Sen Max Baucus is trying to urge grant makers to give more to charities in rural states, like his native Montana.

Matthew Pace, for The Chronicle

Gary W. Kebbel, of the Knight Foundation, says the institution wants to hear what the public thinks about proposals it is financing.

Danuta Otfinowski, for The Chronicle

Jennifer Niyangoda says the Red Cross is earning significant sums by selling products that bear its name.

Items relevant to more than one category may appear more than once in this summary. From the issue dated July 26, 2007 About Gifts and Giving SCHOLARLY RESEARCH into what motivates people to give, the focus of a conference at Princeton University, confirms some common fund-raising principles but upends others. A UTAH BUSINESSMAN and his wife, on the verge of selling their company, have endowed their family foundation with $700-million, and plan to give more. THE WORLD'S RICHEST PEOPLE  — those worth at least a million dollars — gave $285-billion to charity last year, according to a new report. BEQUESTS FROM A CIVIL WAR VETERAN who died in 1928 have finally made their way to three Pennsylvania charities. THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN HEALTH SYSTEM received a pledge of $50-million for its cardiovascular center; other recent gifts to nonprofit organizations and institutions. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: The Police Athletic League's Play Street program runs summer activities for young people in New York City. About Fund Raising LICENSING AGREEMENTS that pay royalties to charities for specialty products bearing their name can be lucrative deals for nonprofit groups, but they're not for all organizations. THE STUTTERING FOUNDATION OF AMERICA is suing a federal agency for the right to continue raising money in the annual drive for government workers. DIRECT-MAIL SOLICITATIONS are yielding more money but drawing in fewer new donors, a survey by the Target Analysis Group reveals. UPDATE ON CAMPAIGNS for endowments, capital improvements, and other needs. INTEREST RATES for planned gifts, issued by the Internal Revenue Service. About Grant Makers RURAL AREAS receive a small share of U.S. philanthropic dollars, but new attention to the disparity — especially from Sen. Max Baucus of Montana — could improve their prospects. BRINGING PHILANTHROPY TO THE PEOPLE, some grant makers are asking ordinary folks to vote on who should get their money. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. SUMMARIES OF ANNUAL REPORTS from the Boston Foundation, the Global Fund for Women, and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Charitable Funds. About Managing Nonprofit Groups HURRICANE SEASON is upon us and warnings of terrorist attacks are escalating. Is the Red Cross ready? OPPONENTS of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives are rethinking their strategies following a Supreme Court ruling that limits legal challenges to the office's work. CONGRESSIONAL SPENDING over the next five years for programs of interest to charities may well be significantly higher than the amounts President Bush requested, an Aspen Institute study has found. NONPROFIT HOSPITALS would be required to devote 5 percent of their budgets to charity care, under a proposal for future legislation put together by staff members of the Senate Finance Committee (Tax Watch). AN ALLIANCE of religious groups has asked the Internal Revenue Service to exempt churches from filing a new tax form that lists the income charities derive from activities unrelated to their missions (Tax Watch). TAX WRITE-OFFS: The Internal Revenue Service is reminding small charities that they must fill out a new informational return, while the House Ways and Means Committee is seeking comments on tax issues that affect nonprofit organizations. THE SAME TECHNIQUES companies use to promote their brands of products can help power social movements, participants at a meeting of the American Marketing Association were told; other notes from the conference. MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL boasts the highest rate of volunteerism among major metropolitan areas, and Las Vegas has the lowest, according to a new federal-government report. AFTER 18 YEARS IN TV NEWS, Nicolla Hewitt, the new president of Seeds of Peace, will try to do something about the incessant conflicts she helped cover (New on the Job). About Technology OMIDYAR.NET, an online charitable forum, has announced it will shut down its message boards and interactive features. GOOGLE IS OFFERING e-mail and other software and services, as well as technology assistance, free to nonprofit groups. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SEVEN YEARS, the Federal Communications Commission will begin accepting applications in October for noncommercial, educational radio licenses. Also in This Issue OPINION: Pablo Eisenberg on the sluggish pace of reform at the Smithsonian, and Claire Gaudiani on why we should bury the term "nonprofit." LETTERS: touting the advantages of social enterprise, characterizing the level of giving in 2006, and questioning the practices of the federal government's charity drive. PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy.