• An experimental online fundraising contest sponsored by the Case Foundation seeks to demonstrate the power of grass-roots philanthropy.  [New York Times]

• The National Science Foundation announces a $50 million grant to a collaboration of botanists and computer scientists led by the University of Arizona.  [Associated Press]

• The federal investigation into the smuggling of looted antiquities has expanded to include artifacts allegedly stolen from Central America.   [New York Times]

• The W.K. Kellogg Foundation announces a $3 million grant to the Martin Luther King Memorial.  [Washington Post]

• Mayor Bloomberg increases his charitable giving by almost 25%, donating $205 million in 2007, up from $165 million in 2006.  [New York Times]

• The Board of GiveWell punishes the second of its two founders for promoting the organization on the Internet under a false name.  [New York Times]

• The Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art insists that Eli Broad's recent announcement to loan, rather than donate, his art collection has a silver lining.  [Los Angeles Times]

• Neither Congress nor the Smithsonian's Board of Regents has moved decisively to implement changes recommended by an independent review committee.  [Washington Post]

• The YMCA redefines itself with a strategic plan aimed at tackling America's health crisis.  [Associated Press]

• Hackers obtained access to e-mail addresses and passwords of thousands of donors last month.   [New York Times]

• Red Cross ousts its president and chief executive after learning he had an affair with a female subordinate.  [New York Times]

• The son of philanthropist Brooke Astor pleads not guilty to charges of stealing millions from his mother's estate.  [Washington Post]

• The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation explores the possibility of philanthropy in the virtual world.  [New York Times]

• The primary beneficiary of a nonprofit John Edwards created in 2004 appears to be himself.  [New York Times]

• The Freedom From Religion Foundation sues North Dakota to bar public financing of a religion-based program.  [New York Times]

• CNN plans to direct viewers to charity and relief efforts through a new Web site.  [Associated Press]

• Disaster groups in the DC area plan to work together more effectively in the event of a future crisis.  [Washington Post]

• Boston Symphony Orchestra uses technology to woo new audiences.  [Boston Globe]

• Rare stamp collection auctioned for $9.1 million; proceeds to Doctors Without Borders.  [New York Times]

• Celebrities use star power to spotlight neglected global issues.  [Washington Post]

• The U.S. Holocaust Museum teams up with Google Earth on project to better understand the genocide in Darfur.  [News.com]

• Columbia University will receive $400 million for student aid from longtime supporter, billionaire John Kluge.  [New York Times]

• Consumer group questions ethics of cellphone fund-raising.  [New York Times]

• Live Earth concerts held this summer will generate funds to combat climate change; headliners include Bon Jovi, Madonna, and the Dave Matthews Band.  [Associated Press]

USA Today:  Kevin Bacon has a confession.  That silly Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game? The truth is, he's no good at it. "It's confusing," he admits. "I can't remember all the movies I've been in, so I surely can't recall someone else's films." The object of the game is to connect any famous person to Bacon within six steps.

New York Times:  A foundation Web site is about the last place online that one would expect to find ideas for holiday gift giving. But the Case Foundation is offering a “guide to charitable gifts” with suggestions like giving to KickStart, which develops simple technologies like a treadle-operated water pump to help turn subsistence farms into commercial enterprises.

Associated Press:  Kindergarten teacher Carolyn Freeman gets $170 from her school for classroom supplies each year -- a budget quickly drained by basic items like pencils and crayons for her students, more than 80 percent of whom come from low-income families.