Li Ka-shing, one of Asia's wealthiest men, has donated more than $1-billion to charity.

David Lubarsky, for The Chronicle

The philanthropist Abigail Disney is a big proponent of unrestricted gifts.

David Stuart

Jonathan Reckford earned nearly $170,000 last year as head of Habitat for Humanity International.

Items relevant to more than one category may appear more than once in this summary. From the issue dated September 20, 2007 About Gifts and Giving AS WEALTH IN CHINA GROWS, philanthropy has begun to flower again, attracting the interest of American fund raisers. LI KA-SHING, a Hong Kong businessman, is also one of the most generous donors in Asia, though his giving does not suit everyone. MANY RICH DONORS IN CHINA have stepped up their giving: a sample list of the country's biggest givers. TWO MAJOR U.S. GRANT MAKERS, the Gates and MacArthur foundations, are looking to set up offices in China, where, despite the economic boom, poverty and other problems persist. RENEWED SCRUTINY by Chinese officials has dampened charities' hopes for improved relations between the government and the country's nonprofit groups. HOW ASIAN PHILANTHROPY HAS EVOLVED: observations from an American fund raiser in Hong Kong. A PLEDGE OF $100-MILLION to Children's Memorial Hospital, in Chicago, from Ann Lurie will help build a facility in the city's Streeterville neighborhood. THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER has received $20-million for a biotechnology building; other recent gifts to nonprofit organizations and institutions. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: The Young Survival Coalition, a charity in New York, seeks to help woman under 40 with breast cancer. About Fund Raising THE VOLATILITY OF THE STOCK MARKET could hurt fund raising, experts say, especially as charities enter the critical fourth quarter, but so far the impact on giving has been small. UNRESTRICTED GIFTS are an increasingly rare commodity, forcing fund raisers to look for creative ways to procure donations that don't have strings attached. 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 EXECUTIVE PAY AND BENEFITS at the largest U.S. nonprofit organizations far outpaced inflation last year, according to The Chronicle's annual compensation survey. BONUSES to top charity leaders more than doubled last year, the Chronicle survey found, reflecting their growing use as a way to attract talented leaders. THE COLLEGE-LOAN DEBT of some charity workers will be partially erased under legislation that Congress has passed and the president has said he will sign. MOST NONPROFIT MANAGERS find recruiting talented workers a challenge, a new survey has found, but they are generally satisfied with the employees they hire. CONGRESS MAY MAKE CHANGES in a law that has prompted many large foundations to invest heavily in overseas companies to avoid certain taxes (Tax Watch). THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE has decided that Focus on the Family, an organization known for supporting conservative causes, will keep its charity status despite the political activities of its chairman (Tax Watch). A FERTILITY-SERVICES ORGANIZATION whose secretary-treasurer is the principal sperm donor does not qualify for a federal tax exemption, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled (Tax Watch). THIS YEAR'S RECIPIENTS of the Purpose Prize, which honors innovative social-action projects by older Americans, include a doctor working to improve hospital safety and a nurse who provides care to poor newborns. WINNING THE PURPOSE PRIZE has helped several struggling charities grow quickly, but that has presented a new set of challenges. LEAVING THE GRIND of 26 years as a charity executive, one baby boomer took time away for reflection and turned to trusted friends for advice about his next step (Regeneration). SELLING PROGRESSIVE CAUSES will be Barry Kendall's main task as he takes up the reins of the Commonweal Institute, a six-year-old California think tank (New on the Job). About Technology CONVIO, a Texas company that sells software to charities, has announced plans to go public. A TEENAGER who used MySpace and Facebook to help raise money for humanitarian assistance in Darfur is now sharing notes from his summer trip to Sudan on the Oxfam America Web site. About Grant Makers COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS had a good year financially in 2006, with grants, assets, and donations all up, according to the findings of three surveys. FOUR GRANT MAKERS and a federal agency are providing money for an ambitious new effort to help low-income people get the skills they need to build strong careers. HOPING TO REACH THE MOON by 2012, the X Prize Foundation, with $30-million from Google, will sponsor a contest to encourage private organizations to develop a robotic lunar spacecraft. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. SUMMARIES OF ANNUAL REPORTS from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Joyce and Citigroup foundations. Also in This Issue OPINION: Pablo Eisenberg reviews Bill Clinton's new book, and Joel J. Orosz chides foundations for ignoring the lessons of history. BOOKS: A handbook for conservation professionals, a former president's advice on charitable giving, a guide to nonprofit advocacy, plus summaries of other publications on charity involvement in election campaigns, how foundation endowments can mesh mission and investment strategies, a new approach to getting average citizens involved in decision making, and a comparison of how well three efforts to prevent homelessness worked. PRESS CLIPPINGS: Time explores the possibilities of national service, and The Atlantic looks at the Clinton foundation's efforts to change the way markets — and philanthropy — operate. PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy.