The Scottish entrepreneur Tom Hunter has pledged $2-billion to education and humanitarian causes.

Paul Jeffrey/Action by Churches Together

Lutheran World Relief posts pictures like this on its Web site to demonstrate the work it is doing to rebuild the regions of South Asia that were devastated by the 2004 tsunamis.

Dennis Brack/Black Star, for The Chronicle

Ellen Miller co-founded the Sunlight Foundation to find new ways to harness the Internet to help citizens monitor Congress.

From the issue dated January 10, 2008 About Gifts and Giving WILLIAM BARRON HILTON, the hotel mogul, pledged $1.2-billion to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and said he will bequeath virtually the rest of his fortune to the grant maker as well. MR. HILTON'S GIFT topped the list of the single biggest donations made by individuals last year. SCOTLAND'S RICHEST MAN, Tom Hunter, has pledged to give most of his $2-billion fortune to charity, and his largess is credited with reawakening interest in philanthropy among wealthy Britons. THE NEW MUSEUM'S NEW SPACE in New York's Bowery neighborhood didn't come cheap, so it may be fitting that one of its inaugural exhibits is devoted to arts philanthropy (Dispatches). A WISCONSIN COUPLE has donated $175-million to help needy students go to public colleges; other recent gifts to nonprofit organizations and institutions. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: The McKenna Children's Museum, in New Braunfels, Tex., seeks to evoke the spirit of play. About Fund Raising THE FUND-RAISING DIVIDE between the haves and the have-nots — universities, museums, and their like on the one hand, and charities that serve the poor on the other — is growing wider. THE LION'S SHARE of big gifts and grants made in 2001-3 went to colleges and universities, medical and health organizations, and arts and cultural institutions, according to a new study. IN SEPARATE HEARINGS last month, members of two Congressional committees raised new questions about charities' fund-raising costs and businesses that enter into promotional deals with nonprofit groups. FOLLOWING A DISASTER like the Asian tsunamis of three years ago, many charities have trouble holding on to first-time donors who contribute to relief efforts; several charities have managed to overcome that challenge, however. 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 BOWING TO CRITICISM from many nonprofit leaders, the Internal Revenue Service will delay the deadline by which small charities and hospitals must begin to use all or part of the new Form 990. AMONG ITS PROJECTS FOR 2008, the Internal Revenue Service plans to look more closely at the tax-exempt status of universities and charities' business activities, the tax agency announced at a briefing. PUTTING THE WEB TO WORK in the cause of open government, the Sunlight Foundation hopes to expose the workings of Congress with the help of members of the public. COLLEGE COURSES in nonprofit management are the subject of new guidelines from the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council, the first such guidelines to focus on undergraduate studies. TRAINED IN AGRONOMY, Namanga Ngongi, a longtime U.N. official, came out of retirement to head the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, a project of the Gates and Rockefeller foundations (New on the Job). About Technology TWO ONLINE CONTESTS sponsored by the Case Foundation are designed to attract new donors while giving away $750,000. GIVEWELL, a grant maker that has promised transparency in its operations, has apologized after it was found to be engaging in some less-than-transparent promotions. THE GOOGLE FINANCE DATABASE offers information about charities, but the company has said it has no plans for a separate portal on nonprofit organizations. About Grant Makers THE EDNA MCCONNELL CLARK FOUNDATION has lined up several grant makers to contribute to a joint "growth capital" fund that will help three charities rapidly expand their operations. A $500-MILLION AWARD from BP America to the University of California at Berkeley tops the list of the 10 largest grants announced in 2007. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. Also in This Issue OPINION: The Chronicle asked charity experts for their thoughts on the coming year in the nonprofit world; Tracy Gary offers 10 predictions for 2008. LETTERS: defending advocacy by nonprofit groups and questioning the work of the Pennsylvania charities bureau. NEW BOOKS: A guide to creating nonprofit newsletters, a look at how to incorporate the Sarbanes-Oxley accountability standards into strategic planning, a handbook on community organizing, plus summaries of publications on the "achievement trap" for college students from needy families and how nonprofit and for-profit schools fared in an experiment to improve education. PRESS CLIPPINGS: The Weekly Standard calls for the next president to appoint a philanthropy czar, Portfolio examines the philanthropy of Wall Street's leaders, Smart Money looks at the frustrations facing donors who want to oversee how their gifts are used, and Kiplinger's explains how to operate a "giving circle." PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world.