Items relevant to more than one category may appear more than once in this summary. From the issue dated March 22, 2007 About Fund Raising CUTTING-EDGE INTERNET APPEALS make use of blogs, online videos, social-networking sites, and other tools to raise large sums by attracting small donations from lots of people. MANY CHARITIES are trying to figure out how best to make use of the new interactive technologies for raising money and winning supporters: tips from the experts. THREE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS have expressed concerns about the policies of the federal government's annual charity drive and have asked for changes. THE ULTIMATE GIFT, a new movie about the importance of giving, has proved to be a potent fund-raising tool for charities that have joined its unusual marketing campaign. THE MEDIAN SALARIES of college development directors went up by more than 5 percent in 2006, according to a new survey. SORT OF A VERTICAL WALKATHON, the annual "hustle" up the stairs of Chicago's Hancock building drew thousands of climbers and earned more than $1-million for the local chapter of the American Lung Association. UPDATE ON CAMPAIGNS for endowments, capital improvements, and other needs. INTEREST RATES for planned gifts, issued by the Internal Revenue Service. Special Report: About Capital Campaigns BILLION-DOLLAR CAMPAIGNS grow less uncommon every year, but charities that set the bar that high face challenges beyond simply raising a lot more money. NOW NEAR ITS $2.5-BILLION GOAL, the University of Michigan got there despite serious setbacks early in the campaign, including the unexpected departure of its president and its chief fund raiser. WITH FEW PROFESSIONAL FUND RAISERS, Ducks Unlimited has called on a small army of volunteers to solicit gifts for its $1.7-billion drive. BIKE-ATHONS are not normally the main event in an ambitious capital campaign, but the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is looking to the annual race to yield $175-million toward its $1-billion goal. About Managing Nonprofit Groups FOLLOWING A TWO-YEAR INVESTIGATION of charities' compensation practices, the Internal Revenue Service is considering imposing additional fines on groups that submit inaccurate information on top executives' pay and benefits. A "DISCONNECT" with the board of the NAACP led to the resignation of Bruce Gordon after just 19 months as president of the venerable civil-rights organization. POOR PAY AND LONG HOURS make it unlikely that the younger generation of charity employees will stick with nonprofit work, a new survey suggests. MORE NEW YORK CITY CHARITIES are tying pay raises to employees' performance, according to a survey of nonprofit employers in the region. THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE has issued its annual list of the "dirty dozen" tax schemes, which includes the use of charities to improperly hide assets from taxation (Tax Watch). A REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN has agreed to chair a Congressional caucus that will attempt to raise awareness on Capitol Hill of issues pertaining to charities and foundations. BABY-BOOMER VOLUNTEERS, though more numerous than those of earlier generations, tend not to continue their volunteer commitments for long, a new study shows. CHARITIES NEED TO LOBBY HARDER for government incentives that would encourage the use of older Americans as volunteers, several speakers at a recent conference agreed. AN INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR can do more for a charity than simply fill a gap between permanent leaders, as more nonprofit groups are coming to realize. WORKING TO PROTECT CHILDREN in the welfare system, Marcia Robinson Lowry, director of Children's Rights, in New York, spends a lot of time tracking the progress of states her group has sued — or threatened to (A Day in the Life). A TELEVISED SPEECH BY ELIE WIESEL triggered Nan Dale's interest in international work, leading eventually to the top spot at Action Against Hunger USA. TAX WRITE-OFFS: The IRS seeks comments on donor-advised funds and supporting organizations and stops accepting applications from charities that want to become known as "functionally integrated" supporting organizations. REPORTS ON CHARITIES by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance. About Grant Makers A NEW REPORT from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy warns that foundations' disinclination to award grants for general operating costs could have a "crippling" effect on charities. A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER who has worked in Minneapolis and Miami, Aaron Dorfman will take over leadership of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. SUMMARIES OF ANNUAL REPORTS from the California Wellness, W.K. Kellogg, and Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundations. About Technology A NEW FEATURE on Microsoft's instant-messaging service allows users to donate to one of nine charities without actually giving them a dime. THE FOUNDER OF KINTERA, a company that markets fund-raising software, is out as the company's chief executive officer, as the company struggles with deficits and plunging stock prices. DATE VIOLENCE is the focus of a new Web site that hopes to create a safe place for teenagers to find information and advice about the difficult topic. TECHNOLOGY BITS: A new report looks at "bridging the innovation divide," and Planned Parenthood will benefit from a Working Assets cellphone calling plan. About Gifts and Giving PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, caught up in a dispute with the foundation that endowed the university's Wilson school, has returned more than $700,000 to the fund. CONGRESS IS CONSIDERING MEASURES that would permanently keep the tax incentives for making charitable donations from an individual retirement account (Tax Watch). GOODWILL INDUSTRIES has offered guidelines on the donation of used clothing, hoping to encourage donors to continue such gifts despite new restrictions passed by Congress last fall (Tax Watch). THE NEW WORLD SYMPHONY, in Miami Beach, received a $90-million pledge for its capital campaign; other recent gifts to nonprofit organizations and institutions. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: The nonprofit group No Strings International uses puppets and films to teach children in war-torn or disaster-stricken regions important safety information. Also in This Issue OPINION: Patty Stonesifer answers criticisms of the Gates foundation by a Chronicle columnist; and William A. Schambra suggests a new way to think about religious charities. LETTERS: defending socially responsible investing and competitive compensation for nonprofit executives. BOOKS: A guide for activists who pursue social change and a look at 'passionaries' -- people who turn compassion into action, plus summaries of other publications on the ways grant makers can help charities deal with executive transitions, how they can measure results, and lessons from a foundation neuroscience program. PRESS CLIPPINGS: Fortune tracks battles over donors' intentions, and Outside profiles a nonprofit environmental-news Web site. PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy.