFC will donate 50 cents to Komen for every bucket of chicken sold in more than 5,000 outlets through May 9.

The promotion, which started April 5, guarantees that Komen will receive at least $1-million, and up to $8.5-million, depending on sales. For the promotion, KFC is selling chicken in pink buckets that bear the names of breast-cancer survivors and other women who died from the disease. To date, according to KFC, it has raised nearly $1.8-million.

But the money and commemorative touches have done nothing to quell criticism about the ties between the charity and a company that sells fat-laden foods,...

A few days ago, I received an odd direct-mail solicitation from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, in Memphis.

When a friend asked me to make a donation to the hospital to honor the memory of a child who had died, I dutifully mailed in a small check. Now, more than a year later, St. Jude sent an appeal for another gift.

But the charity's letter raises questions. First: Why am I only now receiving a letter dated February 24, nearly two months ago? And more important: Why did the hospital ask me to give $0 on its donation-return slip (shown above.)

It made the mistake on the appeal itself two more times:

 "Please rush your tax-deductible renewal gift of $0, $0, or even $0 to St. Jude today and give a child a second chance at life," the appeal reads.

When I called St. Jude to ask about the letter, a spokeswoman said that the company it hired to produce and mail its solicitations ...

Large nonprofit organizations continued to invest in online fund raising in 2009.

Of the 176 charities that responded to The Chronicle's survey of online giving, 71 groups provided information about how much they spent on their Internet fund-raising efforts in 2008 and 2009.

The median amount the charities spent in 2009 was $53,000, meaning that half of the organizations spent more and half spent less. The median amount the groups spent in 2008 was $50,000.

Forty-two organizations in the survey increased their spending on online fund raising in 2009, while 21 groups reported that they spent the same amount in 2008 and in 2009. Only 10 charities decreased the amount of money they spent on Internet fund raising in 2009.

Teenagers report that their parents are the biggest influence on whether they give to nonprofit groups -- but many parents are not raising their children in a way that seems to encourage philanthropy and volunteerism, according to a study released today.

The study was based on a poll of 500 parents and 500 young people between the ages of 13 and 18. Conducted by Harris Interactive in behalf of the Pearson Foundation and Penguin Group, the study distinguished between teenagers who regularly volunteer, raise money, or donate versus those who do so infrequently or not at all.

The study identified several parenting techniques that are more common among parents of children who give frequently.

Thirty-three percent of teenagers who give often (referred to in the study as "givers") said their parents explained how their actions can help others; 19 percent of teenagers who give less often...

The growing popularity of Kiva, DonorsChoose, and other charity sites that allow online donors to earmark their gifts to specific projects makes a lot of people in the nonprofit world nervous. But two fund-raising consultants say that rather than fearing those groups, charities should embrace their approaches for seeking earmarked gifts as an additional tool to raise money online.

"The message of Kiva and DonorsChoose are not that nonprofits should go out and try to be Kiva or try to be DonorsChoose," Clinton O'Brien, a vice president at Care2, in Redwood City, Calif., told participants at the recent Nonprofit Technology Conference. "What they have done is shine a light on some new opportunities to layer on something additional to what you already do."

Nonprofit organizations' biggest concern with the approach Kiva and DonorsChoose take is that it brings in donations that must be used ...

A few weeks ago, Cary Kimble stumbled upon an unusual envelope while opening mail at the international-medical charity where he works as director of development.

The envelope contained no letter -- just a check for $15,000 made out to the Haiti relief efforts of Mr. Kimble's charity, Project Hope.

After a little research, staff members at Project Hope, in Millwood, Va., learned that the donation had been given by a group of women at an Ohio prison, known as the "Life group," who are serving terms of 15 years to life.

The group of roughly 130 women earns money by selling photographs of inmates with their family members when they come for visits. The photographs, which they sell for $3 to $5, earn them about $6,000 each month.

Ginine Trim, warden at the Ohio Reformatory for Women, says the inmates saw and read news reports about the earthquake in Haiti and wanted to help. Staff members...