Updates

Autism charity takes top prize in Chronicle television contest

Ford Foundation pledges $100-million to change public education

Foundation giving faces steeper decline than expected

Amherst College gets $125-million from two donors

Struggle with pension benefits poses serious threat, study finds

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Conference Notebook

Read updates from the annual meeting of Independent Sector, in Detroit.

Layoffs, Cutbacks and Mergers

Recent job cuts and mergers at nonprofit organizations.

Elsewhere Online

Big layoffs made at health-care charity

Global health group raises alarm on AIDS

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Surviving Tough Times

Read our guide for managing charities through a recession

Podcasts

Learn how one group of nonprofit leaders is working to change the way charities are measured in our weekly Philanthropy This Week podcast.

The social-media expert Allison Fine explores how some charities are using video games to spread their messages.

Prospecting

How one charity responds to donors' demands for results

Fund raising is called one of the 15 most stressful jobs in the country

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Government and Politics Watch

New York voters back proposal that allows prisoners to volunteer

Advocacy campaign seeks to give nonprofit workers political clout

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Philanthropy News

A New Vision
A former charity regulator is promoting a major overhaul of how the federal government oversees tax-exempt groups.

Tough-Love Advice
In a new book to guide donors, two veteran grant makers offer both love for philanthropy and a hard-nosed view of how to give.

Connecting Charities and Donors
Some community foundations are starting new online "town squares" and social networks to unite local nonprofit groups with supporters.

Beating Poverty
A federal program is helping spread the approach to aiding the poor taken by a Harlem charity, but it's not clear how easy it will be to make the idea work elsewhere.

Aiding Immigrants
A bold public move to help a group of illegal immigrants changed the appproach a Boston philanthropist takes to his giving.

Troubles for United Ways
Donations fell at 57% of the big charity's affiliates. But creative fund-raising approaches are helping some United Ways overcome the trouble.

Pension Woes
Charities are urging Congress to ease rules on how much they must set aside for a certain type of retirement-benefit plan.

Expanding in Hard Times
Several successful grass-roots charities are defying recession concerns and seeking to spread their operations across the country.

Hiring Thaw
A few charities buck the layoff trend by hiring workers and creating jobs.

Radio Shout-Outs
Foundations craft one-line slogans to educate public-radio listeners.

Holiday Wishes
Charities lower expectations and tinker with fund-raising appeals as they head into the crucial fourth quarter of 2009.

Working Up to Big
Ronald O. Perelman, the billionaire philanthropist, tells how his small initial gifts turn into multimillion-dollar commitments.

Who's In Charge
The leadership of the nation's largest charities is mostly made up of white men, a Chronicle survey finds.

Charity Closings
Each month, a handful of charities shut their doors — and the recession is a big reason for their demise.

Fund Raising Goes Global
More and more charities are seeking, and winning, contributions from different parts of the world.

Volunteering Goes Hollywood
Major broadcast and cable networks plan to devote a week in October to images of people doing good.

Tapping Endowments
New state laws give charities more wiggle room on endowment spending.

Starting a Charity
The recession isn't an auspicious time to create an organization — but a new autism group decided the needs were too urgent to wait.

After the Scandal
An organization that seeks to evaluate charities has rebounded after one of its founders was accused of wrongdoing.

Résumés Matter
What nonprofit employers want to know about job seekers.

Dwindling Reserves
Declines in new gifts serve as bleak omens for donor-advised funds in 2009, a new Chronicle study reveals.