Luis A. Ubiñas is spending his first year as president of the Ford Foundation meeting with grantees and others to determine what's next for the institution.

Tyagan Miller

Adrian Sargeant, of Indiana U., says fund raisers should pay greater attention to academic research on giving.

Matthew Pace, for The Chronicle

Maisah Williams is getting training in nonprofit management through Public Allies, an organization that works across the country to nurture a new generation of leaders.

From the issue dated April 17, 2008 About Grant Makers FOUNDATION ASSETS AND GIVING both rose in 2007 but grew more slowly than in previous years, according to the annual Chronicle survey of the largest grant makers in the United States. THE FORD FOUNDATION is thought by many to be too staid and in need of change, but Luis A. Ubiñas, its new president, says he will hew to the grant maker's traditions. REORGANIZING ITS GRANT MAKING and refining its mission, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation means to focus more sharply on its founder's vision of helping needy children. FOUNDATION LEADERS around the country are closely watching the progress of a California measure designed to promote diversity. THE MACARTHUR FOUNDATION has given awards to eight small charities in the United States that it says are creative and effective. SUMMARIES OF ANNUAL REPORTS from the Otto Bremer, Conrad N. Hilton, and W.M. Keck Foundations. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. About Gifts and Giving GETTING KIDS OUTSIDE, unplugged from computers, and enjoying nature is the aim of a growing number of programs started by youth organizations, environmental groups, and health charities. AN INDIANA LAND TRUST has opened up some of its 5,200 acres for school field trips that expose students to the sights and sounds of the outdoors. HOPING TO LURE PARENTS OUTSIDE as well, one Seattle charity makes sure its nature programs for preschoolers occur in places that are easy for families to revisit. LACKING OUTDOOR SPACE of its own, a museum in Ann Arbor, Mich., will turn its lobby into a forest setting for children. HILLARY AND BILL CLINTON donated 9 percent of their income on average from 2000 to 2007, according to documents released by Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign. THE ESTATE TAX'S repeal could harm giving to charities and foundations, the head of Independent Sector told a Congressional hearing (Tax Watch.) LESLEY AND TUFTS UNIVERSITIES will share $272-million from two trusts set up by a Massachusetts businessman who died in 1969. RECENT GIFTS to nonprofit organizations and institutions. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: The London Shakespeare Workout Prison Project conducts acting workshops for inmates. About Fund Raising THE SLUGGISH ECONOMY is causing donations to slow at many charities, two new studies find. NEW RESEARCH points the way for many fund raisers to thrive, said scholars and veteran nonprofit leaders who spoke at the annual meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. INTEREST RATES for planned gifts, issued by the Internal Revenue Service. UPDATE ON CAMPAIGNS for endowments, capital improvements, and other needs. About Managing Nonprofit Groups GAIL J. MCGOVERN, the new president of the American Red Cross, brings to the damaged charity years of experience as a marketing executive and a successful volunteer fund raiser for major groups. UNETHICAL PRACTICES in nonprofit management and fund raising may be on the rise, two new studies indicate. PUBLIC ALLIES, a charity that trains young people for public service, has garnered a lot of publicity lately for its early association with Barack and Michelle Obama. ALL THREE PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS promote national service, and two of them have close ties to a group that uses federal AmeriCorps money to train young nonprofit leaders nationwide. INSTRUCTIONS issued by the Internal Revenue Service last week explain how charities should fill out the revamped 990 informational tax return. AN INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OFFICIAL will take a key job monitoring charities on Capitol Hill by joining the Republican staff of the Senate Finance Committee (Tax Watch). THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE has explained to the public how to request forms that charities fill out to detail their spending on business enterprises (Tax Watch). A FEDERAL JUDGE ordered the Internal Revenue Service to refund to the University of Minnesota tax money it was not required to pay for residents at its teaching hospital (Tax Watch). AN INFLUENTIAL AIDE who advises Congress on nonprofit tax issues is stepping down from his job (Tax Watch). About Technology ONE ECONOMY, a Washington technology charity, has announced it will raise $12-million in an endeavor to provide high-speed Internet access to 500,000 low-income households. THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives is sponsoring a video contest for federal grantees to highlight the work of nonprofit organizations in alleviating poverty. TEENAGERS can learn of volunteer opportunities by text message through a program run by Do Something, in collaboration with other groups. ONLY 6 PERCENT of charity supporters make use of blogs and social-networking sites to keep up with groups they're interested in, according to a new study. TECHNOLOGY BITS: A seminar on managing nonprofit technology, an online game raises money to fight malaria, and C-Span encourages viewers to submit videos on important election issues. About Careers in the Nonprofit World A GROWING NUMBER OF STATES, with Arizona a leader among them, are making an effort to harness the energies of their older residents for work, volunteering, or civic action. EFFORTS TO WIN FEDERAL SUPPORT for programs that encourage volunteerism among retirees have thus far not taken off, despite hard work by some advocates for nonprofit groups. A FORMER GIRL SCOUT OFFICIAL will put her training and lifelong interest in history to work as head of the newly renamed Civil War Museum of Philadelphia (New on the Job). GROUNDED BY ILLNESS, a former nonprofit leader and fund raiser took up lexicography, creating a "civic dictionary" that documents the concepts of philanthropy and service (My Journey). PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy. Also in This Issue OPINION: Rebecca K. Leet on the importance of crafting the right message; Pablo Eisenberg on the questions raised by the practices of a Texas medical center; and Nancy Mahon on how federal money devoted to fighting the global AIDS crisis is spent. LETTERS: on measuring public confidence in charities and judging the value of older workers NEW BOOKS: A guide to financial management, advice for foundation leaders, and summaries of other publications on techniques for using "intermediary groups" to coordinate a foundation's social investing and tips on all aspects of fund raising.