Where Most Needed

Breaking Ranks with the Chronicle 400

The current methodology for ranking charities overemphasizes United Way and minimizes some other fundraising powerhouses. 

Harvard's Hospitals Gear Up to Go National

Beefed up development staffs generate record results, going after new money using a range of approaches from traditional golf events to small dinners and tours with a focus on venture medicine. 

AA Study Raises the Bar on Nonprofit Performance Measurement

Before long, smart donors may insist that charities demonstrate their effectiveness with randomized studies using double-blind controls.

Christians Want to Take Back the YMCA

After decades of emphasis on inclusiveness and physical fitness, some local Ys are putting renewed emphasis on their Christian roots and are delving into support groups for addiction and eating disorders. 

Sidebar: Benefactors Behaving Badly

Pledges are not the only area where donors put charities on the spot.

Sweatshop Approach Yields Educational Breakthroughs

Working teachers 15 hours a day and reducing summer break to one month is all it takes to bring poor minorty students up to national norms. 

Preventing Perfidious Pledges

Some large institutions are trying various ways to protect themselves from donors who don't take their pledges seriously. 

Charities Gain Little from Charity Property Tax Exemption

Hospitals and universities are the big winners and a few cities that rely heavily on property tax income are the losers. 

God's Publicist

The foundation started by Tennessee-born Sir John Templeton invests in unpopular big ideas like Science and Religion (and Humility, of course).

Millionaires, Raise Your Hands

A report on charity by the wealthy leads me to speculate on what the top of the US wealth pyramid really looks like.