Nonprofit Articles Round Up

From the Minnesota Council on Foundations:

Economy:
Signs That, Amid Tough Times, Americans Will Keep GivingChristian Science Monitor: Most donors plan to give to charity in coming months, an online survey finds. History bears that out.

The Quickest, Most Helpful Thing Foundations Can DoNational Committee for Responsive Philanthropy blog: One suggestion I haven’t seen is a call to release restrictions on grants, and proactively contact grantees and invite them to reprogram the use of restricted grant funds. This might be the quickest, most powerful way for foundations to help their grantees.

National:
The Philanthropy 400Chronicle of Philanthropy: Donations to nonprofit groups on The Chronicle’s Philanthropy 400 list (the 400 charities that raise the most from private sources) grew 4.5 percent last year, but many of the most-successful charities say they are already feeling the pinch of the economic slowdown.

Club GenerosityForbes: Great wealth often inspires good works. Here’s a look at the philanthropy-adjusted fortunes of some of the more generous — and miserly — members of The Forbes 400.

Accountability Should Be a Two-Way StreetPhilanthropy Journal: The problems are twofold: We don’t know much about what we are talking about, and we don’t force any of this kind of thinking on ourselves. (Written by an anonymous veteran foundation officer.)