If charities can’t show results, they should shut their doors, says “Tom Belford,” the veteran fund raiser and author of The Agitator.

Too many charities are competing to solve the same problems, he writes. And too many of the under-performers are sucking resources away from the others to achieve any good.

His solution? The Internal Revenue Service should force organizations to prove every five years that it has has expanded its financial and other resources; otherwise, it will lose its nonprofit status.

“I’m not pushing the ‘all nonprofits should be more business-like’ line,” Mr. Belford writes. “What I am pushing is ‘perform or die’ … and figure out a way — your way — to establish that your nonprofit actually is performing … performing in the sense of achieving substantive goals, not just processing stuff.”

Do you agree? Should charities have to prove results to maintain the...

The American Red Cross is using its Red Cross Chat blog to update supporters on its efforts to help victims of the floods in the Midwest.

The site features photo galleries, videos, and written dispatches from workers who are on the ground helping victims.

“People have been sandbagging for days and expect another 10+ inches of rain in the coming days, unimaginable,” writes Joseph Hansen, a Red Cross worker, in one post. “You could even see the damage coming into the airport last night, roads just disappeared into the swollen rivers and ponds.”

Does your charity use blogs to update supporters during crises or to react to hot-button issues? If so, what approaches have you found to be most effective in reaching out?

When the Presidential campaign hits a fever pitch in the fall, many charities will have a harder time than usual getting their messages heard.

But Nancy Schwartz , a marketing consultant to nonprofit groups, says charities can get attention by tying their messages in with the campaign.

Ms. Schwartz suggests that charities should spend time connecting the work they do with key issues in the campaign to help connect with their supporters.

She also recommends that groups get less aggressive with their communications — and instead focus on delivering only short, relevant messages.

“That style shows your respect for your community, and for their time and attention,” Ms. Schwartz writes on Getting Attention. “I’m a less is more person in general, but it’s a must this season.”

What other steps should charities take to keep their supporters engaged during the campaign season? Click...

Can you sum up the work of your charity in eight words or less?

Nancy Schwartz, a marketing consultant, has found more than 1,000 charities that are doing just that.

Ms. Schwartz recently set out to find the nation’s best charity tagline through her blog, Getting Attention.

She received more than 1,050 submissions and is now asking her readers to vote on their favorites.

To help, Ms. Schwartz chose her favorites and grouped them by category. Readers can look at the list of finalists and vote on their favorites through June 20.

“The organizations behind these taglines have done a fantastic job in putting eight words or less to work to build their brands,” she writes. “Now it’s your turn to select which are the best in class.”

What charity taglines appeal most to you? Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.

The NAACP made what some consider a controversial move when it hired Benjamin Todd Jealous, president of the Rosenberg Foundation, as its chief executive officer.

The Baltimore Sun reports the organization’s 64-member board was split on the decision to appoint Mr. Jealous.

But the choice of Mr. Jealous, a 35-year-old activist with a background in newspaper publishing, is earning praise from Rosetta Thurman, director of development and special programs at the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington.

“The NAACP may have made one of their best strategic moves in recent years by hiring someone under 40 to lead the still relevant, but ailing civil-rights organization,” Ms. Thurman wrote on the blog Perspectives From the Pipeline.

Ms. Thurman says she believes Mr. Jealous’s appointment will probably help the NAACP appeal to a new generation of supporters — an area in which the...

Should charities be pushing their donors to use their credit cards when they give?

The anonymous blogger who writes Don’t Tell the Donor answers that question with an emphatic no, especially in light of growing concerns of a spike in credit-card defaults.

The writer predicts fund raisers and others will soon have to rethink the recent practice of encouraging donations on plastic. She also says charity leaders really need to think about whether it is ethical to encourage such donations.

“Many people think a credit card default crisis is closer than we think,” she writes. “So, what should we do? Continue to ask donors to put their gift on credit cards… but only if they promise to be responsible and pay off the card balance every month?”

Are charities courting trouble if they accept donations on plastic — or are they simply offering donors a more convenient option for giving? Click...

Harvard University has paid the longtime former mistress of the late author Norman Mailer an undisclosed sum for a collection of writing that includes lengthy passages about her sexual encounters with Mr. Mailer.

Included in the collection, according to the Associated Press, is a 20-page passage outlining a sex scene with Mr. Mailer and a 50-page scene that is based on the woman’s relationship with the author.

The woman, Carole Mallory, considers the collection to be part of literary history and worth preserving.

But Tom Durso, a public-relations consultant, writes on the 501c Files that Harvard shouldn’t have paid for the materials.

“if I were a Harvard alum or even, perish the thought, a paying student or parent, I’d be put off by the thought of my tuition dollars or annual fund gift funding the purchase of what is undoubtedly bad writing about Norman Mailer’s sex life,” Mr....

Memo to the casting director for NBC’s new drama The Philanthropist: choose a strong leading lady.

An informal poll of Chronicle readers showed strong support for the veteran actress Sigourney Weaver to play the lead role.

Other top vote-getters included Chris Noth and the House star Hugh Laurie.

Who would you choose to play the lead role in the NBC series The Philanthropist?

According to Chronicle readers, the top choices thus far are veteran actress Sigourney Weaver and Chris Noth, who played Mr. Big in the show Sex and the City.

Do you agree with these choices? Would you pick someone else? Cast your votes by this Thursday in our poll.

The newly named chief executive of the American Red Cross, Gail J. McGovern, is known for her business pedigree — having worked as an executive for AT&T and Fidelity Investments.

She is also known in academe as a prominent professor at the Harvard Business School.

But she might be known to more Americans through this national TV commercial for AT&T, which aired in 1989.