• As the debate continues over whether changes in the U.S. tax code affect charitable giving, Daniel Grant, an author who has written about arts groups, says it "has been hopelessly clouded by our political leanings." On the Huffington Post, he says the discussion needs to center on what is the best way to help needy Americans.

• As Jewish women have increased their giving, they have developed a significant interest in "feminist philanthropy," says Deborah Skolnick Einhorn, a doctoral student at Brandeis University, on the eJewish Philanthropy blog. These new donors are more focused on where their money goes, concentrating it on efforts to help other women and girls.

• With philanthropy to environmental projects on the rise, a handful of major donors have stepped forward to support efforts regarding climate change, endangered species, and similar causes, says TreeHugger, a blog about...

• While nonprofit mergers are not easy, more charity leaders need to swallow their pride and remember what's most important is to "maximize social good," writes Craig Dearden-Phillips in an opinion article in The Guardian, a British newspaper. Mr. Dearden-Phillips recently helped shepherd a charity he founded through a merger.
• Which celebrities gave the most to Haiti relief efforts? The Giving Beast has a photo gallery of famous donors who supported earthquake recovery.
• Black History Month needs an overhaul, writes A. Adar Ayira, project manager at Associated Black Charities, on the Open Society Institute-Baltimore blog. She says that U.S. history courses need to do a better job of incorporating the stories of black people and others who “experienced the 'backside' of the American experience."
• As charities and foundations seek to be better at measuring their effectiveness, they often ...

• Is social entrepreneurship an oxymoron? Sanjay Anandaram, co-founder of JumpStartUp, a venture-capital fund, says in some sense the answer is yes, but he still calls on more wealthy investors to support for-profit efforts that seek to have a charitable benefit for society. His views appear on a Wall Street Journal blog.
• More philanthropic dollars are now going to help women and girls, says the feminist author Gloria Steinem in an interview on the Foundation Center's blog. Ms. Steinem applauded these efforts, saying that more foundations are supporting such causes abroad, while more wealthy American women are giving to them domestically.
• The British government should follow the Obama administration's lead and establish a Social Innovation Fund to support effective charitable programs, says Stephen Dawson, co-founder of the Impetus Trust, a grant maker in London. His views appear in...

Are the biggest donors of 2009 "Great Givers" or are they merely wealthy and generous?

Patty Stonesifer, the former chief executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, asks this question about The Chronicle of Philanthropy's list of the people who gave the most money last year.

In an article in Slate, she says that more wealthy Americans are learning to be Great Givers, which she defines as giving big, giving now, and giving for "great social impact."

"I've learned how to separate the wheat from the chaff, and I see more philanthropists striving to be Great Givers," she writes, pointing to Stanley and Fiona Druckenmiller, who topped this year's list, as an example of good philanthropists.

Other blog writers examined the list differently.

The Gothamist, a blog about New York, looked at the giving of the city's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, who is No. 4 on the donor list. The blog...

A stock sale by the co-founders of Google had the business world abuzz last month, but it could also lead to significant philanthropy.

According to CNNMoney.com, Sergey Brin and Larry Page plan to sell 5 million shares of stock each over the next five years, generating somewhere around $2.5-billion for both men.

With such a windfall, there is some speculation that Mr. Page and Mr. Brin could donate part of the money, if only to ease their capital-gains tax exposure.

They have shown an interest in philanthropy, playing large roles in setting up Google.org, the charitable arm of the company. But neither has done a significant amount of personal philanthropy, at least not publically.

Mr. Brin last year did start to give money to charity, albeit in relatively small amounts. He gave $1-million to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which helped his family immigrate from Russia when he was a...

Are foundations like that know-it-all friend who judges people too quickly and follows trends too closely?

Nancy Lublin thinks so. In a mock letter to foundation leaders, the chief executive of Do Something lays out her problems with how grant makers treat charities.

"Dear Foundation People: We've been ‘friends' for a long time. We call. You return our call a few weeks later. We hang on to your every word," she writes on her Fast Company blog. "But the truth is, we don't really talk."

She says their "relationship is fraught" for four reasons.

Foundation officials often act like they know more than charity leaders; they are too quick to dismiss the need for marketing and other overhead costs; they support organizations that have the same mission; and grant makers start too many new projects.

To be sure, Ms. Lublin acknowledges that improving the relationship requires work by both...

Bill Gates: Software mogul, philanthropist, blogger?

Indeed, to discuss his charitable work, the world's wealthiest man has started a new Web site known as Gates Notes.

It includes discussions about public education, climate change, and even a travel diary.

What's more, he is sending messages through the popular social-networking site Twitter.

People can see his messages at http://twitter.com/BillGates. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation confirmed that it is indeed the real Bill Gates.

So far, he has not said much. He thanked the American Idol host Ryan Seacrest for his efforts to help Haiti and thanked actor Aston Kutcher for welcoming him to Twitter. (Mr. Kutcher responded: "I'm happy to give you a tutorial, but I charge by the hour. We can discuss rates offline.")

Celebrity chit-chat aside, Mr. Gates said he will use Twitter to discuss his foundation's work. In his inaugural ...

In a sign of the contentious debate about how to measure the work of charities, an effort to look at relief groups in Haiti has sparked some criticism.

This week two charities that provide information about nonprofit groups to donors - Great Nonprofits and GuideStar - created a Web site for people to rate and post reviews of organizations responding to the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Gayle Gifford, a nonprofit consultant in Rhode Island, questioned the rating site on her blog and on Twitter, focusing much of her criticism on how Guidestar was promoting it.

On its home page, Guidestar linked to the new Web site with a headline, "Top Ten Relief Organizations Working in Haiti," and a brief description: "Donors, clients, and volunteers have identified these nonprofits as the most effective working in Haiti."

Ms. Gifford called the wording "absolutely shameful" in part because some...

Ever since the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation began reluctantly accepting gifts from people other than the Gateses and Warren Buffett in 2006, blog writers have speculated on what the unsolicited contributions mean for philanthropy.

Last summer the foundation said it received $10.4-million in 2008 in such gifts, an 84-percent increase from 2007.

According to the Gates fund’s informational tax return from 2008, the most recent year available, the growth in unsolicited gifts came largely from one source: the estate of a Pennsylvania investor.

John W. Jacobs, who died at age 58 from cancer, gave $9-million to the largest foundation in the country.

His younger brother, Richard W. Jacobs, told The Chronicle that Mr. Jacobs was inspired to make the bequest because of his years traveling to impoverished parts of the world.

“He saw the conditions in a lot of the third-world...

Are checkout-line solicitations a bad idea?

Eric Felten, an opinion writer for The Wall Street Journal, last week wrote he was annoyed by the growing trend of stores pressing customers for a donation as they pay for food, clothes, or other items.

At his local grocery store, he says, a checkout clerk celebrates those who give by announcing gifts over the loudspeaker — a practice he finds irritating. “I know I should be grateful that folks who prefer to pocket their change don’t get a shaming shout-out as well, but can’t I just get a gallon of milk in peace?”

Brad Tuttle, who writes a Time magazine blog about personal finance, also finds the solicitations distasteful and perhaps bad philanthropy.

“If a charity’s best fund-raising bet is a quick public pitch — the equivalent of someone in a department store makeup section trying to spray perfume on your wrist, only with guilt —...