News Briefing: In High Court Ruling on Haiti, Swiss Make an Awkward Break with Neutrality

• Switzerland's top court rules that at least $4.6 million from Swiss bank accounts previously awarded to charities must be returned to the family of former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier.  [Associated Press]

• Sean "Diddy Combs, Queen Latifah, and Pharrell will host a two-hour concert and telethon to benefit relief efforts in Haiti.  [Associated Press]

• The financially ailing St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan gets a month's reprieve to keep the hospital from closing.  [New York Times]

News Briefing: Pace of Giving Slows for Haiti Relief Effort

• Bill Clinton will return to Haiti on Friday to coordinate aid efforts.  [Associated Foreign Press]

• The pace of giving is slowing for the Haiti relief effort.  [Washington Post]

• UK banks expand their philanthropy services.  [Reuters]

News Briefing: Coupons for Rice Like Gold in Haiti

• In Haiti, paper coupons that can be redeemed for rice have become more valuable than Haitian money.  [Dallas Morning News]

• Simon Cowell-backed Haiti charity reworking of 'Everybody Hurts' gets first radio airplay.  [Associated Press]

• The aid flooding into Haiti by plane and boat is not reaching victims quickly enough to stem growing unrest because of transportation bottlenecks.  [Associated Press]

News Briefing: Williams College Will Bring Loans Back to Aid Packages

• Charity experts say there are downsides to cellphone philanthropy.  [USA Today]

• Boston College's Center on Wealth and Philanthropy estimates that US household giving for calendar year 2009 will total between $216 billion and $218 billion.  [Boston Globe]

• Williams College reintroduces loans - as opposed to direct scholarships - as a result of a $500 million drop in its endowment.  [New York Times]
   

News Briefing: Bill Gates Commits $10 Billion for Vaccines Over the Next Decade

• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will spend $10 billion to develop and deliver vaccines to children in the developing world.  [USA Today]

• A federal arbitration panel rules that Louisiana would receive $474.8 million - nearly all it had requested - to pay for the replacement of Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which has been closed since Katrina.  [New York Times]

• Neil Young is honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year.  [Associated Press]

News Briefing: White House to Dole Out $8 Billion in Rail Grants

• A prominent Islamic singer is arrested for his alleged ties with the Holy Land Foundation.  [Associated Press]

• The White House announces $8 billion in rail grants.  [Associated Press]

News Briefing: Wyclef Jean Talks About Haiti Relief Efforts in NY

• Singer and producer Wyclef Jean speaks about his recent trip to Haiti and the relief efforts by his foundation at a gathering in Harlem.  [Associated Press]

• Less than a penny of each dollar the U.S. is spending on earthquake relief in Haiti is going in the form of cash to the Haitian government, according to an Associated Press review of relief efforts.  [Associated Press]

• The trustee recovering assets for Bernard Madoff's investors reaches a $220 million settlement with the children of Norman Levy.  [Wall Street Journal]

News Briefing: Mayo Clinic's Philanthropy Campaign Raises $1.35 Billion

• Mayo Clinic raises $1.35 billion despite a weak economy.  [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

• The Gates Foundation plans to raise its health funding aimed to reduce maternal mortality in Malawi.  [Reuters]

News Briefing: Bill Gates Urges Lift By Nations Giving Aid

• Philanthropist Eli Broad is considering moving his foundation headquarters and a new museum to downtown Los Angeles.  [Associated Press]

• Bill Gates calls on governments around the world to boost foreign-aid budgets.  [Wall Street Journal]

• A "venture capital fund" to research learning technology receives Congressional appropriation through the Education Department.  [New York Times]

News Briefing: After 'Mistakes,' Wyclef Jean Group Gets New Accountants

• Bill Gates remains enthusiastic after his first year of full-time work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  [Seattle Times]

• The "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon, led by George Clooney and Wyclef Jean, has raised more than $57 million for relief, organizers said on Saturday.  [ABC News]

• Aid groups say Haiti's homeless are in need of hundreds of thousands of tents.  [New York Times]

• Nonprofit technology company Convio refiles plans to hold an initial public offering.  [Wall Street Journal]

• Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation makes sweeping changes in how donations are spent and accounted for after questions arise about the charity's previous spending practices.  [Washington Post]

News Briefing: 'Hope for Haiti' to Dominate the Airwaves

• Haiti's logistical hurdles are thwarting small nonprofits.  [Washington Post]

• Haiti has approved plans for more than a dozen sprawling tent cities in and around Port-au-Prince.  [New York Times]

• The two-hour, star-studded "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon is set to be one of the most widely distributed prime-time benefits in history.  [CNN]

• Philanthropist Alberto Vilar begs a New York court for mercy before his sentencing for conspiracy fraud.  [Associated Press]

News Briefing: Congress Working on Tax Deduction for Haiti Donors

• U.S. House passes a bill that allows charitable contributions made for Haiti before March 1 to be deductible on 2009 tax returns.  [Miami Herald]

• Nonprofits compete for a $1 million on Facebook through the Chase Community Giving award.  [Washington Post]

• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she wishes aid and relief would get to Haiti quicker, but recognizes the difficulties.  [CNN]

News Briefing: Arts Organizations Face Big Slump After Much Growth

• Relief workers say help is not reaching many of the 2 million residents in Port-au-Prince who need aid.  [CNN]

