Items relevant to more than one category may appear more than once in this summary. From the issue dated July 20, 2006 About Gifts and Giving WARREN BUFFETT'S STUNNING GIFT of $31-billion to the Gates Foundation, plus additional billions to family-related funds, presents huge opportunities for doing good, and a host of previously unknown challenges. NAMED FOR THE BILLIONAIRE'S LATE WIFE, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation was to have been the main beneficiary of his largess before he decided to turn the bulk of his fortune over to a larger, better-equipped philanthropy. WARREN BUFFETT'S CHILDREN, who each stand to receive more than $1-billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock for their foundations, profess no disappointment at missing out on the Gates windfall. EARLY-CHILDHOOD EDUCATION is Susie Buffett's special concern, a focus of her foundation's grant making, and the mission of a separate fund she and her brother Peter are setting up. HOWARD G. BUFFETT'S WORLD TRAVELS persuaded him to shift the bulk of his giving from conservation and the environment to humanitarian causes. THE YOUNGEST BUFFETT SIBLING, Peter, shares his sister's interest in early-childhood education but also plans to direct much of his philanthropy to women in developing countries. THE BUFFETT DONATION is "magnificent," risky, and certain to change the way philanthropy works — for good or ill: reactions from the nonprofit world. HOW WARREN BUFFETT'S DONATION to five foundations will be distributed. LAWRENCE ELLISON, the software executive who recently made news by failing to make good on a $115-million pledge to Harvard University, will soon make another large charitable commitment to an unnamed recipient. ABOUT HALF OF THE RICHEST AMERICANS plan to leave at least some of their wealth to charity, a new survey has found. A $70-MILLION PLEDGE to the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority is intended to renovate a gold mine; other recent gifts to nonprofit organizations and institutions. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: The National Dance Project, in Boston, commissions contemporary works and then helps pay for them to be performed across the United States. About Fund Raising SPLASHY WINDOW DISPLAYS showcasing "luxury thrift" have helped one New York charity turn online auctions of donated secondhand goods into a major fund raiser. INTEREST RATES for planned gifts, issued by the Internal Revenue Service. About Managing Nonprofit Groups MARKETING DIRECTORS at nonprofit groups get frustrated by slow decision making and the challenges of persuading people to change their behavior and attitudes, participants at the annual nonprofit conference of the American Marketing Association were told last week. THE BOY SCOUT COUNCIL in Baltimore is being sued by a former employee who accuses the group of inflating its membership rolls. SENDING A MESSAGE to those resisting efforts to crack down on charities and foundations, the Senate Finance Committee passed a measure aimed at increasing the accountability of donors and nonprofit groups. THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE is seeking comment on enforcement of a new law imposing steep fines on tax-exempt groups that participate in illegal tax shelters. AN IRS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, hoping to accelerate changes to the informational tax form charities are required to file, has issued a set of principles for the agency to follow in revising the form. SEVERAL RELIGIOUS COALITIONS are protesting new plans by the Bush administration to further restrict humanitarian shipments to Cuba. About Technology A MOVE IN CONGRESS to block e-mail messages sent to members through computerized programs has drawn fire from nonprofit groups and technology companies. TECHNOLOGY BITS: A group that helps grass-roots organizations with technology needs is about to fold, a Web seminar will discuss attitudes on charitable giving, a new blog helps business executives make the transition to the nonprofit world, and a competition for social entrepeneurs who use technology to help people in developing countries. About Grant Makers MICROFINANCE, the practice of providing small-business loans to the very poor, is a hot idea in philanthropy, offering the possibility of a sustainable approach to combating poverty. SOME ENTREPRENEURS are pitching their loan requests directly through a Web site called Kiva, which links loan seekers with donors who supply all or part of the needed financing. TWO OF CALIFORNIA'S biggest community foundations agreed to merge their operations last week, forming what will be one of the nation's largest such philanthropic organizations. THE DONATION OF PROCEEDS from the sale of some $2-billion in bank stock could create one of the largest family foundations in the country. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. Also in This Issue OPINION: Pablo Eisenberg says Warren Buffett's headline-making gift to the Gates Foundation simply points up all the ways that foundations fail to improve society; Grant Oliphant and Bruce S. Trachtenberg encourage the news media to look beyond the size of the gift to what philanthropic dollars actually accomplish; Mark Kramer cautions that Buffett's $30-billion is a long way from producing results; and Leslie Lenkowsky notes some of the disappointments in the Gates Foundation's track record. LETTERS: on efforts to combat adult illiteracy, on the will to curb nonprofit abuses, and on the working conditions of charity employees. PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy.