The Rev. Wilbert Miller, a San Diego minister, promotes health-care overhaul at a rally to galvanize religious people to lobby for change.

Photograph from Fordham University

Fordham University hopes to better appeal to donors by channeling more money from its capital campaign into scholarships.

Photograph by Stan Zychlinsky

San Francisco's Habitat for Humanity took over this foreclosed home and is renovating it for needy people.

From the issue dated August 20, 2009 About Fund Raising HINTS ON THE HORIZON that the U.S. economy may be starting to improve have prompted some charities to move major fund-raising campaigns back up to the front burner. GIFTS FROM DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS totaled a median 23 percent of the funds' assets in 2008, a higher share than in recent years, according to the latest Chronicle survey, but gifts to the funds declined. ORGANIZATIONS THAT MANAGE donor-advised funds charge widely differing fees for administering the funds. EXTREMELY WEALTHY PEOPLE lost an enormous amount of money in the global recession, and the number of millionaires has thinned: notes from a gathering of fund raisers who conduct research on prospective donors. FUND RAISERS' CONFIDENCE in their ability to secure charitable gifts continues to be shaken by the economy, according to a survey from Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy. DEPRESSED REAL-ESTATE VALUES have prompted an uptick in donations of property, but experts who advise charities about such gifts urge caution. INTEREST RATES for planned gifts, issued by the Internal Revenue Service. About Giving AS THE PUBLIC DEBATE over health care grows increasingly combative, a host of nonprofit groups is working to ensure that an overhaul of the system is successful. ATLANTIC PHILANTHROPIES is one of the biggest nonprofit players in the health-care debate, putting $25-million behind a coalition of advocacy and other groups pushing for universal coverage and more-affordable care. CHARITY LEADERS are pressing lawmakers to consider how various provisions of the health-care legislation now before Congress will affect nonprofit organizations. THREE ANIMAL-WELFARE GROUPS have challenged a court order allowing the bulk of Leona M. Helmsley's estate to be distributed to charitable causes other than the care and welfare of dogs. A NEW WEB-BASED SERVICE seeks to help donors interested in medical research figure out how to make the best use of their charitable dollars. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: Earthwatch Institute recruits 4,000 volunteers a year to work side by side with scientists. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. RECENT GIFTS to nonprofit organizations and institutions. EMERGENCY GRANTS announced by foundations and corporations. About Managing WITH FORECLOSED HOMES available at below-market prices, some housing charities more accustomed to building new dwellings for low-income clients are turning their energies instead to buying and renovating existing houses. THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA GOVERNMENT gave a nonprofit group the use of two empty apartments in a public-housing complex, a donation that proved beneficial to the charity and neighborhood residents alike. WITH HURRICANE SEASON HERE and the H1N1 virus threatening, many disaster-relief organizations are worried that sluggish giving over the past year could hamper their ability to respond to a crisis. AMERICANS VOLUNTEERED last year at about the same rate as in the past, despite the troubles brought on by the recession, according to a survey by the Corporation for National and Community Service. THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE has released to the public materials about "areas of interest" in nonprofit governance that the service is using to train its agents (Tax Watch). THE TAX AGENCY has proposed a change in how it handles church audits (Tax Watch). TAX WRITE-OFFS: Tips on disclosing information about related organizations; new rules on small charities and how they must report to the Internal Revenue Service. BOOKS: A handbook for hiring a new chief executive, a guide to fund raising, a look at the role of "giving circles," an examination of globalization and the nonprofit world, a look at how small businesses give, and a primer on getting board members to become good fund raisers. AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy. PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. About Technology NEW LOGISTICS SOFTWARE is helping Feeding America and its national network of food banks streamline its system of picking up donated food. MULTIMEDIA CAMPAIGNS created by immigrant-led groups, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson and Benton Foundations, seek to improve the health and well-being of immigrants. THE NONPROFIT TECHNOLOGY NETWORK will next month experiment with a two-day virtual conference. TECHNOLOGY BITS: Twitter supporters have a new way to help good causes; a new Web site helps charities use videos to promote their work to potential donors in the federal-employee charity drive. About Philanthropy Careers FOLLOWING AN UNUSUAL ROUTE from politics to philanthropy, Norman B. Rice, the former mayor of Seattle, has taken over leadership of the Seattle Foundation (New on the Job). ALMOST HALF OF THE CHARITIES IN A NEW SURVEY have laid off staff members in an attempt to cut costs, and half have frozen salaries. EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER, founder of Special Olympics, contributed to society in a big way, say those who watched her life. (Legacies) GEORGE WEISSMAN PAVED THE WAY for companies to become vigorous supporters of the arts. (Legacies) Opinion and Letters LISBETH B. SCHORR questions the reliance of government agencies and private grant makers on narrowly defined evidence to prove the value of social programs. PABLO EISENBERG bemoans the dearth of outlets for serious intellectual discourse in philanthropy. SEAN STANNARD-STOCKTON argues that charities need not only revenue to support their programs but also equity to help them grow. WILLIAM FOSTER AND GAIL PERREAULT say charity leaders need to put at least as much time and energy into fund-raising strategy as they do into program planning. LETTERS on Leona M. Helmsley and the issue of donor intent, and on the critical importance of stories to philanthropy. Online Extras THE RECESSION isn't an auspicious time to create an organization — but a new autism group decided the needs were too urgent to wait. GIVEWELL, an organization that seeks to evaluate charities, has rebounded after one of its founders was accused of wrongdoing. AS THE SEARCH FOR WORK becomes more competitive, nonprofit employers explain what they want to see in resumes from job seekers.