News Briefing: Christmas-Hating Ohioan Nabs Salvation Army Kettle

• A man who hates Christmas swipes a Salvation Army kettle in northwest Ohio.  [Associated Press]

• Some tax-exempt groups in the Boston area grant low-interest loans to their already highly paid officials.  [Boston Herald]

• An Associated Press analysis shows surging proportions of both low-income students and the recently boosted government money that follows them are ending up at for-profit schools.  [Associated Press]

News Briefing: Foundation Tied to Iran Has Donated to Columbia

• The Alavi Foundation is accused of illegally providing money and services to Iran.  [New York Times]

• The Global Fund distributes a $180 million grant to Zimbabwe's public health system.  [Associated Foreign Press]

• Forbes lists America's 200 largest charities.  [Forbes]

• The nonprofit Seeding Labs equips science laboratories at universities in Latin American and African countries.  [Boston Globe]

News Briefing: Russian Leader Expresses Support for Nonprofits

• The American Red Cross embarks on a holiday fundraising campaign, complete with an online gift catalog and advertising.  [New York Times]

• Andrew Cuomo files papers to shut down the United Homeless Organization, alleging it is a sham run by people who keep most of the cash donated to them.  [NBC News]

• Russian President Dmitri Medvedev calls for tax incentives and other measures to assist Russia's nonprofit groups.  [New York Times]

• Young heirs seek moral balance between inherited windfalls and social responsibilities.  [Washington Post]

News Briefing: Gates Donates $335 Million to Schools

• The Gates Foundation announces a $335 million investment in teacher effectiveness, with major grants for experiments in tenure, evaluation, compensation, training, and mentoring.  [Boston Globe]

• President Obama announces an Educate to Innovate campaign, whose purpose is to improve science and mathematics education for American children.  [New York Times]

• Princes William and Harry set up a grant-giving foundation to help young people, wounded servicemen, and help sustainable development at home and abroad.  [People Magazine]

• This holiday season, some workplaces replace the holiday party with donation drives.  [Washington Post]

News Briefing: Facebook Users Can Help Chase Find Small Charities

• A jury affirms the will of Houston oilman Alfred Glassell, ensuring part of his estate will benefit the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.  [Associated Press]

• JPMorgan Chase is letting Facebook users help decide how to give away $5 million.  [Associated Press]

News Briefing: $500 Million and Apology From Goldman

• Goldman Sachs is working with Warren Buffett to help 10,000 small businesses with business and management education, mentoring, and access to capital.  [New York Times]

• The City of Santa Monica is competing with Beverly Hills to become the home for a new museum to house Eli Broad's art collection.  [New York Times]

News Briefing: A Grand Gift to the Town from the Man You Can’t See

• The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington says that if the same-sex marriage law passes, the church will cut its social service programs that help residents with adoption, homelessness, and health care.  [New York Times]

• An attention-shy benefactor donates $20 million to the town of Townsend, Massachusetts.  [Boston Globe]

• New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo releases report that found that Long Island nonprofits who use telemarketres to solicit funds receive only 24.57 cents out of every dollar raised.  [Newsday]

News Briefing: American Charities May Not Have a Happy Holiday

• Only 38 percent of Americans say they are more likely to give a charitable gift as a holiday present this year, compared to 49 percent last year, according to a new survey.  [Associated Press]

• Consultants hired by the city of Cleveland propose that hospitals, universities, museums, and other tax-exempt institutions pay an annual fee to boost the city's bottom line.  [Plain Dealer]

• Bill and Melinda Gates make a $350 million payment of personal funds into their foundation's endowment for construction costs for their new headquarters.  [Seattle Times]

News Briefing: $10 million Gift Energizes Charter Chain

• KIPP, Houston's largest charter school chain, receives $10 million from the Gates Foundation.  [Houston Chronicle]

• The Barnes Foundation breaks ground in Philadelphia.  [Associated Press]

• A copy of the 2008 tax filing for the Goldman Sachs Foundation provides a glimpse of the legendary trading that has put the firm on track for its best year ever.  [New York Times]

