Wal-Mart

U.S. presidential campaigns and political action committees, or PACs, filed financial reports on Tuesday that showed how much they had raised and spent as of Dec. 31.

The filings to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) also offered a snapshot of who donated how much to the "Super PACs," which operate independently from campaigns and can raise unlimited amounts from individuals, corporations and unions.

Few Americans are seeing relief from the nation’s economic slump, but the finances of some nonprofits are much rosier as the nation’s wealthy stepped up their multimillion dollar gifts in 2011.

The biggest gifts announced by Americans totaled more than $2.6-billion, compared with $1.3-billion in 2010. (Twelve donations were included in the list because of two ties for the 10 biggest donations of the year.)

What do you do when a donor just stops responding to the mail? Here's a suggestion: Take a look at telemarketing.

Next Jump, provider of rewards and loyalty programs, announced the launch of OO.com, the company’s first consumer facing shopping site. In conjunction, Next Jump  kicked off a $500,000 fundraising initiative called SA500 Kids to bring technology into classrooms at more than 100,000 public schools across the country.

While many Americans give generously to help people, many others make donations of a different sort: building museums to house their art collections; underwriting new wings in hospitals or halls named for them at their alma maters; using their money and influence to sway public policy and influence political campaigns; or seeking to solve problems in distant lands rather than in their own backyards.

While charitable giving rose slightly over all in 2010, gifts to organizations that address basic human needs fell 6.6 percent, according to Giving USA.

Convio announced the winners of its sixth annual Innovator Awards as revealed at the Convio Summit. The Innovator Awards recognize clients who have shown innovation and achievement through the use of Convio’s constituent engagement solutions.

The seven winners are Project On Government Oversight, Trust for Public Land, National Partnership for Women & Families, All Hands Volunteers, United Way of Lake County, American Heart Association, and Human Rights Campaign.

For more information visit www.convio.com/2011innovators.

Wal-Mart has committed $100-million in grants to nonprofit groups that provide job training to women as part of a $20-billion campaign to boost female economic development, according to The New York Times and the Associated Press.

The grants will support development of work and financial skills for hundreds of thousands of women in the United States and abroad, including female employees at Wal-Mart’s suppliers.

Companies like UPS and Wal-Mart are teaching trade crafts to aid workers so they can deliver food and shelter to famine victims more quickly and cheaply, saving money and ultimately more lives.

When World Food Programme Executive Director Josette Sheeran visited hunger sites in Kenya and Somalia last month, she brought Peter Bakker, former chief executive of transportation company TNT and current U.N. ambassador against hunger. Bakker is helping rally businesses to provide support for those affected by the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa.

The California Charter Schools Association has received a $15-million grant from the Walton Family Foundation to add 20,000 more charter school students in Los Angeles and 100,000 statewide.

The grant is the largest by far to the California Charter Schools Assn., and also the largest of its kind from the nonprofit established by the founders of the Wal-Mart Corp.

Continuing our four-part series on successful fundraising campaigns from the past year, here are case studies on Stop Hunger Now's Haiti Relief campaign and the Salvation Army's annual Red Kettle Drive.