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News Briefing
Highlights Inside
a guide to key developments
DONORS PLAN TO GIVE THE SAME
OR LESS THIS YEAR
Donors are less sure than they were in June about
their economic future and even less confident about
their charitable giving, according to a new poll. The
Donor Confidence Index, compiled by the marketing-
research company Campbell Rinker, fell 3.2 points in
August to 86.5 out of 100, a score that is lower than
at any point since December 2008. About half of all
donors say they expect to give the “same amount”
this year as last year. Another 29 percent plan to
give less.
report, which is based on data from about 100,000
congregations, also found that the average inflation-
adjusted amount that churchgoers gave in 2008 was
$793, a drop of 2. 5 percent from 2007.
TRYING A NEW PITCH
WITH NEEDY KIDS
Sebastian Ruth (right)
started a classical-music
program for youngsters
in a tough Providence,
R.I., neighborhood. Now
the idea is spreading to
other cities. Page 41
CHURCH GIVING DROPS
AS ECONOMIC PRES-
SURES MOUNT
Church giving as a per-
centage of congregation
members’ take-home
pay sank in 2008 to its
lowest point in a decade,
according to a report by Empty Tomb, an organiza-
tion that conducts research on religious giving. The
A PRIVACY BREACH AT AMERICORPS
The Corporation for National and Community Ser-
vice has warned AmeriCorps applicants and partici-
pants that a computer glitch may have allowed oth-
ers to see some of their personal information. The
federal agency said people may have been able to
view addresses and Social Security numbers of peo-
ple who had provided that information to the agency.
The agency said the problems have been fixed and of-
fered to enroll those who were affected in a free cred-
it-monitoring and identity-theft insurance program
for one year.
GOVERNMENT AID
Continued state budget
cuts, combined with a
decline in private dona-
tions, could put many so-
cial-services groups at a
breaking point, predicts
a new report. Page 32
COu RTESy Of THE JOHN D. AND
CATHERINE T. MACARTHuR
fOuNDATION
SAFE SHELTER
Nonprofit groups that promote community land
trusts are becoming increasingly important
players in helping poor homeowners avoid
foreclosures. Page 43
Now Online
NONPROFITS STRUGGLE TO KEEP UP
WITH SUBURBAN POVERTY
Poverty in American suburbs increased sharply in
the past decade and left social-service organizations
struggling to keep up with increasing needs, accord-
ing to a report by the Brookings Institution, in Wash-
ington. The report said almost three quarters (73
percent) of suburban nonprofits are seeing more cli-
ents than they were before the economy soured.
WHY GOOD STORIES
MATTER SO MUCH
Jennifer Aaker (right)
explains why powerful
stories can make or break
whether charities thrive
on social networks, in our
Social Good podcast.
REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS RAISE CONCERNS
ABOUT IRS INVESTIGATION
Two Republican senators have written to the Inter-
nal Revenue Service to express concern about a call
for an investigation into the political activities of cer-
tain nonprofit groups. “We are worried that the sole
purpose of any such effort is to chill the legitimate
exercise of First Amendment rights,” wrote Sens. Jon
Kyl of Arizona and Orrin G. Hatch of Utah. Sen. Max
Baucus, the Montana Democrat who chairs the Sen-
ate Finance Committee, asked the tax agency to sur-
vey nonprofit advocacy, labor, and business groups to
ensure they were not violating their tax-exempt sta-
tus.
that groups work together to create an international
organization for aid groups and develop a certifica-
tion system that would lead to better training for em-
ployees providing humanitarian relief.
HOW TO GROW
Join nonprofit experts for a live online
discussion on Tuesday, October 26, to learn how
charities can expand even in these tough eco-
nomic times.
$100-MILLION PLEDGED TO
BUSINESS SCHOOL
Henry Kravis, right, a co-
founder of the private-equity
firm Kohlberg Kravis & Rob-
erts, has pledged $100-million
to expand Columbia Business
School. The gift will support
the construction of a new build-
ing for the business school. Mr.
Kravis earned a master’s de-
gree in business administration from Columbia in
1969.
Zu MA PRESS/NEWSCOM
THE POWER OF VOLUNTEERS
Michelle Nunn, chief executive of the Points of
Light Institute, explains how citizens can band
together to improve their neighborhoods in
Making Change, a Chronicle podcast.
For details, go to http://philanthropy.com/live.
Corrections
n A table containing information about CEO
compensation (October 7) should have noted that
Rose Marie Rae-Balla, executive vice president
of strategic direction at Volunteers of America,
still serves in her position.
n In an article on consultants that serve non-
profit clients (October 7), the nonprofit consul-
tancy Bridgespan’s relationship to the strate-
gic-management firm Bain & Company was in-
correctly characterized. Bain gave Bridgespan
money to get started and other types of support
when it began in 2000 but did not create the
nonprofit group.
The Chronicle strives for accuracy. If you see an error,
please send a message to editor@philanthropy.com.
WHAT HUMANITARIAN GROUPS NEED
International-aid groups, which are facing increased
scrutiny of their work in places like Haiti and Af-
ghanistan, would be wise to become more profession-
alized, according to a report by the U.K. branch of
the aid group Save the Children. The report suggests
Opinion
Foundations’ efforts to aid the Obama admin-
istration could come under Congressional
scrutiny after the November elections, espe-
cially if the Tea Party gains momentum, writes
William Schambra, of the Hudson Institute.
Page 49
The lack of change in the organizations on
The Chronicle’s Philanthropy 400 is a sign of
how hard it is for innovation to thrive in the
nonprofit world, writes Leslie Lenkowsky, a
Chronicle columnist. Page 49
America’s cities face such serious problems
that philanthropy, business, government, and
nonprofits must join forces and work in new
ways to revive them, writes Ben Hecht, head of
the Living Cities coalition. Page 50
THREE OUT OF FOUR FOUNDATIONS
LACK ASIAN TRUSTEES
More than three quarters of the nation’s wealthiest
grant-making foundations are without any Asian or
Pacific Islander officials on their boards, according to
the Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, in Los
Angeles. The organization also found that none of
those foundations had an Asian or a Pacific Islander
in the chief-executive role. Asians and Pacific Island-
ers make up 5. 6 percent of the U.S. population, ac-
cording to the Census Bureau.
INSIDE
Directory of Services .............................................. Page 38
Philanthropy Careers .............................................. Page 52
Newly announced grants ....................................... Page 44
Deadlines for grants and awards .......................... Page 39
People ................................................................... Page 36
Technology............................................................... Page 34
Notable Gift ........................................................... Page 42
Tax Watch ............................................................... Page 33
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