Items relevant to more than one category may appear more than once in this summary. From the issue dated May 17, 2007 About Gifts and Giving METHAMPHETAMINE ABUSE, a problem with many unique challenges, has forced charities and grant makers to come up with innovative ways to combat the scourge. CONSIDERED A "WHITE" DRUG and a problem largely located west of the Mississippi, meth has been creeping eastward and gaining a foothold among African-Americans, American Indians, and Hispanics. THE MONTANA METH PROJECT, known and admired by many for its in-your-face public-education campaign, has nevertheless also drawn criticism for its exclusive focus on prevention. IN HAWAII AND MINNESOTA, community foundations working to fight methamphetamine abuse are confronting strikingly different manifestations of the same problem. THE RICHEST AMERICANS increased their charitable giving by 20 percent last year, but they may not be so generous in 2007, a survey has found. GIVING TO THE ARTS from individuals rose 2 percent from 2000 to 2005, while corporate support dropped precipitously, according to a new study. A CALIFORNIA DEVELOPER and his wife plan to leave the University of the Pacific a bequest of $100-million to create an endowment. A TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEUR has donated $75-million to start a new foundation; other recent gifts to nonprofit organizations and institutions. NEARLY 70 PERCENT OF FOUNDATIONS say they provide money to help charities pay for operating costs, a new report has found. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: Clown Care, a program run by New York's Big Apple Circus, sends entertainers to hospital pediatric wards in eight states and Washington, D.C. About Fund Raising A CAMPAIGN TO RAISE MONEY for a memorial in Washington to disabled veterans has been plagued with financial difficulties. A WATCHDOG GROUP reports that special fund-raising events such as walkathons cost an average of $1.33 for every dollar raised, but many charities have challenged the study's calculations. TO INCREASE CHARITABLE BEQUESTS, nonprofit groups should start courting younger donors, a new report says. FUND-RAISING IDEAS: Charities benefit from an event that mimics speed dating and from nationwide events where volunteers shave their heads, plus other efforts that have worked for a low cost. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS are as important to Americans as ever, if not more so, and are shaping many decisions about giving and making purchases, according to an online survey. UPDATE ON CAMPAIGNS for endowments, capital improvements, and other needs. INTEREST RATES for planned gifts, issued by the Internal Revenue Service. About Managing Nonprofit Groups AT THE FOREFRONT  — some would say the fringe — of efforts to separate church and state, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on a lawsuit it brought against the Bush administration's faith-based initiative. THE CHICAGO AFFILIATE of the American Lung Association has become the latest in a string of affiliates to part company with the national group over a planned reorganization. PEOPLE WHO VOLUNTEER, especially older people, live longer and recover from illness faster than those who don't give their time to charity, says a report from the Corporation for National and Community Service. UNITED WAY OF AMERICA announced a major new program aimed at helping low-income workers achieve financial stability. BABY BOOMERS  — those in Colorado at least — hope to use their impending retirement for purposeful activity, according to a survey of Denver-area residents age 55 to 65. A VOLUNTEER JOB helped a journalist realize she wanted to become a nonprofit activist (Entry Level). THE HOUSE COMMITTEE on Ways and Means has announced plans for hearings on tax-exempt organizations (Tax Watch). TAX RULES ON HEDGE FUNDS have been the subject of private discussions begun by the Senate Finance Committee, a move with possible consequences for some foundation and university endowments (Tax Watch). REPORTS ON CHARITIES by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance. About Technology THE NATURE CONSERVANCY AND IBM are working together on a computer system that will collate multiple data sets to help decision makers manage large river systems. A KIND OF ELECTRONIC SUGGESTION BOX, an "ideas portal" on the Rockefeller Foundation's Web site allows people to propose new projects for the grant maker. A NEW DATABASE being developed at Stanford University's medical school could become a key weapon in the global fight against tuberculosis. NEW VERSIONS of classic John Lennon songs downloaded from iTunes will help raise money for Amnesty International's campaign to help the victims of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. About Grant Makers COLLABORATION was a recurring refrain at the Council on Foundations' annual conference, as grant makers were exhorted to join forces with business and government to broaden the impact of their giving. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. Also in This Issue OPINION: Matthew Weiner urges foundations to get over their fear of religion, and Meredith Minkler and Marty Martinson question the current thinking on the "civic engagement" of older Americans. LETTERS: extolling the Ford Foundation, defending grant making in the arts by the Rockefeller fund, questioning a New York charity's approach to child welfare, and looking at the road ahead for the Red Cross's new CEO. PRESS CLIPPINGS: Harvard Business Review talks to the man in charge of the MacArthur Foundation's "genius" awards; and Time lists philanthropists among its 100 most influential people. BOOKS: A look at the role big donors play in shaping the American theater, an overview of how small loans are fighting poverty around the world, and summaries of other publications on foundations and shareholder votes and holding house parties that raise money. PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy.