Philanthropy’s top political story of 2009? If this blog is any indication, then the new White House Office of Social Innovation dominated the nonprofit world’s political chatter this year.

Even though Sonal Shah was thought to be a shoe-in to lead the fund months before her selection was confirmed by the Obama administration in April, an article about her appointment got more attention than any other article on The Chronicle‘s Government and Politics blog.

A January article discussing speculation about the then-amorphous office, which is devoted to identifying and supporting innovative nonprofit groups, and a July article in which the Obama administration finally revealed some details about when the Office of Social Innovation might provide grants were the second- and third-most popular posts.

An article discussing the National Council of Nonprofits’s examination of how the federal stimulus package might affect charities was the fourth-most viewed item. It was followed by a story on the search for “hidden gem” charities by — you guessed it — the White House Office of Social Innovation.