News Briefing: Brands Help Fight Childhood Obesity

Big brands are steering millions in charitable dollars to building neighborhood playgrounds for children to help fight Childhood Obesity.  [New York Times]

Boston Foundation grant will pay for teacher development, curriculum development in math and literacy, and a clicker system that will boost participation.  [Boston Globe]

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: Thousands of Nonprofits May Lose Tax-Exempt Status

• The Rainforest Fund presents its annual benefit at Carnegie Hall, with a lineup that includes Elton John, Lady Gaga, and Sting.  [New York Times]

• More than 200,000 small nonprofits across the country are days away from losing their tax-exempt status because of new IRS forms they haven't filled out yet.  [Associated Press]

• An ugly fight over a $1 million grant results in a public dispute between the A Good Neighbor Foundation and the Cincinnati Museum Center.  [The Sunday Enquirer]

• The Smithsonian Institution will open a center in Haiti where American conservators will work side-by-side with Haitian staff members to repair torn paintings, shattered sculptures and other works pulled from the rubble of museums and churches.  [New York Times]

• Music fans brave a torrential rainstorm in New Orleans for a benefit concert raising money for fisherman affected by the oil spill in the Gulf.  [Associated Press]

News Briefing: Nonprofit Groups Hopeful but Wary as New York City Aims to Cut Red Tape

• Thousands of New York nonprofits brace for an ambitious change in the way the city awards $4 billion in contracts every year.  [New York Times]

• Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, brings low-interest credit to the poor and unemployed in Washington.  [Washington Post]

• The Baltimore Community Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, and the Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Foundation tap the value of older adult volunteers to strengthen five city neighborhoods.  [Baltimore Sun]

News Briefing: A Donor’s Gift Soon Followed Clinton’s Help

• Across New York, public employees turn down their raises and bonuses, citing the economic plight of fellow community members.  [New York Times]

• An upstate New York developer donated $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation as Hillary Rodham Clinton pushed bills to help his mall project.  [New York Times]

• Christmas wishes, posted online, are granted by a stranger.  [New York Times]

• Employees at nonprofit and educational organizations may face fewer investment choices and more restrictions on how they can use their retirement money because of new IRS rules.  [Associated Press]

• California philanthropic foundations and think tanks are shedding their traditionally detached stances to crusade for healthcare reform.  [Los Angeles Times]

News Briefing: Allen Donates $5M in Fight Against TB

• The Knight Foundation donates $25 million to the Newseum, a museum dedicated to the history of news that opens next month in D.C.  [Washington Post]

• With layoffs and cutbacks rippling through financial markets, charities brace for a slump in donations.  [Reuters]

• Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen donates $5 million to the fight against tuberculosis.  [Seattle Times]

News Briefing: Religious Groups Reap Federal Aid for Pet Projects

• Earmarks for religious organizations have increased sharply in recent years.  [New York Times]

• Gates Foundation to donate $7.1M for Gulf Coast Housing.  [Associated Press]

Symphony Gets $10 Million Grant

San Francisco Chronicle:  San Francisco philanthropist Richard Goldman is giving the San Francisco Symphony a $10 million challenge grant aimed at increasing the company's current $180 million endowment, which provides much-needed income to keep the music playing.

Students to Learn Art of Philanthropy

Boston Globe:  An anonymous donor impressed with Concord's history of community service has set aside $1.4 million to help five public and private schools in town mold a new generation of philanthropists.

Eldercare Reformer Among Heinz Winners

Associated Press:  When former emergency room doctor Bill Thomas took a part-time job at a nursing home, he didn't know he was taking the first step toward creating an international nonprofit organization that could revolutionize eldercare.