As Congress returns to work this week after its December break, lawmakers will be taking up several key issues important to charities and donors, such as the estate tax, notes Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Ideas about how to rebuild Haiti, how to give wisely to the recovery effort, and how technology is changing relief work in Haiti are among the topics covered in Give and Take’s daily digest of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus:

• Is there a double standard on salaries for executives of charities that serve the poor versus those that work at colleges, hospitals, and wealthier institutions?

• Is giving a great way to help yourself be happy?

• Should a fund be created to help charities measure their results?

As the nonprofit world enters 2010, what trends will shape philanthropy during the next 10 years? How can charities and foundations prepare for the increasing number of older Americans, technological changes, and other future trends that are likely to affect nonprofit endeavors and giving?

Read the transcript of our live discussion today with Eric Kessler, founder of Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors, a donor consulting company.

President Obama on Monday visited Red Cross headquarters in Washington to personally thank American Red Cross workers for their efforts following the earthquake in Haiti last week, the Associated Press reports.

The president was accompanied by his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, to the organization’s disaster-information center.

He thanked the workers for their efforts and urged them to keep up what he said was great work, the news service said.

The Haitian charity founded by the musician Wyclef Jean is coming under scrutiny for the amount it spends on administrative activities instead of philanthropic programs, The Washington Post reports.

In addition, the organization has made payments to businesses owned by Wyclef Jean and a board member of the charity, the newspaper said.

Dean Zerbe, a former Senate aide who specializes in nonprofit issues, advised donors to be cautious about giving to the charity because of questions about how it uses its money. “Consider the significant number of charities that have been doing good work in Haiti that don’t have those question marks,” he told the newspaper.

Hugh Locke, president of Yele Haiti, the musician’s charity, told the newspaper that it hopes to reduce its administrative spending as it gains more experience. But he said all the money donated to earthquake relief will be spent...

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush joined President Obama at the White House on Saturday to announce that they would work together to raise money for the Haitian relief effort from corporations, foundations, and American citizens, The New York Times reports.

Already, President Clinton’s foundation has raised nearly $7-million for the relief effort, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

A nonprofit lawyer examines how a legal battle between Wesleyan University and its former chief investment officer raises questions about nonprofit institutions and their investment policies, notes Give and Take’s daily digest, a roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus:

• Just how educational is the “what color is your bra?” campaign on Facebook?

• Why Obama should press on with his proposed charitable-deduction limit.

• Forthcoming conferences of note.

• What would Google do at the Council on Foundations?

Michael Brand will step down as director of the J. Paul Getty Museum at the end of January, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Mr. Brand, who was four years into a five-year contract, declined to offer specifics of his decision to resign.

Current and former employees of the Getty museum told the Times that he had clashed with James N. Wood, chief executive of the Getty Trust, which oversees the art gallery, over the direction of the museum, which has also cut salaries and jobs in the past year to close budget holes.

The latest installment of Social Good, The Chronicle’s monthly podcast on using online tools, focuses on how to use Twitter to keep supporters involved in a cause.

Allison Fine, the host of Social Good, talks to Jake Brewer, engagement director of the Sunlight Foundation, to discuss how Twitter can help organizations expand their influence as well as stay in touch with supporters.

The Internal Revenue Service should collect information from small nonprofit groups about the kind of help they need to comply with tax-reporting requirements, then develop a plan to meet their needs, the agency’s advocate for taxpayers has recommended, notes Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.