As fund raising goes more global, a new study shows that China continues to increase its philanthropic potential.

According to a study by the Chinese Academy of Social Science, Chinese charities raised $15.2-billion in 2008, more than three times the amount in the previous year, says China Daily, an English language newspaper in Beijing, and China CSR, a Web site that tracks corporate giving.

The study says that for the first time individuals gave more than businesses. It credited the growth to the government’s effort to create laws that govern donations and nonprofit groups.

In a separate article, China Daily reports that the country’s Ministry of Civil Affairs expects a comprehensive charity law to be in place in one or two years.

It is unclear what a new law would mean for American charities that work in China. The government has restricted many foreign groups from...

In solicitations and other material, charities must be careful about using terms that may offend older people, says Joanne Fritz on About.com’s nonprofit blog.

Using a media guide that advises journalists who write about aging, Ms. Fritz, who has worked at several charities and universities, makes several suggestions.

• Be careful about the terms you use to describe people older than 65. Terms like “old,” “elderly,” or “seniors” can be inappropriate depending on the group of people you’re talking to.

• Don’t highlight their level of activity as out of the ordinary. While a bungee-jumping man at 78 is noteworthy, the fact that people continue to volunteer, garden, or do other activities at an older age is the norm these days.

• Avoid descriptions that are just too cute. For example, don’t call someone “80 years young.”

What do you think? What terms or phrases should ...

While American charities have been hit by the bad economy, nonprofit organizations in Russia report that they may face even worse financial straits.

More than half of Russian charities — 52 percent — say donations and other monetary support have declined by 25 percent or more, according to a new survey. Twenty-three percent report they are likely to shut down due to the sour economic times.

The survey was conducted by CAF Russia, Zircon Research Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the Russian Donors Forum.undefinedCAF Russia is an arm of the Charities Aid Foundation, a global philanthropic fund in Britain.

The survey polled 440 Russian charities as well as several companies and foundations. CAF Russia estimated there are more than 215,000 nonprofit organizations in Russia.

Despite the difficult fund-raising environment, the survey also found that 51 percent plan to expand the...

On his personal blog, Sasha Dichter, director of business development for the Acumen Fund, made an unusual request to friends, family, and other people last week: donate to his charity for his 36th birthday. His goal was to raise $720 either through direct gifts to Acumen or through Facebook Causes.

Five days later, he exceeded his target amount, garnering $968.72.

Mr. Dichter writes that his effort produced some unexpected results, like “seeing what does and doesn’t work with direct fund-raising appeals; being touched and moved by old friends, readers, and family who chose to participate in ways large and small.”

For example, in a blog item before he reached his goal, he explained how his original pitch HAD failed to draw a connection between Acumen’s work and the concerns of the potential donors.

What do you think? Have other fund raisers used their personal blogs to make...

As America continues to struggle with a sour economy, fund raisers are likely to be having a difficult time raising money from corporations. A new report says that about half of the companies responding to a recent survey are decreasing their giving.

Despite the news, there may be other ways for charities to work with companies. The businesses say they plan to step up other charitable efforts, like encouraging their employees to volunteer, says the report from LBG Research Institute, a nonprofit research organization in Stamford, Conn.

According to the survey, which polled 100 corporations or their grant-making funds nationwide, 52 percent of companies and 47 percent of corporate foundations say they are reducing their giving in 2009.

As dollars dwindle, the corporate grant makers say they are receiving more requests for money from charities. Seventy-two percent of the...

Does a Texas charity’s fund-raising plan stink?

Well, yes, but that’s the point. Well Aware, a group in Austin that builds wells in Africa, has recruited a team of 35 volunteers to go on a “shower strike,” forgoing bathing to raise money for the charity.

Sarah Nemec, for example, tells the Austin American-Statesman newspaper she won’t shower and will wear the same T-shirt until she collects at least $1,000. “I’ve been getting some teasing, but I think everyone is hoping I’ll raise my money quickly.”

Well Aware hopes to raise $40,000 with the event and is chronicling the funky fate of its dirty fund raisers on its blog.

On the eve of the strike, it commemorated its soon-to-be stinky volunteers with poetry — showering with praise, as it were.

“Some strikers are nervous, some excited, some scared/It will be interesting to see how they each will fare/We’re so honored to have...

With a growing number of charities using Twitter and other online social networks, do they risk over saturating their audience?

Caroline McCarthy, who writes about social media for CNET News, raises this question.

“The influx of charities and nonprofits to platforms like Facebook and Twitter could result in noise, congestion, and outright apathy. Spreading awareness of a good cause grows difficult when that good cause starts to seem like spam,” she writes.

Kristin Ivie, on the Social Citizens blog, raised similar concerns, saying that social media has made it easier for people to organize for a cause, but it also encourages “slacktivism” and “bumper-sticker philanthropy.”

In her article, Ms. McCarthy looks at how one group, Charity:Water, has been successful in using Twitter and is now exploring new Internet tools, like a Web site that will allow people to create their own ...

Miss Manners has some stern words for fund raisers.

In her weekly column, which appears in newspapers nationwide, the matriarch of social etiquette questions why some charities send people dozens and dozens of appeals.

“It has always puzzled Miss Manners to find how often those who work on behalf of other people in general feel free to annoy the particular people with whom they come into contact,” she writes.

Her rebuke is in a response to a donor who feels overwhelmed by nonprofit solicitations in part because the economy has forced his family to curtail its giving. He would like to send letters to the charities to halt their mail appeals, but worries it’s a waste of a stamp.

Miss Manners, whose real name is Judith Martin, says there is no simple solution to his problem.

“As you point out, the grating pleas will continue no matter what you do,” she writes. “So it seems...

A former Google executive is asking for advice on where to make a donation.

On his blog, Paul Buchheit spells out the idea simply: “I’m going to donate a bunch of money, but I want random people on the Internet to decide where it goes.”

Suggestions can be submitted on Google Moderator, an online chat program, or FriendFeed, a social-networking site that Mr. Buchheit helped found.

The would-be-philanthropist places few restrictions on where the money could go. The future recipient needs to be a tax-exempt charitable group, and he reserves the right to ignore all suggestions.

As for possible charitable causes he would consider, he writes, “I’d consider anything, but am probably most sympathetic to health, freedom, and education. In terms of solutions, I’m very skeptical of centralization, one-size-fits-all solutions, and people who are certain of the answer. I also prefer to...

A new survey suggests that British people may not be terribly honest about their philanthropy.

On the Web site of Channel 4, in London, Press Association News reports that 47 percent of respondents said they have lied about having given to charity and 26 percent said they have told fund raisers that they had already made a donation when they had not.

In addition, the survey, which polled more than 2,000 people in Britain, found that 31 percent said they were giving less time and money to charity than a year ago; 12 percent said they were giving more.

The poll was sponsored by Leap Anywhere, a Web site that connects people with charitable causes.

What do you think? If the same poll were given in America, would the findings be similar?