• Bill Cosby will be auctioning off some of his legendary patterned sweaters to benefit a charity established in memory of his late son.  [Reuters]

• The tax-exempt status of nonprofit institutions is increasingly being challenged.  [New York Times]

• The World Bank announces $1.2 billion in loans and financing to expand its assistance to poor countries struggling with the soaring price of food and fuel.  [Reuters]

• The Robin Hood Foundation raises $56.6 million in one night; 21 percent less than last year.  [New York Times]

• Universities' academic programs can be shaped by the interests - and restrictions - of their donors.  [New York Times]

• Billionaire bond trader will auction the Scandinavian portion of his international stamp collection, to benefit the Millennium Villages Project at the Earth Institute at Columbia.  [New York Times]

• Charities look for new ways to reach current and prospective donors as they brace for fewer corporate contributions during the economic downturn.  [New York Times]

• Thomas Jefferson's library is re-created at the Library of Congress.  [Washington Post]

• Laura Bush, founders of the Gap, and others honored for their support of children.  [Associated Press]

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation commits $50 million to expand HIV prevention efforts in China.  [Associated Press]

• Number of million-dollar pay packages for univeristy presidents nearly doubles.  [New York Times]

• Less than ten percent of raffle ticket for the Naperville Rotary Charities' House of Dreams Charity Raffle in Chicago will get donated to charity.  [Chicago Tribune]

• Antioch College trustees agree to keep the school open; plan contingent on aggressive fundraising goals over the next three years.  [Associated Press]

• Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson III and his wife, Monica, establish a family foundation focused on education and health care.  [Washington Post]

• For New York's art institutions, tensions exist between the art and the administrative and architectural structures built to support that art.  [New York Times]

• Thirteen alumni of the University of Wisconsin donate $85 million in exchange for assurances that its business school would not be named for any donor for at least twenty years.  [Associated Press]

When it comes to changing the world, you don’t need to know everything to begin to make a difference. That was the message of several major philanthropists this weekend at the Greenbrier, where the Wealth & Giving Forum convened prominent families, experts in the field of water and poverty alleviation, and other leaders in an atmosphere that encouraged open discussion of philanthropy and its place in the world.

 “You know, I was Depression baby and somehow you get that drive, chasing the American dream,” Kenneth Behring told the attendees in the open plenary. “I was at the top of the mountain but it was bare. And I learned that there has to be more to life than possessions.”

Behring is among the nation’s richest men, a self-made entrepreneur who built a substantial fortune in real estate, automobiles and sports franchises. But he has made philanthropy his life’s passion over the last decade – creating a charity to provide wheelchairs for the poorest of the poor, and more recently, as the catalyst behind WaterLeaders, a foundation dedicated to creating a “Safe Water Generation” by providing comprehensive and sustainable water solutions. His advice to other wealthy families was both simple and powerful – and it set the tone for the gathering:

“Look it's more than money. You have to get involved, you have to go there and see what's happening with your money. You have to get your hands dirty.”

And that's the whole point of the Wealth & Giving Forum, created in 2003 by Greensboro, North Carolina philanthropist Leonard Kaplan: to increase giving and hands-on commitment by those who've done well in life. The founder spoke on Sunday about the gathering's impact:

“This is something that seems to produce good feelings – both spiritual and intellectual feelings. When you combine those two things, you reach an whole other plateau.”

Speaker after speaker this weekend sounded the call of personal involvement in causes - from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s passionate attack on systemic pollution of waterways to Jean Case's description of her personal journey in providing cleaner water to villages in Africa. I'll have more specific reports on the sessions over the next several days - including discussion of the ongoing post-Katrina humanitarian crisis in New Orleans, the impact of water concerns on international security, and several stories of life-changing philanthropic commitments. And we'll explore a few of the larger themes.

The weekend's moderator and genial session host, veteran political analyst Jeff Greenfield of CBS News, may well have captured the feelings of those of us who do not have millions to invest in fighting poverty:

“Many of you who come here are people of great means, and you are used to envy. It’s understandable. But for me, it’s not about material stuff. .. The envy I have is for what you’re able to do.”

Visitors have been visiting this scenic corner of West Virginia since 1778 to "take the waters" at White Sulphur Springs. This week, the philanthropists gathering at the Greenbrier resort also has water on their minds, but not in the therapeutic sense. They're here under the banner of the Wealth & Giving Forum to explore water and its role in the developing world, its power and threat domestically, its role in worldwide conflict, and how philanthropy and social ventures can provide cleaner water for a world that needs it.

A deep and involved line-up of speakers will tackle a range of topics around water at this invitation-only meeting, which allows philanthropic families to discuss issues like clean water in intimate, private setting. Many of the sessions are closed, but I've been granted permission to cover the panel discussions and major presentations over the next three days. Blog posts wil appear next week.

The Wealth & Giving Forum was founded in 2003 to promote greater generosity among individuals and families of significant means and to make more resources available for good causes. Through its semi-annual invitation-only gatherings, regional and topical programs, and publications, the Forum provides a "private meeting ground for individuals and families to reflect with their peers on how best to allocate their wealth."

Among many others, speakers are slated to include:

• Waterkeeper Alliance president Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
• Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation
• Paul Schervish, director of the Center of Wealth & Philanthropy at Boston College
• Jeff Flug, CEO of Millennium Promise
• Kenneth Behring, founder of the WaterLeaders Foundation
• Mike Moore, former prime minister of New Zealand and Director-General of the WTO
• Yasmina Zaidman of the Acumen Fund
• John Mroz, president of the East-West Institute
• Munther Haddadin, former minister of water and irrigation, State of Jordan
• Shimon Tal, former water commissioner, State of Israel
  
• Ray Jetson, CEO of the Louisiana Family Recovery Corps

So check back here beginning next week for updates and reports from the sessions.

[Editor's Note: the Wealth & Giving Forum is a client of Changing Our World, Inc., onPhilanthropy's parent company.]

• Charitable golf events generate more cash for players than they do for charities.  [Washington Post]

• California nonprofit subsidizes Schwarzenegger's travel costs.  [Los Angeles Times]

• Live Earth aims to "trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis."  [Associated Press]

• Drag racer loses control in Tennessee charity car show; kills six people and injures twenty more.  [Associated Press]

• Habitat for Humanity's homes in a development in Jacksonville are criticized.  [New York Times]

• Mega-charity Autism Speaks experiences rift in the debate over causes of the neurological disorder.  [New York Times]

• Lincoln Museum acquires an immense private collection, including a stovepipe hat and gloves stained with the president's blood, put together by a fan.    [Associated Press]

• Financing for after-school programs at more than 200 schools in New York State is threatened.  [New York Times]

• Quincy Jones, Russell Simmons, Tommy Hilfiger to spearhead fundraising concert for Martin Luther King Memorial.  [Associated Press]

• Charity started by Dallas teams, American Airlines closes after eight years.  [Dallas Morning News]

• Nonprofits face threat to a tax loophole.  [New York Times]

• The Salvation Army and Greenpeace settle dispute over a multi-million dollar trust.  [New York Times]

• Bush signs bill that will streamline the Board of the American Red Cross.  [Associated Press]

• Charity Navigator report contends that many fundraising events are inefficient.  [USA Today]

• Paper Mill Playhouse announces a plan that will allow it to continue operations.  [New York Times]