The embattled mortgage giant Fannie Mae is touting some good news: Its annual walkathon for the homeless raised $5.6-million in 2008.

However, the economic crisis appears to have taken a toll on fund raising. The 2007 walkathon raised more than $7-million.

The annual event, which takes place in November, supports homeless programs and social-service providers in the Washington area.

Given the federal government’s takeover of Fannie Mae last year, questions have been raised about whether its charitable programs would end. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said in October that Fannie Mae and its sister organization Freddie Mac should continue to help charities.

Was Bill Gates’s mosquito stunt to promote antimalarial efforts a good idea?

This week, during the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) Conference, the Agence France-Presse reports that the philanthropist opened a jar onstage containing mosquitoes and told the crowd, “Malaria is spread by mosquitoes. I brought some. Here I’ll let them roam around. There is no reason only poor people should be infected.”

A few minutes later, Mr. Gates informed the worried audience members that the insects were malaria-free.

His stunt has generated fair amount of a, uh, buzz, but was it a good way to raise attention for a charitable cause?

A TED official reportedly quipped that the mosquito event should be titled, “Gates releases more bugs into the world.”

What do you think of Mr. Gates’s publicity stunt? Will it draw attention to his efforts to fight disease or just generate jokes at his...

In what might be described as allegations of donor poaching, the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has accused its English counterpart of unfairly fund raising in Scotland.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which operates in England and Wales, denies the charge.

But the Scottish organization said the Royal animal-welfare group has advertised itself on Scottish radio and at Scottish supermarkets. In response, the group has started an ad campaign aimed at humbling its peer.

“The Scottish SPCA today challenges the RSPCA to stop stealing food from the mouths of Scotland’s defenseless animals and tell the truth to the Scottish public,” the group said in a statement on its Web site.

The animal charity said that 70 percent of the Scottish public believes the RSPCA helps animals in Scotland. “We are therefore calling for the RSPCA to ...

A new survey of Americans sheds light on what they think President Obama should focus on — and perhaps where their philanthropic priorities lie.

According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, Americans primarily want the president to focus on the economy, with 85 percent saying it should be a “top priority.”

The results of the survey, which polled 1,503 people by telephone in January, were not unexpected given the recession. But Pew did note with some surprise that several issues — environment, crime, immigration, and health-care costs — had become less of a concern for many respondents.

Protecting the environment, in particular, appeared to be receiving less emphasis and fell most precipitously in public opinion. In 2008, 56 percent identified it as a top priority, but today 41 percent do.

Views on other nonprofit-related issues stayed...

Will the inauguration of President Obama lead to bump in charitable giving?

Tom Belford thinks so.

On The Agitator blog, the fund-raising consultant predicts there will be an “Obama effect” for charities because the president has tapped into a vein of hopefulness and optimism, has pushed Americans to serve their communities, and has made steps to make his message bipartisan.

“So absolutely, I do think there will be a positive ‘Obama effect’ on nonprofit fund raising. It might not fully counter the harsh realities of recession, but it will certainly put most donors in a more positive, more receptive emotional state of mind. Thanks to Obama, gigawatts of fresh energy (and dollars) await out there to be harnessed by nonprofits,” he writes.

Indeed, a recent study has suggested that Mr. Obama has already spurred teenagers to want to get involved in public service.

What do you...

According to a new survey, fund raisers say they are confident, but not wildly so, about meeting year-end fund-raising goals.

Of 741 charities, the majority of respondents — 43 percent — said they were “somewhat confident” they would meet their donation goals, says Charity Navigator, a watchdog group, in Mahwah, N.J., which conducted the informal survey.

Nineteen percent of respondents said they more confident, while 40 percent expressed less confidence.

Religious organizations showed the most optimism, with 10 percent saying they were “completely confident” about 2008 tallies. While International charities appeared to have the greatest concerns, with 15 percent saying they were “not confident at all.”

In terms of geography, Charity Navigator said that groups in the Southwest and Mountain region of America appeared to be the most confident, while fund raisers in the South...

The results of a new survey suggest that Floridian fund raisers should seek out older college-educated men.

The survey, sponsored by Leadership Florida, a civic organization, says that respondents who were male, had some college education, were over the age of 50, or earned more than $50,000 a year were more likely to say they planned to give more to charity this year or give the same amount as last year.

The organization polled 1,200 Florida residents in mid-November.

In all, the survey gives a somewhat mixed view of fund-raising opportunities.

While 48 percent of respondents said they expect to give more this year or the same amount as in 2007, 51 percent said they are giving less or not giving at all. One percent said they were not sure.

Nonprofit leaders said the findings showed a glass-is-half-full picture.

“The fact that almost half of Floridians will increase or...

Looking to get a hot musical act for your gala or other fund-raising event? It seems the Jonas Brothers are the best ticket.

The pop trio, who are perhaps best described as this generation’s Partridge Family, lead a list of the top celebrity fund raisers, according to Charity Folks, an organization that operates online auctions with entertainers to raise money for nonprofit causes.

Charity Folks says the three brothers garnered $450,000 for their charity, the Change for the Children Foundation, with an auction that sold VIP tickets to concerts and opportunities to meet the band.

In second place was Billy Joel, who raised $400,000. Bruce Springsteen took third with $300,000.

Which of these performers would you prefer to have at your event?

A new report by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy may help fund raisers search for corporate donors that are less hard hit than others by the financial crisis.

While the report examines giving in 2007 — well before the current financial meltdown — it does identify several types of industries, such as businesses that sell and produce consumer products and information-technology companies, as increasing their philanthropy that year.

Over all, total giving, including product contributions, by the 155 companies the committee surveyed increased from 2006 to 2007. The median sum contributed grew from $26.47-million in 2006 to $26.05-million last year, meaning half the corporations gave more than that amount and half gave less.

It says that 66 percent of corporations increased their giving, while 34 percent decreased it.

The report does not make predictions about...

In 2006 and 2007, British philanthropists, foundations, and corporations made 193 donations worth at least £1-million, roughly $1.56-million, according to a report released this month by the Centre for Philanthropy, Humanitarianism, and Social Justice at the University of Kent.

The report is the first study of such major gifts and grants in Britain, according to the scholars who produced it. The contributions it examined totaled $2.52-billion.

About 56 percent of the donations were from people who made gifts to their foundations. For the remaining contributions that were given to charities, universities and colleges were the most popular beneficiaries, receiving 45 percent of them. Nonprofit groups that work to improve public health and provide aid to impoverished nations were the next most popular recipients.

The report says that 37 of the 193 major awards equaled exactly...