• Many U.S. arts organizations are struggling with greater competition for audiences and charity dollars.  [Associated Press]

• A push by celebrities, athletes, and the first lady encouraging text-message donations for earthquake relief in Haiti has contributed to a fundraising bonanza for the American Red Cross.  [New York Times]

News Briefing: U.S. Cellphone Users Donate $22 Million to Haiti Earthquake Relief Via Text

• The American Red Cross has received more than $22 million in U.S. text-message donations for Haiti earthquake relief efforts, far outpacing the charity's previous record of $400,000 for emergency relief using similar technology.  [Washington Post]

• Musician Wyclef Jean defends the integrity of his Yele Haiti Foundation with a YouTube video.  [Washington Post]

• New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chicago Mayor Richard Daly join Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin to announce grants of $200,000 apiece to ten cities.  [Associated Press]

• As financially strapped newspapers have scaled back, charitable foundations have poured tens of millions into nonprofit watchdogs in hopes of keeping politicians and businesses in check.  [Associated Press]

onPhilanthropy's Latest List of Orgs in Haiti

We've updated our list of organizations who have long been working on the ground in Haiti. We encourage our readers to visit the NGO's websites to learn how they are coordinating their existing programs with the urgent efforts to save lives and rebuild ravaged communities' access to healthcare, shelter, education and development opportunities.

• Action Against Hunger
• American Red Cross
• American Jewish World Service
• AmeriCares
• Beyond Borders
• CARE
• Catholic Relief Services
• CBM-US
• Childcare Worldwide
• Concern International US
• Direct Relief International
• Doctors Without Borders
• Feed My Starving Children
• Friends of WFP
• Haitian Health Foundation
• Hope for Haiti
• International Medical Corps
• International Relief Teams
• Medical Teams International
• Meds and Food for Kids
• Mercy Corps
• Operation USA
• Oxfam
• Partners in Health
• PLAN 
• Samaritan's Purse
• Save the Children
• SOS
• UNICEF
• World Concern
• World Vision
• Yele Haiti
  Wyclef Jean's grassroots org
  Text Yele to 501 501 to donate $5 via your cellphone

For those interested in helping immediately, simply text "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

News Briefing: Tensions Mount in Devastated Capital

• The American Red Cross has raised more than $5 million through its text messaging campaign.  [New York Times]

• Hollywood celebrities lead a rally for disaster relief donations.  [Reuters]

• Two American nonprofits challenge the patent of Plumpy'nut, a sweetened peanut paste that provides 500-calorie doses of vitamins and minerals to severely malnourished children.  [Associated Press]

• United Nations officials report that Haitians are growing helpless - and beginning to run out of patience.  [New York Times]

• The Judith Rothschild Foundation defaults on all 17 of its 2009 grants to artists' estates and arts organizations.  [New York Times]

News Briefing: Haiti Relief Effort Faces ‘Major Challenge’

• Charity experts say private donations will be critical to helping Haiti.  [USA Today]

• European and international relief organizations are worried that aid could be slowed by the damage to the country's airport, roads, and power supplies.  [New York Times]

• California ACORN breaks away from its parent organization.  [Los Angeles Times]

• Texas Governor Rick Perry says the state will not compete for up to $700 million in federal education money because the program is an intrustion on states' control over education.  [New York Times]

• The American Red Cross reports it has raised more than $800,000 through an online/text-messaging campaign.  [Baltimore Sun]

How to Help the Haiti Earthquake Relief Effort

As heartbreaking pictures continue to pour in from a devasted Haiti, and people continue to scramble for news about their loved ones, many are asking what they can do to help.  Here is a working list of organizations accepting aid for the ravaged nation.  We will continue to update this list as we receive news.

·  Action Against Hunger

·  American Red Cross

·  American Jewish World Service

·  AmeriCares

·  Beyond Borders

·  CARE

·  Catholic Relief Services

·  CBM US

·  Childcare Worldwide

·  Concern International US

·  The CRUDEM Foundation

·  Direct Relief International

·  Doctors Without Borders

·  Feed My Starving Children

·  Friends of WFP

·  Haitian Health Foundation

·  Hope for Haiti

·  International Medical Corps

·  International Relief Teams

·  Medical Teams International

·  Meds and Food for Kids

·  Mercy Corps

·  Operation USA

·  Oxfam

·  Partners in Health

·  Plan USA 

·  Samaritan's Purse

·  Save the Children

·  UNICEF

·  World Concern

·  World Vision

·  Yele Haiti

For those interested in helping immediately, simply text "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

   

News Briefing: Pastor Surprises Alma Mater with $10 Million in Lottery Winnings

• Goldman Sachs considers expanding a program that would require executives and top managers to give a certain percentage of their earnings to charity.  [New York Times]

• December brings mixed results for charity fundraising.  [USA Today]

• A pastor who won the lottery last summer surprises his alma mater, Morris College, with a $10 million check.  [Boston Herald]

News Briefing: Using a Pfizer Grant, Courses Aim to Avoid Bias

• Stanford University announces plans to develop new continuing education programs through a grant from Pfizer - but Pfizer will have no say on the programs themselves.  [New York Times]

• Elaine Wynn, wife of Wynn Resorts' founder and CEO, plans more charity work after her divorce.  [Associated Press]

• Afghanistan's Interior Ministry says a roadside bomb has killed three charity workers and wounded two others.  [Associated Press]