It isn’t often that the nonprofit world gets the spotlight on prime-time television.

But beginning Monday, the network TV landscape will be dominated by messages about volunteering and charity, as 90 shows will include these themes in plot lines and promotional spots.

In the process, some lucky organizations or causes are expected to be thrust into the spotlight, as their efforts will be mentioned in popular shows such as Parks and Recreation, Desperate Housewives, and Grey’s Anatomy.

But what about the thousands of other groups that have great causes?

The Chronicle is working to give other nonprofit groups the chance to spread the word about their activities through its VolunTV Challenge.

From now until October 26, our audience is invited to create their own ideas of how volunteerism could be incorporated into their favorite TV shows. They can submit those ideas through short...

Sean Stannard-Stockton, the philanthropy adviser and author of the blog Tactical Philanthropy, notes that Twitter has added several social entrepreneurs to its list of suggested users.

In turn, it has probably created a new class of Twitter superstars from the world of philanthropy.

The list, which is filled largely with celebrities and big brands, is a starter kit of sorts for many Twitter newcomers. And those who are fortunate enough to become suggested users can expect a huge spike in followers.

“In separating the wheat from the chaff, Twitter has become a kingmaker of sorts, conferring online stardom to a mix of writers, gadget geeks, political commentators, and entrepreneurs,” The New York Times said in a recent story about the Twitter suggested user list. “After being named to the ‘suggested user’ list, Twitterers can gain more than 500,000 followers who get their brief...

Is a celebrity-marketing expert right when he chides the nonprofit world for being “paralyzed by fear” when it comes to the use of social-media tools such as Twitter and Facebook?

Or did he fail to do his homework?

In his blog, Seth Godin, the marketing expert and author, takes the nonprofit world to task for failing “to show up in a big way” in these online networks.

As evidence, Mr. Godin points to the list of the top 100 Twitter users in terms of number of followers.

The list is largely dominated by celebrities, big entertainment and news-media companies, and a smattering of businesses.

“Where are the big charities, the urgent charities, the famous charities that face such timely needs and are in a hurry to make change?” Mr. Godin asks. “Very few of them have bothered to show up in a big way.”

He continues: “Please don’t tell me it’s about a lack of resources. The...

The nonprofit watchdog Charity Navigator has been getting some criticism from Give & Take readers who believe that its system for rating charities is flawed.

Ken Berger, Charity Navigator’s president, recently discussed a plan to update its method for evaluating and grading nonprofit groups with The Chronicle for its Philanthropy This Week podcast series.

You can listen to what Mr. Berger had to say here:

Do you think Charity Navigator’s new direction is smart? Will it lead to a more effective ratings system for charities?

Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.

Here are some of latest blog items and opinion pieces worth noting for the nonprofit world:

• The Nonprofit Quarterly‘s Rick Cohen examines the potential impact on nonprofit organizations of cuts approved by the House Appropriations Committee. (The Chronicle reports, meanwhile, that a Senate appropriations subcommittee voted yesterday to restore President Obama’s national-service budget).

• Sticking with the government theme, White Courtesy Telephone challenges California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to stop being a “girly man” and raise taxes to protect the programs of charities in that state.

• On the GiveWell Blog, Holden Karnofsky writes about how one small charity, VillageReach, is proving that you don’t need to be big to effectively achieve your mission.

• Bill Huddleston offers advice to the nonprofit leaders who are meeting with Independent Sector in Colorado...

Here are some of latest blog items and opinion pieces worth noting for the nonprofit world:

• The Daily Tell offers a look at how Twitter is being used to raise money for charities.

• On Major Gifts Guru, Tom Wilson explains how organizations can improve the efficiency of their major-gifts officers.

• The lawyer Jack Siegel explains on Charity Governance why donors should read a recent court decision involving Fisk University before they make restricted donations to nonprofit groups.

• Kivi Leroux Miller has some suggestions (courtesy of Alia McKee, of Sea Change Strategies) for translating news-media coverage into donations.

• Now the Details, a blog on the news-media, asks whether public broadcasting’s fund raising will be harmed if more news operations start soliciting donations to pay for their reporting.

• Susan A. Barry, chief executive of the Community...

Are the fictional exploits of the globe-trotting philanthropist Teddy Rist good or bad for the nonprofit world?

To answer that question, the Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal and the Chronicle recently played host to a discussion about the NBC prime-time series The Philanthropist.

The event included a panel discussion involving Tom Fontana, the co-creator of The Philanthropist; Steve Gunderson, president of the Council on Foundations; Sean Stannard-Stockton, a Chronicle columnist; and Ian Wilhelm, a Chronicle senior writer.

Here’s a video of the discussion.

What do you think of The Philanthropist? Is the show good or bad for the nonprofit world? Or are those who work at charities and foundations overestimating its importance?

Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.

How often should people post new items on Twitter?

“Quality is more important than quantity,” says Kevin Gilnack, of the nonprofit group The Providers’ Council, “Make sure you’re sending useful, relevant information, and do your best to spread it out. Also, try not to tweet about your own organization on an average of more than once every seven or so tweets. You will also find your followers engage you more if you engage them.”

Mr. Gilnack’s advice came in response to an effort by The Chronicle and the social-media expert Beth Kanter to get advice from lots of experts after Ms. Kanter spent more than two hours answering questions from Chronicle readers about how to effectively measure their efforts on social-media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

And after exhausting her fingers and, for sure, her brain for more than 120 minutes, Ms. Kanter, author of the popular blog Beth’s Blog,...

Join the Chronicle on Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern time for a real-time discussion about the latest episode of the new NBC show The Philanthropist.

For those who missed it, you can also catch a replay of our discussion of the premiere episode.

Discussing Episode Two of ‘The Philanthropist’

We’re live blogging the premiere of the new NBC series The Philanthropist.

Chronicle editors and reporters are providing commentary about the debut — and we’ll be giving viewers the opportunity to offer their own opinions and reactions to the show during the premiere.

Discussing ‘The Philanthropist’