Sidney Kimmel, who has earned millions of dollars in the apparel industry, plans to give away most of his fortune before he dies.

Shan Gordon, for The Chronicle

Gary Vikan, head of the Walters Art Museum, in Baltimore, pushed the institution to drop its admission fees.

Jean-Christin Bourcart

Wendy Kopp has helped raise $60-million to fuel the growth of Teach for America, the charity she founded.

Items relevant to more than one category may appear more than once in this summary. From the issue dated September 6, 2007 About Charity Expansions BRINGING THEIR OPERATIONS "TO SCALE," a growing number of successful young charities are working to expand the size and reach of their programs. TEACH FOR AMERICA, founded in 1990 and nearly bankrupt five years later, now has big plans for increasing the number of graduates of prestigious colleges it places in troubled schools. UPWARDLY GLOBAL, a San Francisco charity that helps underemployed immigrants find better jobs, looked all the way to the opposite coast, to New York, when it sought to bring its services to new clients. CITY YEAR recruits young people for a year of community service and sets up in a new locale only when the place can demonstrate its soundness as a site for the program. BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF AMERICA, at 103 years old, is hardly typical of the relatively new charities trying to expand their operations, but since 2000 it has doubled the number of children it serves. HELPING DONORS CALCULATE the social "return" on their gifts, a financial service in New York at the same time helps charities raise money for growth — all for a potentially stiff fee. About Fund Raising MIDSIZE MUSEUMS are dropping admission fees and trying to raise money from private sources to make up for the lost revenue. 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 NONPROFIT OFFICIALS want the Internal Revenue Service to slow down its overhaul of the informational tax form that charities are required to file. A CONTROVERSIAL PLAN to vet charities for links to terrorists has been delayed while the U.S. Agency for International Development continues to review comments on the proposal. THE STUDENT-LOAN DEBT of some charity workers would be forgiven under a bill passed by the House of Representatives, and proponents hope to persuade the Senate to accept the provision. HELPING BABY BOOMERS change the course of their work lives is the mission of a fledgling Minneapolis charity that has tapped into a growing trend. STEPPING OUTSIDE HER TRADITIONAL ROLE set a Laotian immigrant on the road to founding a charity that helps other Hmong women adapt to life in the United States (Entry Level). About Gifts and Giving SIDNEY KIMMEL, chairman of the Jones Apparel Group, is a philanthropist whose name has become synonymous with cancer research. LEONA HELMSLEY, the head of the Helmsley Hotel Chain who died last month, has left the bulk of an estate worth billions of dollars to a charitable trust. THE MEMORY OF A YOUNG MAN killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001, lives on in a charity established by his parents to help the victims of similar trauma. JERRY LEWIS, the antic comedian known for his yearly muscular-dystrophy telethons, is considered the most effective celebrity spokesman for charity, according to a new survey. THE CHAIRMAN OF NIKE and his wife plan to give the University of Oregon $100-million to help its athletics department remain self-supporting. GORDON COLLEGE, in Massachusetts, has received a pledge of $60-million; other recent gifts to nonprofit organizations and institutions. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: The Student Conservation Association has put more than 50,000 young people to work on environmental projects around the country. About Technology MANY DONORS get information on the charities they support on the Internet, often from a nonprofit group's own Web site, a new survey indicates. AN ONLINE COMPETITION sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is seeking the best ideas for using video games to promote healthy living. TECHNOLOGY BITS: Nonprofit groups can get free help learning how to improve their visibility on Internet search-engine listings; Celebs Gone Good is a new blog that chronicles people who are using their wealth and fame to benefit society. About Grant Makers COMPANIES AND FOUNDATIONS gave more than $1-billion toward relief efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 14 percent of all private donations to the cause, the Foundation Center reports. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. Also in This Issue OPINION: Michael W. Peregrine argues for including lawyers in the work of nonprofit boards; Aaron Dorfman says that, when it comes to promoting philanthropic aid to rural areas, Sen. Max Baucus needs to stop preaching to the choir. LETTERS: on giving the public a voice in grant making, fixing the lingering damage done by Hurricane Katrina, and donating through the Product Red campaign. PRESS CLIPPINGS: Condé Nast Traveler follows Bill Clinton on a philanthropic journey; and Fast Company looks at an environmentalist's work with Wal-Mart. BOOKS: Ideas for ending poverty, a handbook on fund raising, and summaries of other publications on giving trends in New England and running a successful fund-raising auction. PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy.