Joel Kramer, a former editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, is starting a nonprofit online news site.

Easter Seals Camp ASCCA

Easter Seals is expanding its reach to help people with autism.

Jeff Gentner, for The Chronicle

Judy Bonds, a West Virginia activist, has battled coal-mining efforts for a decade.

From the issue dated November 1, 2007 About the Philanthropy 400 PRIVATE DONATIONS to the largest U.S. charities topped $67-billion last year, and United Way of America led the way: The Chronicle's annual Philanthropy 400. TWO CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FUNDS, both already successful enough to be counted among the 400, have merged to form the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, with an eye to multiplying the parent groups' impact. ITS BID TO BECOME A NATIONAL NETWORK has turned Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media into a powerful fund raiser and one of the fastest-growing public broadcasters in the country. THE INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY, whose scholarly mission can be hard to sell to donors, mounted an ambitious capital campaign that vaulted it onto the Chronicle list for the first time this year. BY AFFILIATING WITH LIKE-MINDED GROUPS around the country, the Humane Society of the United States has extended its influence and boosted its fund-raising clout. EVEN CHARITIES not primarily concerned with the environment are successfully raising money for efforts to combat global warming and environmental degradation. About Gifts and Giving WITH NEWSPAPERS IN DECLINE and broadcast news increasingly given over to coverage of celebrities, a growing number of philanthropists are directing money at efforts to "rescue" journalism. ALARMED AT THE DECLINE of investigative reporting, Herbert M. and Marion Sandler will spend a good portion of their fortune to start ProPublica, a news organization devoted to public-interest journalism. DONALD AND DARLENE SHILEY, a Los Angeles couple who have given away $44-million in the past two years, make their giving decisions with equal parts head and heart. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE in Pennsylvania is investigating whether the American Friends Service Committee misspent a bequest intended to provide loans to needy medical students. GIVING TO U.S. HOSPITALS and other health-care organizations reached $7.9-billion last year, according to a report from the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. A DELAWARE THINK TANK has sued three former officers and a major donor, charging them with the theft of proprietary information, including a confidential fund-raising database. TULANE UNIVERSITY did not violate the original donor's intent when it merged Newcomb College, its undergraduate women's college, into a new coeducational division, a Louisiana appeals court has ruled. THE FOUNDER OF BUSINESS WIRE, Lorry I. Lokey, will give the University of Oregon nearly $75-million, primarily for science programs. THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS, in St. Paul, has received a pledge of $60-million; other recent gifts to nonprofit organizations and institutions. COMPANIES INCREASED THEIR GIVING by a median of 4.8 percent last year, according to a new study of 136 large businesses. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: The Old Globe, a nonprofit theater in San Diego, received an unusual gift a decade ago: exclusive stage-production rights to How the Grinch Stole Christmas! About Fund Raising NEW STANDARDS drawn up by the Association of Fundraising Professionals cover the activities of companies that provide fund-raising products and services to charities. THE GREAT TRANSFER OF WEALTH that charities have been anticipating may be long in coming, experts told fund raisers at the meeting of the National Committee on Planned Giving. DIRECT-MAIL APPEALS from Save the Children and World Vision were among the nonprofit winners of the International Echo Awards from the Direct Marketing Association. UPDATE ON CAMPAIGNS for endowments, capital improvements, and other needs. INTEREST RATES for planned gifts, issued by the Internal Revenue Service. About Managing Nonprofits CHARITIES NEED TO DO MORE to help poor people and minorities, warned speakers at Independent Sector's annual meeting, echoing questions raised by some members of Congress. THIRTY-THREE PRINCIPLES issued by a panel of nonprofit experts to guide charities' governance and ethics are drawing complaints from many quarters that the standards are too weak. THE DECLARATION of a mistrial in the federal case against the Holy Land Foundation was seen as a partial victory by many nonprofit officials concerned about tactics the federal government has used as it seeks to fight terrorism. NETWORK FOR GOOD was awarded $4.7-million in damages in a lawsuit against the United Way of the Bay Area stemming from the collapse of a donations-processing entity created by the United Way. MORE SMALL CHARITIES, those with annual revenue under $50,000, should be exempt from the obligation to file Form 990, says an official of the Internal Revenue Service (Tax Watch). A NEW BILL IN CONGRESS would loosen a 2006 tax law's restrictions on partial gifts of artworks to charity (Tax Watch). THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE is investigating certain charitable donations of real estate that might involve improper tax deductions (Tax Watch). THE DAUGHTER OF A COAL MINER, Judy Bonds spends her days fighting the coal interests in Appalachia (A Day in the Life). QUESTIONS ABOUT MANAGEMENT will remain on the new version of the Form 990, despite some objections, an official of the Internal Revenue Service told a meeting of state charity regulators. HAVING GROWN UP AMID STORIES of relatives who perished in the Holocaust, Stanlee Joyce Stahl now leads a charity that helps the "righteous gentiles" who worked to save Jews from the genocide (Entry Level). A VETERINARIAN and one-time Senate candidate, Ford W. Bell does not at first seem like the obvious choice to head the American Association of Museums (New on the Job). REPORTS ON CHARITIES by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance. About Grant Makers THE PUBLIC WELFARE FOUNDATION, a faithful supporter of grass-roots advocacy, has decided to narrow the focus of its grant making, and some longtime grantees are worried. NEW GRANT PROGRAMS announced by foundations and corporations. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. SUMMARIES OF ANNUAL REPORTS from the Kresge, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur, and the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundations. Also in This Issue OPINION: Gary D. Bass advocates charities' right — and duty — to engage in lobbying, and Peter V. Berns says the nonprofit world needs more than standards. LETTERS: on responsible direct-mail fund raising and the promise of America's Promise. BOOKS: A guide to nonprofit finance, an examination of nonprofit advocacy, a look at how charities can cope with new demands from donors and society, and summaries of other publications on efforts to draw artists to urban areas and on running a fund-raising house party. PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy.