Dennis Whittle founded GlobalGiving, an organization that links donors with projects in developing countries.

Michael Ventura, for The Chronicle

Christine Nyirjesy Bragale, a spokeswoman for Goodwill Industries International, seeks to battle the jargon her colleagues use to describe their work.

Greg Travis/The Ledger/AP Images

A participant in the Young Authors summer camp run by Murray State University gets his creative juices flowing by donning a sombrero.

From the issue dated August 7, 2008 About Gifts and Giving PEER-TO-PEER GIVING seems to be flourishing on the popular Web sites that help small donors contribute directly to charitable projects, though most such sites have yet to become self-sustaining. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, working with the Calvert Social Investment Foundation, has begun offering low-interest notes to investors, the money from which will go into the construction of more low-income housing. SUMMERTIME MEANS CAMP, and across America nonprofit camps are working hard to bring the outdoor experience to kids who might not otherwise enjoy it: a portfolio of photographs. RECENT GIFTS to nonprofit organizations and institutions. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: Kärcher, a German company that specializes in industrial cleaning, donates its services to clean the world's greatest monuments. About Fund Raising GLOBAL COMPETITION for donations, and patterns in women's giving, were among the topics covered at a Washington conference for fund raisers and marketers. AN ONLINE ARCHIVE of fund-raising case histories and materials, established by a British charity, showcases innovative approaches to the craft from around the world and across the centuries. INTEREST RATES for planned gifts, issued by the Internal Revenue Service. UPDATE ON CAMPAIGNS for endowments, capital improvements, and other needs. About Managing Nonprofit Groups JARGON BUSTERS are on the march in the nonprofit world, hoping to turn their colleagues on to the advantages of communicating in plain English. MANY PEOPLE WHO VOLUNTEER do not continue, often because charities fail to sufficiently engage them, say the authors of a federal report. THREE CHARITIES IN FOUR engage in some advocacy work and lobbying, but not a great deal of it, a new survey has found. FEDERAL ANTITERRORIST POLICIES put in place after September 11, 2001, continue to hamper charities that work overseas, according to a new report by two nonprofit groups. THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE is looking into whether nonprofit organizations may be using offshore accounts to avoid paying unrelated-business income tax, or UBIT, an agency official told the Senate Finance Committee (Tax Watch). A FAMILY GROUP that says it is engaged in "street ministry" but has no established congregation and conducts no regular services does not qualify for tax exemption as a church, the Internal Revenue Service has determined (Tax Watch). About Technology SNAGFILMS is a Web site that offers a new method for distributing documentary films — and a new way to attract supporters to the causes documentaries espouse. SOMETHING AS SIMPLE as a pop-up box has helped the University of Pennsylvania gain valuable information on what prompts its online donors to give. TECHNOLOGY BITS: A direct-marketing company is taking over an online fund-raising business, an online-giving site is merging with a nonprofit group that promotes ethics, and nominations have opened for a prize to honor programmers who develop software that helps social-change charities. About Grant Makers ANTISMOKING EFFORTS, particularly in developing countries, will get a major boost from a $375-million joint commitment by Michael Bloomberg and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. WITH THE DEATH OF JOHN TEMPLETON, the mutual-fund pioneer, the assets of the foundation he established in 1987 stand to grow by some 50 percent, mostly likely putting the fund among the 30 wealthiest in the United States. THE PATTERSON FOUNDATION, in Florida, has received an unrestricted bequest of $225-million from Dorothy Clarke Patterson, whose husband was a vice president of the New York Daily News and a son of the newspaper's co-founder. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. NEW GRANT PROGRAMS announced by foundations and corporations. About Careers in the Nonprofit World WHERE TO START LOOKING for jobs in corporate grant making and how to fashion an appealing résumé are among the tips offered in our bimonthly advice column (Hotline). A CAREER IN ADVERTISING turned out to be a perfect introduction to nonprofit work for Robert Sproul, as he took over leadership of the Fritz Institute, a charity that seeks to improve disaster preparedness around the world (Entry Level). A BUSINESS EXECUTIVE who has helped large corporations become more diverse and inclusive, David Thomas will now put his energy into the same efforts at the YMCA of the USA (New on the Job). PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. Also in This Issue OPINION: Ralph E. DeJong and Michael W. Peregrine plumb the lessons offered by a New York court case on the compensation of the former head of the New York Stock Exchange; Alan J. Abramson and Lester M. Salamon urge charities to become their own most vocal advocates; and Mary Ann Hogan demonstrates how small words and short sentences can make the nonprofit world a better place. NEW BOOKS: A guide for wealthy donors, a handbook on ethical fund raising, plus summaries of other publications on insights into questions donors have about charities and helping disabled children participate in nonprofit programs.