Within a few months of his inauguration, President-elect Obama should organize a meeting of the nation’s 100 leading foundations “and explicitly ask them to help him implement his agenda,” urges a prominent philanthropy consultant cited in Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Plus:

• A major nonprofit coalition urges Congress and President-elect Obama to bolster the social safety net, promote national service and charitable giving, ease lobbying restrictions on charities, and ensure that foreign-aid programs respect workers’ civil rights.

• Congress should allow the Secretary of the Treasury to adjust the tax deduction rate for people who use their own vehicles for volunteer work, the national taxpayer advocate told Congress this week.