The Occupy movement has brought economic inequality to the headlines.... While this has captured the public’s attention, differences in wealth have always existed, and states have tried to level the playing field by redistributing money through education spending, unemployment benefits, health care, welfare, and other means. 24/7 Wall St. has examined government spending by state in a number of categories to identify those that give the most and least in money and benefits to their residents. These are the states that give the most.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/finance-statesspreadwealth/?cid=hero_media

Fundraising at colleges and universities is not unlike the madness that surrounds the NCAA’s annual basketball tournament. The big, major conference schools can dominate at times but the smaller, so-called mid-major schools often give their bigger rivals their comeuppance in a shocking upset.

http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/article/detail/east-coast-vs-west-coast-public-vs-private-4583

The debate on how to fund the arts in the United States is not a new one.

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/05/01/how-to-fund-the-arts-in-america/american-philanthropy-is-unrivaled

As most people continue to batten down the financial hatches, an elite group of the world’s “stateless super-rich” is blossoming, and transcending geographical boundaries to purchase properties in major cities across the globe. With no strong ties to specific countries, these individuals lead nomadic, season-driven lives. Their choice of where to live at any one time is based on that location’s climate, their children’s education, tax constraints or which of their friends they want to lunch with on any particular day.

www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/740fff32-8d34-11e1-8b49-00144feab49a.html

Critics of recent efforts to regulate for-profit colleges have suggested that the Obama Administration is waging a “war” on for-profit universities. The reality is exactly the opposite: the for-profit sector is challenging a centuries-old practice of separating philanthropy from business.

www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/04/26/essay-profit-colleges-undermine-traditional-role-philanthropy

Nonprofits can gather expansive amounts of information about their online visitors by using free programs like Google Analytics. But how much of this information is really important—especially for groups that have limited time to track and analyze data about viewers?

http://philanthropy.com/blogs/social-philanthropy/3-online-traffic-measures-all-nonprofits-should-track/30605

Recently, when the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) came under fire from the left, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation withdrew its funding for the conservative group. Why did the foundation fund ALEC in the first place? A closer look at Gates Foundation and its growing influence reveals often-overlooked side effects of philanthropies.

http://www.policymic.com/articles/7522/gates-foundation-reveals-its-dark-side-after-ditching-alec

Financial advisers who don't address philanthropic planning with their clients stand to hurt their own businesses, according to King McGlaughon, chief executive of Foundation Source Philanthropic Services Inc.Surveys show that at least 75% of U.S. households are giving to charities. Typically, gifting rises as wealth increases.

http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120424/FREE/120429963

"Lately I’ve been telling people that one of the big hurdles to implementing predictive analytics in higher education advancement is the “project mentality.” We too often think of each data mining initiative as a project, something with a beginning and end. We’d be far better off to think in terms of “process” undefined something iterative, always improving, and never-ending..."

https://cooldata.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/for-agile-data-mining-start-with-the-basics/

Alphabetically arranged, this guide contains references to important primary sources of statistical information for the United States. Secondary sources have been included if the information contained in them is presented in a particularly convenient form or if primary sources are not readily available. Nonrecurrent publications presenting compilations or estimates for years later than 1990, or types of data not available in regular series, are also included. Data are also available in press releases.

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/guide_to_sources.html