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Members of a new class of affluent Asian-Americans, many of whom have benefited from booms in finance and technology, are making their mark on philanthropy in the United States. They are donating large sums to groups focused on their own diasporas or their homelands, like the organization that held the fund-raiser, the Korean American Community Foundation. And they are giving to prestigious universities, museums, concert halls and hospitals — like Yale University and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

With less than two weeks left before the holiday giving seasons ends, many charities have already raised more compared with 2010 — and some are even expecting a windfall, a new Chronicle of Philanthropy poll finds.

Fifty-four percent told The Chronicle that they raised more money in November and the first part of December than they had at this point last year. One out of five of the 152 organizations in the survey said contributions are outpacing last year’s donations by 20 percent or more.

The Rockefeller Foundation, a global leader in philanthropy, has awarded a $515,000 grant to Calvert Foundation. The grant will fund strategic planning efforts that will help determine next steps for Calvert Foundation’s role as a leader in impact investing. Calvert Foundation, a public charity, raises money from the public to finance community groups providing jobs, health care and more in the U.S., and microfinance and other poverty alleviating activities in developing countries. The objective of this type of investing is to provide a social and financial return to investors.

Princeton University has announced a $10 million gift from longtime supporter Lynn Shostack to endow its Project X fund, which supports innovative projects in engineering.

Launched as a two-year pilot program, the fund provides small grants to engineers who wish to pursue projects outside their formal area of expertise or are too speculative to attract conventional funding. To date, the fund has supported research ranging from an exploration of techniques to sterilize hospital rooms to the development of an idea for playing highly realistic three-dimensional sound from conventional speakers.

Palo Alto, Calif., March 1, 2010 — CauseWorld, the mobile application that allows consumers to give to causes just by entering retail stores and restaurants, has added the option to contribute to the Chile earthquake relief effort. The funds sent to Chile through the app will be facilitated by CauseWorld partner GlobalGiving, a nonprofit aid resource for disaster relief and long-term development around the world. 

Performance Research — While consumers generally appear to expect the same or higher level of corporate sponsorship from stable or profitable companies, a Performance Research study of American consumers revealed that one-third (32%) reported they are paying "Less attention" to corporate sponsorships than they were a year ago. Moreover, the majority would like to see less spending on sports sponsorships for companies experiencing any difficulties (62%), and particularly by those accepting federal assistance (68%).

Over the past few years, Washington, D.C., has witnessed two explosive nonprofit scandals. In 2005, the board of American University received a letter from an anonymous whistle-blower alleging that the university’s president, Ben Ladner, was abusing his university expense account. A subsequent audit found that Ladner had indeed spent more than $500,000 of university funds on lavish personal expenses, including a $5,000 vacation in London and a $15,000 engagement party for his son. Already concerned about Ladner’s compensation—which was higher than those of all Ivy League college presidents—the board split over whether to reduce Ladner’s pay. The fracas filled newspaper gossip columns for months, sparked a congressional inquiry, and eventually led to Ladner’s termination. The board then required two years to rebuild itself and to name a new president.

Greater Philadelphia area nonprofit organizations, struggling with declining donations, grants, and government support, can learn new ways to raise revenue through business ventures that support their missions at the Nonprofit Strategies Forum, sponsored by The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University's School of Business, on April 24. This concept of revenue generation, known as "social enterprise," includes partnerships between businesses and nonprofit organizations to expand the resources available to meet society's growing needs.

Large nonprofits have the luxury of employing a prospect researcher, but what about fundraisers who don’t have an in-house pro? Sophisticated researchers can check several dozen Web sites while preparing an in-depth profile, but development officers can find simple facts about their donors by themselves, simply by searching several key Web sites. Below is a list of sites that development professionals can employ from their desktops to help answer some key questions in an organization’s search for information on its prospects. * How can I verify someone’s address and telephone number? Web site: www.zabasearch.com By entering the first and last