News Briefing: Billionaires Learn Giving Is Only a Start

• The annual 'Giving' Section of the New York Times includes articles on every day donors, cause-related marketing, foundations spending down their endowments, and much much more.  [New York Times]

News Briefing: Charity Chips in $3 million of USOC Payment

• The El Pomar Foundation, one of Colorado's largest charities, announces a $3 million gift to help keep the U.S. Olympic Committee headquarters in Colorado Springs.  [Associated Press]

• Larry Jones, Feed The Children's Founder, is fired.  [The Oklahoman]

• International Christian groups respond to the recent flooding and mudslides in El Salvador.  [The Christian Post]

News Briefing: Confusion on Where Money Lent via Kiva Goes

• Kiva overhauls its explanation of how it works after a blog post questions its claims of direct loans.  [New York Times]

• The Wall Street Journal offers a special Philanthropy report. 

• Venture Philanthropy Partners announces a $4.5 million grant to Year Up.  [Washington Post]

• One Laptop Per Child, one of the most ambitious design projects of recent times, is still criticized by many.  [New York Times]

News Briefing: Denver Public TV Plans Nonprofit News Operation

• A Denver public television station plans a nonprofit investigative news operation with a Web site and on-air program.  [Associated Press]

• Dr. Grant Colfax, director of H.I.V. prevention and research in the Public Health Department in San Francisco, is concerned about the city's disparities in viral load and in care.  [New York Times]

News Briefing: National Trust's Chief Retiring

• Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, announces his retirement.  [Washington Post]

• Amherst College in Massachusetts receives 2 gifts totaling $125 million, the largest in school's history.  [Associated Press]

• The papers of the poet Siegfried Sassoon are likely headed to Cambridge University following a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.  [New York Times]

News Briefing: Nonprofit Groups Spin Off Green Ventures

• Nonprofit groups launch for-profit ventures that teach skills for green jobs.  [New York Times]

• The NAACP attempts to reach beyond its core black community.  [Washington Post]

• The California attorney general has raised nearly $10 million for two charter schools, an arts academy, and a military institude, all of which he founded as mayor of Oakland.  [Los Angeles Times]

News Briefing: Charities Eye Not-So-Generous Giving Season in Sour Economy

• The nation's 400 largest charities expect giving to decline by a median of 9% this year, according to a new survey.  [USA Today]

• Feed The Children founder Larry Jones authorized putting hidden microphones in the offices of three top executives.  [The Oklahoman]

News Briefing: After Complaints, Gates Foundation Opens Education Aid Offer to All States

• Madonna breaks ground for her $15 million Raising Malawi Academy for Girls.  [Associated Press]

• The Gates Foundation offers states up to $250,000 to prepare grant proposals for the Department of Education's $4 billion grant competition, known as Race to the Top.  [New York Times]

• The daughter of oil pioneer and cultural philanthropist Alfred C. Glassel is contesting his most recent of nine wills, claiming his lawyers coerced him into bequeathing most of it to charity.  [Houston Chronicle]

• The nonprofit company Social Vocational Services makes its owners wealthy.  [Los Angeles Times]

News Briefing: Billionaire Aids Charity That Aided Him

• Sergey Brin, the billionaire co-founder of Google, gives $1 million to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.  [New York Times]

• Paul and Diane Manning donate $5 million to fund diabetes research at the University of Virginia Health System.  [Washington Post]

• The President of the Baltimore City Council calls for an audit of the city's involvement with the Balitmore City Foundation.  [Baltimore Sun]

• Donors give to their favorite charities at rates similar to their grants before the recession.  [Associated Press]

News Briefing: Charity Christmas cards 'not always generous'

• Christmas charity cards are not always as charitable as they seem.  [AFP]

• Ethiopia's government asks for food aid for 6.2 million people.  [AFP]

News Briefing: Gates Foundation Grants Support Unusual Research

• The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington files for federal bankruptcy on the eve of a civil trial against the diocese and a former priest.  [Associated Press]

• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announce new grants of $100,000 each for 76 unconventional approaches to world problems.  [Associated Press]