As the global economic downturn deepens, charities that serve the world’s needy are redoubling their fund-raising efforts, lowering their 2009 revenue forecasts, and seeking business savvy to inform their operations, reports the Associated Press.

Although unclear about to what extent their donations will suffer, many charities fear the worst is yet to come. World leaders including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and former President Bill Clinton made appeals at this week’s World Economic Forum not to neglect the world’s needy in economically difficult times.

(Free registration is required to view this article on the Washington Post site.)