Items relevant to more than one category may appear more than once in this summary. From the issue dated March 4, 2004 About Grant Makers and Giving FOUNDATION ASSETS ROSE in 2003 for the first time in three years, according to a new Chronicle survey of the nation's biggest grant makers. GOVERNING BOARDS engaged in laying out strategy and assessing their institutions' performance are the most effective, a survey of foundation executives has found. TWO WOMEN have left charitable bequests totaling $226-million. COLGATE UNIVERSITY has received two pledges worth $35-million; other recent gifts to nonprofit organizations and institutions. FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: Locks of Love provides wigs to youngsters who have lost their hair through illness or injury. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. SUMMARIES OF ANNUAL REPORTS from the Benton, California Wellness, and Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. About Fund Raising AMERICA'S LARGEST CHILDREN'S MUSEUM took numerous steps to shore up fund raising as its endowment's earnings began to lag. CALIFORNIA'S ATTORNEY GENERAL has proposed numerous changes in charity fund-raising and accounting rules. UPDATE ON CAMPAIGNS for endowments, capital improvements, and other needs. INTEREST RATES for planned gifts, issued by the Internal Revenue Service. About Managing Nonprofit Groups PENSION PLANS are becoming less popular at charities because of high costs and risks -- and that means nonprofit employees are now shouldering more responsibility for their own retirement savings. THE SUPREME COURT last week issued a ruling that some observers say could stall efforts to steer government money to religious charities. THE SALVATION ARMY was sued last week by the New York Civil Liberties Union over its policy of asking employees about their religious affiliations. SEVERAL STATES are reviewing loans charities made to their officials. A CAMPAIGN-FINANCE RULING last month has lessened concerns many nonprofit groups have had about potential limits on their advertising. TRUSTEES of the Grand Marnier Foundation have agreed to return $1.5-million in compensation they received to settle a challenge by the New York attorney general's office. AN ILLINOIS HOSPITAL has lost its state tax exemption, causing many other nonprofit hospitals to worry that they may soon be required to pay local taxes (Tax Watch). HELPING LOW-INCOME RENTERS buy their first homes means long days of fielding calls and teaching classes for David Pesch, a housing counselor in Erie, Pa. About Technology A COMPANY that handled online donations before collapsing in June lost at least $17.7-million in charitable donations, according to a court-ordered report. THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE is about to allow charities to file their informational tax returns online (Tax Watch). THE BENTON FOUNDATION is spinning off its technology-policy activities so it can focus all of its efforts on influencing communications issues. A FEDERAL TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM plans to award nearly $13-million in grants to charities this year. TECHNOLOGY BITS: A conference on grass-roots activism and technology and a survey on how staff diversity affects charities' use of technology. Also in This Issue OPINION: Madeline Lee says listening to charities might teach foundations some humility. LETTERS, pro and con, on the practice of providing interest-free loans to nonprofit executives and on the Florida law regulating such loans; on changes at Colorado's Daniels Fund; and on the value of donated time. PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy.