The philanthropist Harold Grinspoon brings donors and nonprofit leaders together each year to talk about Jewish philanthropy.

Chris Casaburi, for The Chronicle

Lynn M. Stirrup seeks donations from national and local corporations to support the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Jackson Hill, for The Chronicle

Stanley R. Smith, of East Biloxi, Miss., is seeking aid from the Mississippi Center for Justice after a contractor failed to finish rebuilding his hurricane-damaged home.

Items relevant to more than one category may appear more than once in this summary. From the issue dated August 23, 2007 About Grant Makers THE BIGGEST U.S. BUSINESSES increased their donations to charity in 2006, a trend that is likely to continue this year, according to a Chronicle survey of corporate giving. MANY ARTS GROUPS think the effort that goes into wooing corporate support is worth it, despite reports of a downturn in companies' giving to the arts. BANK MERGERS in the 1990s led to increased giving by the industry, but the focus of the gifts has shifted away from local causes, says a report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. THE FORD FOUNDATION surprised the nonprofit world when it picked as its new head a 44-year-old management consultant, Luis A. Ubiñas. FEEDBACK FROM GRANTEES helped the Pacific Gas and Electric Company set bonuses for employees in its corporate-giving department, until the company ended the program as too cumbersome. THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION will devote $70-million over the next five years to helping people respond to problems caused by climate change. RURAL REGIONS are often a bellwether of America's social problems, and foundations would do well to direct more grant dollars their way, speakers at a recent conference on rural philanthropy urged. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. About Gifts and Giving BROOKE ASTOR, the philanthropist and socialite known particularly for her generosity to cultural institutions in New York City, died last week at the age of 105. HIKING IS A KEY INGREDIENT in raising money for Jewish causes at an annual retreat in Aspen, Colo., for donors and charity executives brought together by Harold Grinspoon, a philanthropist and businessman. TWO UNIVERSITIES have each received donations of $20-million; other recent gifts to nonprofit organizations. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: Boston City Singers provides music education and runs choirs for children in a tough urban neighborhood. NEW GRANT PROGRAMS announced by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. About Fund Raising JOHNSON & JOHNSON and the Red Cross are set to square off in a legal action over trademark infringement that many experts say the charity has little chance of winning. THE FEDERAL AGENCY that runs the government's annual charity drive, pressed by a district-court decision, has reversed its earlier ruling banning a Tennessee group from the campaign. UPDATE ON CAMPAIGNS for endowments, capital improvements, and other needs. INTEREST RATES for planned gifts, issued by the Internal Revenue Service. About Charities and Katrina TWO YEARS AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA, the largest U.S. charities have raised $3.7-billion to help in the recovery, a Chronicle survey shows, but the flow of aid and volunteers is slowing. LOCAL NEW ORLEANS CHARITIES are seeing an upswing in donations from area grant makers and residents who have returned to their hometown since the storm. TROUBLES WITH CONTRACTORS are just the latest wave of problems people are bringing to lawyers at the clinics set up by the Mississippi Center for Justice to help survivors of the hurricane. IT IS NOT THE BIGGEST DONOR to the recovery of New Orleans, but the Rockefeller Foundation has played a key role in helping the ravaged city plan its future. AN ANIMAL-RESCUE GROUP in California that raised more than $8-million to help animals stranded by Katrina, and then spent a large portion of the money on itself, has reached a settlement in an investigation by state officials. "THE VOLUNTEERS were the ones who were giving people hope": A Methodist minister reflects on two weeks spent rebuilding homes in Mississippi. USING DISPOSABLE CAMERAS, children on the Gulf Coast, helped by the New Orleans Kid Camera Project, are documenting life after Katrina. About Managing Nonprofit Groups CRACKING DOWN on charity abuses is not a high priority for Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the senator said in an interview (Tax Watch). THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE needs to be clear about what types of political activity nonprofit groups may properly engage in, lawyers at a recent forum said (Tax Watch). OFFICIALS of the Internal Revenue Service are looking to revoke the tax exemption of two donor-advised funds because donors are allegedly putting the money to personal uses (Tax Watch). TAX WRITE-OFFS: Congress considers appointing a commission on hedge funds; a watchdog group asks the Internal Revenue Service to make changes in the informational returns filed by foundations. BLACKBAUD, a South Carolina company that markets financial software to nonprofit groups, has purchased a rival software company, eTapestry, for $24.8-million. TECHNOLOGY BITS: A foundation offers technology grants, a travel company donates global-positioning systems to the National Park Foundation, and the head of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation proposes an online marketplace to give people better information about charities to support. RESCUING SOMALI CHILDREN 30 years ago set Ahuma Adodoadji on the path to becoming chief executive of Plan USA, a charity devoted to helping young people around the world (New on the Job). THE FOUNDER OF A SUMMER CAMP for kids with HIV/AIDS is looking toward the day when there won't be enough such children to fill the program (Day in the Life). Also in This Issue OPINION: Pablo Eisenberg on the declining fortunes of newspapers and the public scrutiny of charities; Doug White on Johnson & Johnson's lawsuit against the Red Cross; William Cotter on the failure to evaluate international-aid projects; and Leslie Lenkowsky on what the new head of the Ford Foundation might learn from Brooke Astor. BOOKS: A guide to running special fund-raising events, a handbook on community-health coalitions, a primer on nonprofit accounting, a look at corporate social responsibility, and summaries of other publications on building strong boards, learning the vocabulary of the nonprofit world, and teaching trustees to raise money. PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy.