Charitable contributions to colleges and universities in the United States increased 8.2 percent in 2011, reaching $30.30 billion, according to results of the annual Voluntary Support of Education (VSE) survey. The findings were released today by the Council for Aid to Education (CAE).
Adjusted for inflation, giving increased 4.8 percent.

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2012/02/15/colleges.pdf

We derived America’s wealthiest locales from the Census Bureau’s latest American Community Survey, released in December 2011, which measures median household income as of the end of 2010. The survey breaks down the country into more than 29,000 cities, towns, villages and what the Census Bureau calls CDPs (Census Designated Place – a small area within a larger town or city with no local government of its own but which otherwise resembles a town).

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanriper/2012/02/13/americas-most-affluent-neighborhoods/

The Internal Revenue Service has developed an online database of 400,000 nonprofits that have lost their tax-exempt status for failing to file tax returns.Previously, the IRS released information about groups that had lost their tax-exempt status only by state, which made it difficult to find groups by other criteria. The new Exempt Organizations Select Check is updated monthly and is on the same Web page as the agency’s main database of all nonprofits that can accept tax-deductible donations.

http://philanthropy.com/blogs/government-and-politics/irs-makes-finding-charity-status-easier/30142

Lost amid the debate about the budget put forward by the White House yesterday was a provision that continues the administration’s war on philanthropy. Obama’s call for dangerous cuts in defense spending he says he will spend on infrastructure at home got most of the headlines. But the budget also called for limiting itemized deductions, a measure that could have a grievous impact on philanthropies that are more desperate for funds than ever in a shrinking economy.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/02/14/obama-war-on-philanthropy-charitable-giving/

As state support for higher education erodes, public universities need to develop distinctive niches, become entrepreneurial and self-supporting, and recognize that no matter how much they lobby, their days of counting on state legislatures to subsidize their programs are nearing an end, the authors of a forthcoming book told an international gathering of business deans on Thursday.

http://chronicle.com/article/Universities-Must-Adjust-to/130725/?key=QT8mJwNpZnQVM3FrZzkXZG0GPXQ/Zk53ZiQcbHsnbltQEA%3D%3D

The common assumption is that charitable giving trends parallel economic activity. But given the year that was, it's a good thing this wasn't the case for 2011. Giving nationwide rose 7.5 percent in 2011 compared to 2010, a new Atlas of Giving report says. What's more, charity outpaced economic growth in 2011, which climbed just 1.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/03/charity-outpaced-economic-growth_n_1252361.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

Stanford’s announcement today that it has raised $6.2-billion in a campaign with a goal of $4.3-billion seems all the more remarkable given that the drive took place amid a severe recession.

http://philanthropy.com/blogs/prospecting/how-stanford-raised-6-billion-in-hard-times/32290

eBay Chairman Pierre Omidyar’s brand of investing in social change is having a significant impact on philanthropy, much as his company did in commerce, USA Today writes in a profile of the technology mogul and philanthropist.

http://philanthropy.com/blogs/philanthropytoday/tech-billionaire-omidyar-wins-praise-for-approach-to-giving/44492

We think you should each take a look at Wikimedia’s blog post about what it found out through its survey of why readers donate to the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia, and who they tend to be. If you will remember, Wikimedia’s most recent fundraising campaign raised $20 million from readers.

http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19746:wikimedias-study-reveals-big-tip-about-online-donors&catid=155:nonprofit-newswire&Itemid=986

After surprisingly successful financial reform, public vilification, and politics that have turned against them, the Masters of the Universe are masters no longer.

http://nymag.com/news/features/wall-street-2012-2/?imw=Y&f=most-emailed-24h5