• A group of philanthropists will start ProPublica, a nonprofit news organization that will conduct investigative reporting and provide articles free to other news outlets. [Chronicle of Philanthropy]
• Newspaper, state investigate a Massachusetts nonprofit with history of giving jobs and contracts to family members and friends. [Patriot Ledger]
• Nonprofit assistance for Hurrican Katrina victims in the Gulf states is running dry. [The Advocate]

• An American Red Cross program has raised criticism from evacuees, who say the program has been too secretive and strict.  [New York Times]

• A Long Island nonprofit is missing thousands of dollars; two employees accuse each other of taking the money.  [Newsday]

• Some Katrina volunteers find their help is no longer welcome.  [Associated Press]

• New Yorker one of 15 finalists for the $100,000 Purpose Prize, for his eco-pioneerism.  [New York Times]

• Earmarks for religious organizations have increased sharply in recent years.  [New York Times]

• Gates Foundation to donate $7.1M for Gulf Coast Housing.  [Associated Press]

• A Katrina tax break incentive spurs $11 billion in donations to charity.  [New York Times]

• American Idol's charity fundraiser - "Idol Gives Back" - is expected to bring in millions of dollars for youth in Africa and the U.S.  [Reuters]

• Fundraising auction of music memorabilia, including items from Jimi Hendrix, Bono, and Bob Dylan, raises $2.4 million.  [Associated Press]

Washington Post:  The two-by-fours inside the walls of George and Margaret Ladner's new home are inscribed with biblical verses, each written by one of the Alabama schoolchildren who raised money to buy the lumber.

New York Times:  The Federal Emergency Management Agency must restore housing assistance, and pay back rent, to thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees who had been deemed ineligible for long-term housing assistance, a federal judge ruled today.

Associated Press: Comic Relief, the celebrity-studded fundraising telethon for the homeless, is back, after an 8-year hiatus.

Convio's Vinay Bhagat: The growth in recent years of online contributions to disaster relief organizations clearly illustrates that Web fundraising has come of age. Consider the online giving that American Red Cross has generated following major disasters: $64 million related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks; $140 million in the wake of the Southeast Asian tsunami; and $479 million after Hurricane Katrina. Also telling is that the percentage of individual donor funds raised online (excluding corporate contributions) grew from 29 percent for 9/11 to 55 percent for the tsunami, illustrating that donors have become increasingly comfortable giving over the Internet. Leading disaster relief organizations such as the American Red Cross have been extremely instrumental in catalyzing this growth.

Where Most Needed: And Atlanta was the biggest beneficiary, in percentage terms. Corporate decisions and special campaigns had a profound impact on local fundraising efforts in the wake of a catastrophe.