News Briefing: Giant's Rule is Blamed for Less-Full Red Kettles

• Billionaire Eli Broad unveils the designs for his LA museum.  [NPR]

 

• Limited collection time at Giant fuels drop in donations, says Salvation Army.  [Washington Post]

News Briefing: Iron Checkbook Shapes Cultural Los Angeles

• The Philadelphia Orchestra suffered unexpectedly weak ticket sales this fall, another blow in a spiraling financial crisis.  [New York Times]

• Eli Broad, billionaire philanthropist,is known to pull his support, resign from a board, or, in some cases, decline to fulfill his financial promises when a project comes together in a way he doesn't like. [New York Times]

• The weak economy forces some private colleges - including Dartmouth and Williams - to limit their student aid packages.  [Associated Press]

News Briefing: Wal-Mart Gives Fresh Food to Help Combat Hunger

• Wal-Mart plans on giving more than 90 million pounds of fresh food annually to the nation's largest nonprofit addressing hunger, Feeding America.  [New York Times]

• Eli Broad decides to build his own museum in Los Angeles.  [New York Times]

News Briefing: Bloomberg Gave Away More Money in ’07

• Mayor Bloomberg increases his charitable giving by almost 25%, donating $205 million in 2007, up from $165 million in 2006.  [New York Times]

• The Board of GiveWell punishes the second of its two founders for promoting the organization on the Internet under a false name.  [New York Times]

• The Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art insists that Eli Broad's recent announcement to loan, rather than donate, his art collection has a silver lining.  [Los Angeles Times]

• Neither Congress nor the Smithsonian's Board of Regents has moved decisively to implement changes recommended by an independent review committee.  [Washington Post]

• The YMCA redefines itself with a strategic plan aimed at tackling America's health crisis.  [Associated Press]

News Briefing: Habitat for Humanity Sued by Affiliate

• U.S. nonprofits are overwhelmed by people affected by the mortgage crisis.  [New York Times]

• The oldest affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International has filed suit to protest a new agreement that the nonprofit is imposing on its 1,600 chapters.  [New York Times]

• As the number of anonymous gifts increase, so too does the pressure to reveal benefactors' names.  [Wall Street Journal]

• Eli Broad decides to retain permaent control of his art collection in an independent foundation that makes loans to museums, rather than giving them away.  [New York Times]

News Briefing: Romney Vows to Donate Salary If Elected

• Mitt Romney said he would likely donate his salary to charity if elected president, a financial freedom he described as a byproduct of a successful business career. [New York Times]
• Thai activist against AIDS receives $1 million Gates Award for Global Health. [Boston Globe]
• Eli Broad is putting his wealth to work to improve urban schools in Washington, D.C. [Washington Post]

Los Angeles Opera Is Given $6 Million for a ‘Ring’ Cycle

New York Times: Eli Broad, the financier, has donated $6 million to underwrite the Los Angeles Opera’s first production of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle, the opera company said on Wednesday. The initial production of the four operas is tentatively planned to stretch over two years, starting in about two years.