Giving away money for scholarships should be an easy process.

With higher-education costs soaring beyond what many students can reasonably afford, it would appear to be pretty simple for motivated donors to find worthwhile recipients.

But Nancy DeFauw, the owner of the consulting firm Practical Philanthropy Group in Chicago, says the process is far from easy.

In fact, Ms. DeFauw’s research into the topic has found that the system is anything but efficient.

“The most interesting and frustrating revelation for me has been the complete absence of systematic information about who needs scholarships and therefore, what I, as a donor, should do with my scholarship criteria to make sure my investment addresses those needs,” she writes on the blog PhilanthroMedia

The major problem, Ms. DeFauw finds, is many donors are operating under the false perception that students with the...

Is it possible for one man (or woman) to work full time for two different nonprofit organizations that operate on both coasts?

If you’re L. Brent Bozell III, the answer to that question appears to be yes, according to research by Dan Prives, a nonprofit finance expert.

On his blog Where Most Needed, Mr. Prives examines the IRS Form 990 reports for two organizations — the Media Research Center in Alexandria, Va., and the Parents Television Council in Los Angeles.

Both organizations list Mr. Bozell as their full-time president. His salary at the Media Research Center totals $187,947, while he also receieves $89,120 at the Parents Television Council.

Taken together, Mr. Bozell is getting annual paychecks totaling more than $277,000.

And Mr. Prives says neither organization reports that he is earning compensation from a related organization — though the Parents Television Council ...

When a shock jock like Don Imus goes over the line with on-air comments, businesses have the power to send a statement by pulling their advertising.

But charities that work with the nonprofit Advertising Council have no such power, writes Dan Prives, a nonprofit finance expert, on his blog, Where Most Needed.

The Ad Council works to get free public service ads for charities placed on radio stations. The ads usually fill time when stations cannot get paying advertisers — and the council does not stipulate when or how often they run.

As a result, stations sometimes choose to run them at inopportune times, Mr. Prives writes.

“What [listeners] heard on Mancow’s Morning Madness (syndicated out of Chicago), along with a conversation where a caller was labeled a ‘brain-dead fetus,’ was an ad for the American Council on Education,” he writes.

Should the Ad Council place stipulations ...

Giving circles — groups of people who pool their money and decide collectively where they would like to donate — are touted by some as a way for donors to get more bang for their charitable buck.

But Jim Bush, a fund-raising consultant for Blackbaud, worries that giving circles could ultimately hurt charities’ fund-raising efforts.

“Giving circles take away our access to the individual and limit the interactions we can have at a one-to-one level,” Mr. Bush writes on BlogBaud.com. “And, as giving circles grow and their interests change, it’s difficult for nonprofits to find funding for multi-year projects.”

Mr. Bush, who writes that he belongs to a giving circle with a group of friends, says that many of the more organized giving circles have strict reporting requirements for recipients of their money.

“While larger nonprofits may have the staff to fulfill these requirements, my ...

Nedra Weinreich, a communications consultant to nonprofit organizations is using her blog, Spare Change to mobilize readers to pressure a fast-food company to stop promoting drug use in its television advertising.

Ms. Weinreich, a communications consultant to nonprofit groups, is taking a stance against Jack In The Box — a fast-food chain she says glamorized marijuana use during a recent TV ad campaign.

And she is using her blog to try to get company executives to meet with representatives from anti-drug groups such as Health Advocates Rejecting Marijuana to discuss its advertising strategy.

As part of her pitch, Ms. Weinreich publishes the phone number of the chief executive of Jack In the Box and offers readers an online complaint form that they can send to the company.

“Perhaps some national pressure will make a difference,” she writes. “Please help me spread the word via...

When should blogs turn off the ability of readers to post comments?

The news site CBS.com has been forced to confront that question in the wake of what it calls “too many racist comments” being posted on its items regarding the presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Because it could not keep up with the volume of such posts, CBS.com decided to disable the comments on Obama-related items.

You can also read CBS’ rules of discourse to learn more about how it defines what is — and is not — appropriate for its site.

Like many blogs, Give and Take reserves the right to edit or delete comments it considers offensive or derogatory. But what should nonprofit groups and other people who write about the philanthropy world do when they receive comments that some people consider offensive?

The blog Nonprofits In Second Life offers a link to a YouTube video that highlights how five groups of teenagers are using the popular online game Second Life to discuss issues such as obesity, media literacy, piracy, and discrimination.

The teenagers created 30-second public-service announcements for Second Life with help from the nonprofit Global Kids.

What other ways can nonprofits use Second Life to promote their causes? Click on the comments link just below this posting to share your thoughts.

Steve Gunderson, president of the Council on Foundations, last week told The Chronicle of Philanthropy in an interview that the organization is making diversity one of its central goals.

The blog The Nonprofiteer wonders what took the organization so long, and urges the organization to focus on diversifying foundation boards.

Mr. Gunderson says the council has created a new title — director of diversity programs — to help promote diversity among the 2,000 grant makers the organization represents. The organization does not, however, have plans to set guidelines for board makeup or paid staff.

The Nonprofiteer, in turn, says the council is not going far enough to push for more diversity in the foundation world.

“It’s terrific that in 2007 it’s finally occurred to foundations that they ought to actually engage in some of the diversity they demand of their grantees, though of...

Microsoft’s new campaign to attract people to its instant-messaging service by promising to contribute money to charity every time a person signs up is gaining mixed reviews.

Paul Jones, a consultant who specializes in cause marketing, says the arrangement is a clear financial win for the nine organizations to which Microsoft will direct donations. Each is guaranteed a minimum of $100,000 in its first year, and customers choose which of the nine organizations they want to benefit.

The arrangement also connects because it exposes those between the ages of 18 and 27 — the generation that is most likely to use instant messaging — to charitable giving, Mr. Jones writes on his blog, Cause-Related Marketing.

Mr. Jones does, however, have two reservations with the arrangement.

The first is the list of charities that are taking part — a “fusty” list that includes the American Red...

Oklahoma State University has secured $280-million by buying life insurance on some of its athletic boosters The Chronicle of Higher Education reports in its May 4 issue. And now at least 40 other institutions are trying to copy the approach, the newspaper says.

The strategy seems clever, says Jack Siegel, a Chicago lawyer. But on his Charity Governance blog, Mr. Siegel questions both the legality and the investment value of such arrangements.

Mr. Siegel writes that there is an obvious legal question about whether donors are an insurable asset for a college or university.

He also wonders whether institutions such as Oklahoma State would be better off investing their money in the market than buying life insurance — especially since life-insurance companies are in business to make money from premiums.

“This proposal seems to be catching on because it looks sophisticated, but we ...