Seattle

Jan. 20, 2010,  Kennewick, Wash., Tri-City Herald — Smoking almost killed Kennewick businessman John Lee, though he's still using cigarettes. But seven years after a double-lung transplant, Lee no longer smokes. Instead, he sells them to funnel money to his one-man nonprofit, Northwest Lung, which assists patients undergoing lung transplants in Seattle.

SEATTLE, The Associated Press — American charities have weathered a significant drop in giving this year, and while they're hoping for a holiday miracle, a recent survey shows they will probably see a decrease in year-end generosity.

Columbia, Md., November 12, 2009 — Merkle (www.merkleinc.com), one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing customer relationship marketing agencies, today announced the formation of its new Market Research Practice, which will provide new insights into client marketing programs by discovering and understanding how consumer beliefs and attitudes shape purchasing and engagement decisions. The new practice is part of Merkle’s Quantitative Solutions Group, which provides leading organizations with analytical insight and strategy to drive highly targeted and measurable marketing programs.

Columbia, Md., November 5, 2009 — Merkle (www.merkleinc.com), one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing customer relationship marketing agencies, today announced that its Response Management Group has been selected by Alley Cat Allies to provide contribution processing services in support of the organization’s direct mail fundraising program. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Alley Cat Allies is a national advocacy organization dedicated to protecting and improving the lives of cats through education, outreach and support for Trap-Neuter-Return programs. The work was successfully transitioned from the previous service company in August and the contract is ongoing.

A recently launched site called GiveAndDate.com intended for socially conscious, single New Yorkers that carries the tagline "Find love and save the world, all before lunch," pairs philanthropy with dating, and is coming to a city near you.

SEATTLE, October 21, 2009 — Amazon Payments, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), today announced that leading nonprofit organizations are accepting Amazon Payments just in time for holiday giving, making it just as easy to donate to your favorite charity as it is to shop on Amazon. Organizations such as American Red Cross, UNICEF, Greenpeace, Nature Conservancy, Feeding America, Heifer International, Autism Society of America, International Federation for Animal Welfare, Children’s Miracle Network and United Way of King County now allow Amazon customers to make donations quickly and securely using information from their Amazon.com account. Customers can visit www.amazon.com/holidaygiving from now through January 10, 2009 to learn more about “Holiday Giving with Amazon Payments.”