Items relevant to more than one category may appear more than once in this summary. From the issue dated May 18, 2006 About Gifts and Giving WORKING IN CUBA can be tough for charities, because of travel and trade restrictions that were tightened during the Bush administration, and could get tighter still. AMERICANS AND CUBANS are working together to restore the villa that was Ernest Hemingway's home in Cuba, but the U.S. charities involved have encountered some official roadblocks. AN INNOVATIVE COURSE offered in South Carolina high schools teaches students the rudiments of making money — and giving it away. MORE AMERICANS GAVE time or money to social causes last year than did so in 2004, a new survey indicates. LARGE INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS in 16 countries have developed a set of investment principles aimed at making sure that companies operate in a socially responsible way. MORTIMER B. ZUCKERMAN, the chairman of U.S. News & World Report, has pledged $100-million to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York, for a research facility. THE CLEVELAND CLINIC has received two pledges totaling $82-million; other recent gifts to nonprofit organizations and institutions. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: Video Volunteers, a New York charity, is working in India to teach women how to produce films that convey potent social messages. About Fund Raising MARKETING DEALS with corporate sponsors, when done right, can yield big returns for both the charity and the company that raises money in its behalf: snapshots of successful partnerships. POSTAGE COSTS could increase an average of more than 8 percent for charities next year, if new rates proposed by the Postal Service go into effect. ATTRACTIVE BLONDES have a distinct advantage in raising charitable dollars door to door — if the person who answers the door is a man, a new study by a group of economists has found. 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 NONPROFIT CENTERS that house several charities in a single building protect tenants from the whims of the real-estate market, and present huge challenges for the landlord. "THE BUILDING SHOULD FIT THE MISSION" and other advice for charities thinking about opening a multi-tenant nonprofit center. THE YWCA has ended its 148-year-old policy of requiring that all its trustees be women. HOUSE AND SENATE NEGOTIATORS working out a compromise tax bill dropped nearly every provision of interest to charities (Tax Watch). THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE limited when an organization offering down-payment assistance to home buyers can qualify for tax exemption (Tax Watch). A FEDERAL COURT has ruled that a donor-advised fund was improperly directing money to the donor's own purposes and did not deserve charity status (Tax Watch). A BILL PASSED by the House of Representatives would require donors to disclose gifts to charities established or controlled by a member of Congress. OXFAM INTERNATIONAL has uncovered fraudulent spending of $22,000 by staff members in connection with its relief efforts in Indonesia following the 2004 tsunamis. A LONGTIME EDITOR of Family Circle magazine, Susan Ungaro will work to make the James Beard Foundation a national center for information on good food (New on the Job). About Grant Makers AT THE ANNUAL MEETING of the Council on Foundations, a roster of speakers that included Newt Gingrich and George Soros assailed participants with advice on how and where to direct their philanthropy. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. Also in This Issue OPINION: Robert K. Ross touts the power of "focus funds" to support often-ignored causes; David Madland questions the Smithsonian's deal with Showtime; and Yosef I. Abramowitz explains his decision to put family ahead of the demands of running a charity. LETTERS: on the pros and cons of grass-roots environmentalism, on the Chronicle survey of private foundations, and on the still-unrealized "intergenerational transfer of wealth." BOOKS: A look at the research on getting baby boomers involved in civic activities, an assessment of foundations' activities to develop new leaders, a compilation of tested fund-raising ideas, and summaries of other publications on soliciting big gifts, running successful after-school programs, and how corporations can best use their charitable investments to promote social welfare. PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy.