News Briefing: Retailer Links with Musicians for Green Causes

• The Art Institute of Chicago has received a $10 million gift from the Jaharis Family Foundation.  [New York Times]

 

• Patagonia launches a new music initiative, where fans can get exclusive tracks and the profits go to green causes.  [Associated Press]

 

• Nelly Furtado will donate the $1 million she was paid to perform for members of Gadhafi's clan.  [Associated Press]

News Briefing: Pittsburgh Foundation Receives $50M Gift

• The Pittsburgh Foundation receives $50M from a savvy and unassuming investor.  [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

• The National Park Service announces 17 fee-free days in an effort to promote budget-friendly getaways.  [Washington Post]

• The Otis Booth Foundation donates $13 million to the Los Angeles County's Natural History Museum.  [Los Angeles Times]

News Briefing: Pepsi Refresh Contestant Claims Rules Were Broken

• A group battling childhood cancer has filed a complaint against Pepsi, contending that its fundraising contest, Pepsi Refresh, has been infiltrated by organizations with a political agenda.  [New York Times]

• Saturday's Farm Aid concert will feature 15 musical acts, including Willie Nelson, one of its founders.  [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

• Ten U.S. cities are recruiting volunteers to help with local problems as part of a nationwide emphasis on service led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  [Associated Press]

News Briefing: Tax-Exempt Funds Aid Settlements in West Bank

• Some groups in the U.S. use tax-exempt donations to help Jews establish permanence in the Israeli-occupied territories.  [New York Times]

• Warren Buffett makes his annual gift to the Gates Foundation.  [Bloomberg]

• BP says it has yet to decide how to handle claims filed by religious groups and other charitable organizations that are endangered because people can no longer afford to contribute.  [Associated Press]

• Companies find ways to bypass the ban on earmarks.  [New York Times]

News Briefing: Nature Conservancy Faces Potential Backlash From Ties with BP

• Grammar-school-aged activists raise money, create awareness, and volunteer.  [The Orlando Sentinel]

• The Nature Conservancy faces potential backlash from its ties with BP.  [Washington Post]

• The new organizational model that a younger, globally connected workforce demands is one that blends social and commercial goals, and attracts talent with visionary leadership and social mission.  [Seattle Times]

News Briefing: Sierra Club Head Calls Spill View 'Deeply Moving'

• Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune calls the Gulf Coast oil spill "deeply moving."  [Associated Press]

• New York Gallery Week finds arts organizations collaborating in new and unusual ways.  [Wall Street Journal]

News Briefing: Foundation Promotes Art as Well as Sole Trustee

• Thousands of volunteers stack sandbags along the Red River in Fargo in the face of a severe flood.  [Associated Press]

• A major beneficiary of the Judith Rothschild Foundation has been its sole trustee.  [New York Times]

• The Bullitt Foundation plans to build Seattle's greenest building ever, a six-story structure that generates as much electricity as it consumes.  [The Seattle 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: Jay-Z to Give Sept. 11 Benefit Concert in NYC

• Jay-Z will hold a September 11th benefit concert in New York City.  [Associated Press]

• A new nonprofit group in San Jose will help to fill a void in park services that continue to be targeted for cuts.  [San Jose Mercury News]

News Briefing: For Agassi, Cheers for Work Off the Court

• The school Andre Agassi founded draws a visit from the Secretary of Education.  [New York Times]

• The Will Rogers Ranch Foundation asks the California Department of Parks and Recreation to allow it to manage and operate the Will Rogers State Historic Park.  [Los Angeles Times]

• Bill Gates and Bill Gates Sr. give a rare father-son interview with USA Today.  [USA Today]