Suzanne Perry

May 3, 2010, Chronicle of Philanthropy — The Department of Education officially started the Promise Neighborhoods program, inviting applications for $10 million in grants to plan comprehensive antipoverty projects in urban neighborhoods, rural areas, or tribal communities.

The department said it would award up to 20 one-year grants of between $400,000 and $500,000 for projects modeled after Harlem Children's Zone, a charity program that offers educational and social services to help poor children from birth to college in a nearly 100-block area in New York.

The application deadline is June 25, and grants will be awarded by September.

April 30, 2010, Chronicle of Philanthropy — Twelve foundations announced today they plan to spend $506-million this year on grants designed to bolster a new $650-million federal grant program to expand innovative school-improvement projects.

"We see this as a real moment of opportunity for the country," said Michelle Cahill, a vice president at Carnegie Corporation of New York, which is coordinating the effort along with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The grant makers said in a statement they have also created an online registry to make it easier for groups to apply for, and share information about, the new federal program, known as the Investing in Innovation, or "i3," program.

Feb. 18, 2010, Chronicle of Philanthropy — The Corporation for National and Community Service issued its final notice today on how it plans to spend the Social Innovation Fund, paving the way for organizations to prepare their grant applications.

Feb. 11, 2010, Chronicle of Philanthropy -- A tax credit that is part of a draft jobs bill that the U.S. Senate is now considering could provide $1-billion in benefits to nonprofit groups and generate from 8,000 to 18,000 new nonprofit jobs, according to an analysis by the Alliance for Children and Families.

Jan. 25, 2010, Chronicle of Philanthropy — The U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Thursday to lift restrictions on corporate campaign spending has drawn sharp attacks from government watchdogs and other nonprofit groups that fear it will allow businesses to drown out the voices of individuals, charities, and smaller advocacy organizations.

November 11, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — A coalition of nonprofit groups today announced a campaign to unite civilian and military organizations in community-service projects to help military personnel, veterans, and their families — and described more than 30 specific projects.

October 22, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — A task force of more than 20 nonprofit, government, and business leaders issued a report this week proposing ideas for better managing volunteers so they can have more impact.

October 16, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — President Obama made another pitch for community service today while praising President George H.W. Bush for ushering in a new spirit of volunteerism with his inaugural call for “a thousand points of light” 20 years ago.

Washington, October 15, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy -- Starting today, the Corporation for National and Community Service will no longer allow people to register volunteer opportunities directly on Serve.gov, the Obama administration’s volunteer Web site — a move that was welcomed by some nonprofit groups that operate their own volunteer-matching sites.

October 13, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — The Senate Finance Committee Tuesday passed health-care legislation that would allow small charities to receive a tax credit to help them provide health insurance to their employees.