Items relevant to more than one category may appear more than once in this summary. From the issue dated November 9, 2006 About Gifts and Giving THE ROCK STAR Elton John has helped raise more than $120-million for his foundation, which has carved out a crucial role for itself in the fight against AIDS. IN THE PAST, the Elton John AIDS Foundation has collaborated with a single organization, the National AIDS Fund, to distribute its grant money, but it has recently begun working directly with several health foundations on efforts to combat the disease. SIR ELTON'S ANNUAL OSCAR-NIGHT BASH is just one of several high-profile events staged to benefit his philanthropy: how the Elton John AIDS Foundation raises money. WEALTHY DONORS are not significantly motivated by tax breaks, a survey of affluent households by the Bank of America suggests. A LOS ANGELES PHILANTHROPIST, Mary Joan Palevsky, took the California Community Foundation completely by surprise with a bequest of $200-million. WESTMONT COLLEGE has received $75-million from an anonymous donor; other recent gifts to nonprofit organizations and institutions. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: Velocipede, a Baltimore charity, tries to make it easy for people to use bicycles for transporation, with the hope of improving the environment and the health of city residents. About Fund Raising YOUNG PEOPLE are often unable or unwilling to make large gifts to charity, but some nonprofit groups are finding ways to cultivate the new generation of donors. PRODUCTS associated with a good cause appeal to young people, a new survey indicates, although they question how much good those purchases do. HOSPITALS IN THE UNITED STATES raised more than $7-billion in donations last year, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy reports. PROTESTANT CHURCH MEMBERS gave 0.38 percent of their income to church-run charities in 2004, the lowest level since Empty Tomb, a religious research organization in Illinois, began tracking such giving in 1968. 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 THE RED CROSS has proposed a reorganization of its governance that it hopes will answer the steady criticism of its operations in recent years, but some observers are not satisfied. IN RUSSIA, several dozen foreign nonprofit groups, including 28 U.S. charities with offices there, have had to suspend operations while awaiting re-registration under a new law covering nongovernmental organizations. NONPROFIT GROUPS account for more than 5 percent of U.S. economic output, according to the Urban Institute, which released highlights of its Nonprofit Almanac 2007, to be published in full in January. A CATHOLIC HOSPITAL IN ILLINOIS is appealing a decision by the state to strip it of its property-tax exemption for failing to provide sufficient charity care (Tax Watch). THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE will allow Stanford University to offer donors the option of investing their gifts to the university along with its own endowment assets (Tax Watch). TWO KANSAS CHURCHES have been accused of improperly engaging in partisan political activity, a violation of nonprofit tax law (Tax Watch). A DOCTOR who finds his patients in abandoned buildings and under bridges recalls growing up in a family where service was "the normal way to behave" (Entry Level). A LEADING NONPROFIT CONSULTANT, Jan Masaoka is stepping down as head of CompassPoint Nonprofit Services to try a new endeavor — that won't involve consulting (Exit Interview). About Grant Makers TO MARK its 50th anniversary, the Foundation Center plans a "reinvention" of itself, focused especially on stepping up its research endeavors. GRANT MAKING by small foundations totaled $2.6-billion last year, about the same as the year before, according to a new survey. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. Also in This Issue OPINION: Leslie Lenkowsky on what the statistics reveal about nonprofit finances; and Allison H. Fine on adapting to the "connected age": Would your charity pass the test? LETTERS: on defending tax deductions for "fractional" gifts of artworks. BOOKS: A new textbook on the nonprofit world, a guide to strategic giving, and summaries of other publications on the philanthropic response to last year's Gulf Coast hurricanes, how nonprofit work-force groups are improving their operations by focusing on research results rather than anecdotes, and how a philanthropic collaboration demonstrates the unequal relationship between charities and fondations. PRESS CLIPPINGS: Harvard Business Review examines how charities and companies can work together to respond to disasters; and the National Journal looks at the controversy over religious groups involved in partisan politics. PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. AWARDS: Honors for organizations and people in philanthropy.