Volunteerism: Where the Candidates Stand
Both presidential candidates from the two major political parties plan to promote national service when they speak at the ServiceNation Summit September 11. Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has yet to propose a specific plan on national service but is expected to do so at the…
By Cassie J. Moore
Contributor
(Photograph by John Marinelli) Trinity College’s Gothic-style architecture and sweeping lawns may not mean much to the average young person in hardscrabble Hartford, Conn. But for more than 250 students each year, the 100-acre campus near downtown Hartford represents an oasis that encourages them…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
A Texas Town Skips Church for a Day to Undertake the ‘Big Serve’
Church attendance is such a big part of life in the Texas hill town of Wimberley that a dozen churches serve the community of 3,800 residents and many churches hold services more than once on Sundays. But churchgoing in Wimberley took on new meaning one Sunday morning this summer when most churches…
By Lee Burnett
Contributor
Advice for Approaching Corporate Grant Makers During Tough Times
Fund raisers can expect a much tougher time winning grants from companies this year and next, according to a new Chronicle of Philanthropy survey. Seventy-three percent of the country’s largest corporations estimate that their donations will remain flat or decrease this year, according to the…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
How the Chronicle’s Annual Survey of Corporate Giving Was Compiled
By Noelle BartonThe Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual survey of corporate giving is compiled from information provided by many of the nation’s biggest companies, based on annual revenue, as ranked in Fortune magazine’s current Fortune 500. The Chronicle asked the 150 biggest businesses on the list…
By Noelle Barton
Contributor
Overseas Giving by American Companies Is on the Rise
Companies are channeling a growing share of their donations outside the United States, according to a Chronicle of Philanthropy survey of giving by the largest American businesses. That trend is expected to accelerate as corporations open new offices and sell more products in foreign countries.…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Corporate CEO’s Say They Feel New Urgency About Solving Social Problems, Report Finds
Most chief executives of large companies say they feel more pressure today than they did five years ago to help solve social and environmental problems, according to a new study. Yet the majority say their corporate philanthropy isn’t doing an adequate job of meeting social or business goals. The…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Many businesses expect donations to remain flat this yearMany of the nation’s largest companies expect their charitable giving to remain flat or decrease this year amid turmoil in the country’s housing and financial markets, according to a new Chronicle survey. Of the 77 businesses that offered…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
(Photograph by Timur Targay/Deborah Triplett Studio) Some of the kids getting their portraits taken are a little shy, requiring a parent or the photographer to coax a smile out of them. The effort is small compared with other challenges the children face: All of those photographed by Flashes of…
By Noelle Barton
Contributor
More Than $110-Million Raised for Disasters in Asia
American nonprofit groups have raised more than $110-million for victims of the natural disasters that hit Myanmar and China in May. As charities make the transition from providing food and medicine to helping rebuild homes and schools, some say the money raised may not meet all the longer-term…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Nonprofit Summer Camps Offer Kids Much More Than S’mores
Most summer camps share a common goal: to bring together new faces, offer new activities, and provide a home-away-from-home experience that helps kids build confidence. But the array of options nonprofit groups offer to children can be staggering. The American Camp Association, in Martinsville,…
By Cassie J. Moore
Contributor
$225-Million Bequest Made to Florida Foundation
The Patterson Foundation, in Sarasota, Fla., has received a bequest of $225-million from the estate of Dorothy Clarke Patterson, who died last year. Ms. Patterson established the foundation in 1997 with a donation of $3-million. Ms. Patterson did not specify how the money should be used, nor did…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
New Tool Helps Finance Housing
In an effort to go beyond charitable gifts and attract additional sources of capital to finance its work, Habitat for Humanity International has started a new social-investment program to speed up the construction of low-cost housing around the world. The Americus, Ga., housing organization is…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Templeton Foundation’s Assets Expected to Grow by 50%
The $1.3-billion John Templeton Foundation may see its assets increase by 50 percent by the end of 2009, following the death last month of its founder, Sir John M. Templeton, the mutual-fund pioneer. That would most likely make it among the 30 wealthiest grant makers in the United States. Mr.…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Bloomberg and Gates Funds to Spend $375-Million to Fight Tobacco Use
Michael R. Bloomberg and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have announced a new $375-million joint commitment to fight tobacco around the world, especially in developing countries. The new commitment comes on top of the $125-million that was donated by Mr. Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, two…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
At Globalgiving.com, donors can contribute as little as $25 to any of hundreds of projects, such as drilling new wells for fresh water in Bangladesh, teaching computer skills to rural students in Sri Lanka, and providing emergency shelter to children orphaned by the May earthquake in China.…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor