The mainstream news media repeatedly echoed unverified allegations and distortions when covering charges by conservative commentators of voter fraud against Acorn, the community-organizing group, during the 2008 presidential campaign, according to a new study by university scholars.

The study, which analyzed 647 stories in 15 major news outlets and additional stories in three local newspapers, found that “the news media agenda is easily permeated by persistent conservative media campaigns, even when there is little or no truth to the story.”

The analysis was conducted by Peter Dreier, director of the Urban and Environmental Policy Center at Occidental College, in Los Angeles, and Christopher Martin, professor of journalism at the University of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Falls.

Acorn, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is now under fire because employees were...

The White House announced today that it had issued guidelines instructing administration officials to ensure that their dealings with the public do not appear to be influenced by improper political considerations.

“Strict adherence to the rules is not enough,” says a memorandum to White House staff members and federal agency and department heads. “We need to avoid even the appearance of politicization in order to ensure people’s faith in the actions of the administration.”

The move follows controversy over a conference call organized in August by a National Endowment for the Arts official to promote the administration’s “United We Serve” volunteer program. Some artists said the official made comments that appeared to be pushing the White House’s political agenda.

White House officials have said the call did not violate any laws and was organized with good intentions but that it...

Government policies need to do more to recognize the valuable role that nonprofit groups play in helping regions recover from disasters like Hurricane Katrina, concludes a new study by the Rand Corporation, a think tank in Santa Monica, Calif.

Groups like the United Way and American Red Cross have proven they can be important assets after a disaster, “but their roles are poorly defined and frequently not suppofted by state and federal guidelines,” Anita Chandra, lead author of the study, said in a press release.

She said such groups are particularly good at “human recovery,” or helping people rebuild their social routines and support networks following a disaster — an effort that can take years.

The study, based on a meeting in April in New Orleans between the Rand Corporation’s Gulf States Policy Institute and local nonprofit leaders, found that “human recovery” is not well...

Several Senate Finance Committee members have proposed that nonprofit groups be eligible for tax credits designed to help small businesses offer health insurance to their employees in legislation to overhaul the health-care system.

A bill unveiled last week by the committee’s chairman, Democrat Max Baucus of Montana, offers federal tax credits to small businesses, but it would benefit only employers that pay income tax — a category that excludes most nonprofit groups.

As one of several hundred amendments that senators have offered to Senator Baucus’s text, Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell, of Washington; John Kerry, of Massachusetts; Blanche Lincoln, of Arkansas; and Charles Schumer, of New York, along with Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, of Maine, proposed that “nonprofit entities that meet the eligibility requirements of the small business credit would be eligible to receive the...

Alan Khazei, a major figure in the national-service movement, has announced he is taking a leave of absence from his job as head of Be the Change, a nonprofit group in Boston, to pursue a bid for the late Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy’s Senate seat.

“Because like all of you, I have dedicated myself to empowering people from all backgrounds to make a difference and strengthen our democracy, today a group of citizens is picking up petitions and helping me take the necessary steps to participate in the special election in Massachusetts,” Mr. Khazei wrote in a letter to colleagues.

He called Senator Kennedy “our nation’s leading champion for citizen service” and “an outstanding mentor, friend, and champion.”

Massachusetts will hold a special general election for the seat in January, with a Democratic primary in December. The Boston Globe reported last week that Mr. Khazei was...

President Obama and Michelle Obama, the first lady, did some work for DC Habitat for Humanity today as part of the National Day of Service and Remembrance to commemorate September 11.

The Obamas toured a three-home project in the Deanwood neighborhood of northeast Washington, then helped paint the living room of one of the houses, according to a report by the White House press pool.

“I don’t think you’re going to have to redo it,” Mr. Obama joked to Kent Adcock, the charity’s president. “After we’re gone, you’ll be saying, ‘that wall is really messed up.’”

Meanwhile, the Corporation for National and Community Service provided some statistics about participation in the Obamas’ United We Serve summer volunteer program, which winds up today:

• Nearly 400 national groups, and thousands of local charities, participated.

• More than 2,000 individuals posted their own...

President Obama today officially declared September 11 a National Day of Service and Remembrance and urged people who participated in the administration’s “United We Serve” summer-volunteer campaign to stay engaged with their projects throughout the year.

“Working together, we can usher in a new era in which volunteering and service is a way of life for all Americans,” he said in a proclamation.

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, signed into law last spring, designated September 11 a National Day of Service and Remembrance — a goal of many families of victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks. But the president’s proclamation makes it official.

“I call upon the people of the United States to participate in community service in honor of those our Nation lost,” the proclamation says, also calling for ceremonies and other observances and a moment of silence beginning at 8:46...

Ten Chicago foundations announced today that they will jointly provide $1.2-million in grants to help improve participation in the 2010 census by groups of people who have in the past been undercounted.

The money will pay for 60 nonprofit organizations to provide information about the census to low-income, African American, Latino, immigrant, and non-English-speaking residents in 37 neighborhoods in Chicago and elsewhere in Illinois that had low participation in 2000.

An accurate census is critical because Illinois is projected to lose $12,000 in federal money over the next 10 years for each uncounted person — an issue that is especially important given the state’s current budget difficulties, the foundations said in a statement.

The nonprofit organizations participating in the “Count Me In” project — all with ties to the selected neighborhoods — will carry out public-education...

Federal and state governments should modernize the way they pay for human services provided by charities, especially given the rising demand for help that has been fueled by the economic downturn, a new report says.

The report — which summarizes conclusions of a working group of nonprofit, academic, and other leaders who met in May — says the current system of cost-reimbursement contracts, instead of grants, and the increasing use of Medicaid “has strained service providers to the breaking point.”

Charities often get reimbursed less than their actual costs, with no margin for spending to improve their operations, it says.

The report, “Human Services Financing for the 21st Century: A Blueprint for Building Stronger Children and Families,” was released by Deloitte LLP, a consulting firm; Alliance for Children and Families, a national network of human-service charities; and the...

A coalition of 23 arts groups has weighed in on the health-care debate, calling on Congress to pass legislation that creates a public insurance plan and ensures that people can get affordable health coverage without being denied because of pre-existing conditions.

“Many in the cultural workforce work independently or operate in nontraditional employment relationships, leaving them locked out of group health-care coverage options,” the groups said in a statement.

They said measures were also needed to reduce “the skyrocketing health-insurance costs” that are eating up the budgets of nonprofit arts organizations.

“Millions of cultural workers stand ready to assist our leaders with solutions that protect all Americans and its creative sector with guaranteed universal insurance coverage deserving of the wealthiest nation in the world,” they said.

The statement was signed by groups...