Holden Karnofsky, co-founder of the charity-evaluation group GiveWell, says there's an "essential question" that donors aren't asking nonprofit groups.

The question, says Mr. Karnofsky, is whether a charity actually needs more money. Will more money lead to better programs that reach more people? Or do some charities have great programs that they cannot -- or will not -- expand, even if they get more financial support?

In one blog post, he cites the example of Smile Train, the organization that provides cleft-lip and cleft-palate surgeries to poor children. Mr. Karnofsky suggests that Smile Train's core program has more money than doctors and that most of the money the group raises thus goes to programs other than its primary one.  

Mr. Karnofsky says, too, that aid groups in Haiti may not need more financial support. He examines data collected by The Chronicle and estimates that...

The BP oil leak and the meltdown of the global financial system were enabled by a harmful force: corporate social responsibility.

So writes Chrystia Freeland, global editor at large for Thomson Reuters, in yesterday's Washington Post.

Ms. Freeland argues that CSR "muddies the waters," distracting companies from their core goal of maximizing profits and persuading government officials that businesses are doing the right thing and don't need much regulation. 

Others who write about philanthropy and corporate social responsibility are taking issue with her argument.

Matthew Bishop, an editor at the Economist and co-author of a book on philanthropy, says that there is no evidence that the corporate social responsibility programs of BP and Goldman Sachs -- two companies singled out by Ms. Freeland -- played a part in the oil and financial crises in which those companies have been...

The NAACP resolution condemning racist behavior among members of the Tea Party movement is drawing lots of attention. Is the strategy a good one?

Writing on an Atlantic blog, Dave Weigel, a journalist and political commentator, calls the NAACP resolution "headline-hungry act" and says he thinks it backfired.

Slate writer John Dickerson, in a podcast, asks whether the Tea Party should be held responsible for the repugnant behavior of what might be just a handful of individuals. Writing on a Los Angeles Times blog, Michael McGough says that asking the Tea Party to denounce actions by some of its devotees "implies the extremists/bigots/bombers are a sufficiently significant component of the organization that such a gesture is necessary."

Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, however, defends the NAACP's resolution. He reviews statements and actions by Tea Party members and supporters and...

What to make of the effort by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to turn other wealthy people into megaphilanthropists? 

Matthew Bishop, co-author of the book Philanthrocapitalism: How Giving Can Save the World, calls the lobbying effort a "coming of age" moment for the movement described in his book -- more and more rich businesspeople using their wealth to solve social and environmental problems. 

Nathaniel Whittemore, who writes a blog on social entrepreneurship on Change.org, says that if some of this money starts flowing, he hopes it will go not just to symphonies, universities, and other sorts of charities that have typically captured the largest share of rich peoples' philanthropy.

Mr. Whittemore also says that philanthropy can't be seen as the only, or even the main, vehicle for creating change.

"The risk here is that this new philanthropic commitment simply amplifies ...

Craigslist expects to generate $36-million from advertisements on one section of its Web site and may donate some of that money to charity.

Sounds great, right?

Not to many nonprofit groups. The $36-million is coming from the "adult services" section of Craigslist, a place not just for legal adult activity but also prostitution and sex trafficking.

After Craigslist's chief executive said recently that human trafficking would be an area of focus for the company's charitable giving, charities that work on that issue said they didn't want anything to do with the cash.  

Rachel Lloyd, executive director of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, told The New York Times that her group would refuse any Craigslist donations because the money was coming from "pimps and traffickers who have sold many of the girls who will then walk into my door."

Salon writer Tracy Clark-Flory wondered...

If the Council on Foundations wants its annual meeting be a must-attend event, it needs to "blow up the conference model and start experimenting with new approaches," writes Sean Stannard-Stockton.

Mr. Stannard-Stockton was among a group of conference bloggers assembled by Kris Putnam-Walkerly, a consultant who writes the blog Philanthropy 411.

A donor adviser and Chronicle contributor, Mr. Stannard-Stockton praised the council's emphasis on social media but had several pieces of advice for how the membership group could improve its annual gathering.

They include the addition of moderated debates of specific topics between nonprofit leaders; 20-minute presentations on important topics from energetic and inspiring people; three-hour working groups on tough topics that the nonprofit field needs to confront; and 15-minute presentations by grantees nominated by council members.

Lee...

The Humane Society of the United States is barking back after the start of a high-profile campaign that includes a new Web site attacking its work.

The Web site, HumaneWatch.org, was created by the Center for Consumer Freedom, a nonprofit group run by Washington lobbyist Richard Berman that advocates in behalf of restaurants and other companies.

The Center for Consumer Freedom ran a full-page advertisement in Tuesday's New York Times announcing the new Web site and saying that "the dog-watchers need a watchdog."

The advertisement attacks the Humane Society of the United States for giving only a tiny fraction of its roughly $100-million annual budget to "hands-on pet shelters." It also slams the group for putting $2.5-million toward its retirement plans for employees.

In a blog post entitled "Follow the Money," Humane Society president Wayne Pacelle criticizes the motivations of the...

* As residents of Washington and other East Coast cities dig out from a massive snowfall, Terri Lee Freeman, president of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, urges them to support social-service groups, which are busy helping homeless people and others who could be at-risk in the cold and snow. Her views appear on the Web site of the Washington public-radio station.

* While there is much discussion about social-justice philanthropy, which seeks to reduce economic disparities and racial inequality, "far too many philanthropic organizations don't get much beyond the exploratory, let's-have-a-discussion stage," says Steven E. Mayer, a nonprofit consultant, on JustPhilanthropy.org, which seeks to promote social-justice efforts.

* Allison Fine, author of a book on social change in the digital age and a Chronicle contributor, discusses the Foundation Center's new Web...

* Is having a good chief executive even more important at a charity than at a business? The blog of New Philanthropy Capital, a nonprofit group in London that evaluates charities, discusses that question.

* Bob Ottenhoff, chief executive of Guidestar, a Web site that provides information on charities, says that nonprofit organizations need to get comfortable with the fact that they will not return to a period where their investments grow at the rates they did during the 1990s and until 2007.

* Tactical Philanthropy, a blog by the donor advisor and Chronicle contributor Sean Stannard-Stockton, is hosting a debate about Idealist's recent plea for donations. Jacob Harold, a program officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, wonders whether it's time to organize or consolidate the more than 50 online nonprofit job boards; Nell Edgington, president of a consulting firm called...

The King of Pop was crowned Give and Take’s biggest attention-grabber of 2009, with a blog post on Michael Jackson’s philanthropy generating more views this year than any other item.

A debate about how much money board members should be required to give was the second most-popular item. Virginia Ikkanda-Suddith, a fund-raising consultant in Los Angeles, suggested that giving or raising at least $2,500 should be a requirement of board service, but some readers posted comments suggesting that a financial requirement undervalued the nonfinancial ways in which some trustees contribute.

Dan Pallotta, a former fund-raising consultant and author of a blog about nonprofit groups that appears on Harvard Business Publishing’s Web site, was responsible for 2009’s third most-popular post, in which he argued that poor salaries keep the charitable world from making sufficient progress in...