Peter G. Peterson plans to spend $1-billion on a foundation that will finance efforts to promote a sound economy in the United States.

Arnold Adler, for The Chronicle

Peter Hansen runs a performing-arts center in Newark, N.J., that is building a retail and housing complex as a way to earn revenue now that private donations are declining.

Roark Johnson, for The Chronicle

Carter O'Brien is one of many employees helping Chicago's Field Museum figure out ways to go "green."

Jim R. Bounds/AP Images

Foundations and charities are working on ways to overhaul the nation's election system.

From the issue dated June 26, 2008 About Gifts and Giving ANGRY AT THE STATE OF U.S. FINANCES, Peter G. Peterson plans to put $1-billion into a new foundation that will support efforts to set the country on a new fiscal course. HOW PETER G. PETERSON managed to divert Congressional sentiment from a potentially crushing tax on foundations to a minimum-payout requirement instead. CRITICS HAVE LABELED Peter G. Peterson's efforts to promote fiscal responsibility hypocritical, pointing to the tax breaks for hedge-fund managers that helped him build his wealth. WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE generating unusual enthusiasm among voters, many charities are gearing up for efforts to get people to the polls — and to keep them engaged in political action after November 4. GET-OUT-THE-VOTE TACTICS are not equally effective, and charities are trying to be more scientific about determining which ones really work. TO HELP THE ELECTION GO SMOOTHLY, a number of foundations have put money into efforts to avoid voting-machine malfunctions, problems with voter rolls, and other glitches. HAROLD ALFOND, who founded the Dexter Shoe Company, has bequeathed his entire life savings — some $360-million — to the foundation in Portland, Me., that bears his name. RECENT GIFTS to nonprofit organizations and institutions. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: The School of Historic Preservation and Historic Trades at Eastfield Village, in New York, offers lessons on masonry, millwork, and other crafts that were common in the early 19th century. SUMMARIES OF ANNUAL REPORTS from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Lilly Endowment, and the Skoll Foundation. RECENT GRANTS by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. About Fund Raising CHARITABLE DONATIONS in 2007 rose just 1 percent over the previous year, Giving USA reports, and many charity officials believe 2008 will prove even tougher. INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS were the source of an unexpectedly small proportion of donations made in 2006 and 2007, Giving USA estimates indicate — just a quarter of 1 percent. RELIGIOUS CAUSES attracted the most money last year, the environment the least: how various segments of the charitable world fared in fund raising, according to Giving USA. GAMBLING-INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES have traditionally not been big givers, but Bob Levey found one who may signal the coming of a new breed of gaming chiefs. INTEREST RATES for planned gifts, issued by the Internal Revenue Service. UPDATE ON CAMPAIGNS for endowments, capital improvements, and other needs. About Managing Nonprofit Groups "GREEN" IS WHERE many charities are going, as more and more of them look for ways to make their operations more environmentally friendly. IN ZIMBABWE, amid political repression in advance of the upcoming presidential election, the government has suspended the relief operations of international charities working in the country. U.S. FOREIGN AID is scattershot and badly managed, says a coalition of nonprofit leaders and researchers that has put forward a set of recommendations for revamping the way America fights poverty overseas. THE NUMBER OF CHARITIES and private foundations registered with the Internal Revenue Service rose to more than 1.1 million in 2007, an increase of 6 percent over the year before. A COMMITTEE THAT ADVISES the Internal Revenue Service on nonprofit operations has urged the agency to be more cautious in its attempts to improve the governance of charities (Tax Watch). SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY, a prominent critic of nonprofit hospitals, has questioned a policy adopted by some of demanding payment from inadequately insured patients before they receive treatment (Tax Watch). THE ART ADVISORY PANEL of the Internal Revenue Service, in its 2007 report, has once again found that a large majority of artworks either given to charity or left to heirs are incorrectly valued by donors (Tax Watch). THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE has updated several tax rules that affect charitable donations, to account for inflation (Tax Watch). About Technology THE AMERICAN RED CROSS, in its response to the floods in the Midwest, has made extensive use of blogs to get information out to the news media and the public. THE FORMER JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR, no gamer herself, is promoting an interactive online game and civics curriculum designed to teach young people about the U.S. judicial system. BORROWING AN APPROACH from a successful giving site, a Michigan hospital has created an online wish list that allows donors to choose how they would like their gift to be used. About Careers in the Nonprofit World GIVING SOCIAL-SERVICE WORKERS the recognition they deserve and encouraging charities to come up with better ways to judge their performance are the twin aims of a new foundation. "ENCORE CAREERS" in nonprofit, government, or other work that benefits society have attracted more than five million older Americans, says a new study, and many more are interested. HAVING WORKED AS AN ADVOCATE for nonprofit groups, Peter V. Berns will now turn his attention to running one, taking over the reins of the Arc of the United States, which serves disabled people (New on the Job). HER BUSINESS WAS DESTROYED by Hurricane Katrina, but in working to rebuild after the storm Sharon Hanshaw found a new calling as a charity leader (Entry Level). PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. Also in This Issue OPINION: David Cohen and Larry Ottinger urge changes in the current lobbying culture to enhance the visibility of public-interest groups, Joshua Horwitz laments the "campaign effect" on nonprofit fund raising as donors direct their gifts to the presidential race, and Robert Egger calls on charities to counter state budget cuts with stepped-up advocacy. LETTERS: on training for trustees, the real mission of the Seasons Fund for Social Transformation, and additional views of philanthropy and racism. NEW BOOKS: A handbook for trustees, a compilation of essays for philanthropists, a critique of 'philanthrocapitalism,' and summaries of other publications on overseas giving, the state of the nonprofit world, and a multicultural approach to leadership.