The Rev. Clarence Williams is the newly apppointed chief diversity officer at Catholic Charities USA.

Ron Aira, for The Chronicle

Ronald J. Schultz is overseeing the Internal Revenue Service's effort to draft a new tax form for charities.

Fred Mertz, for The Chronicle

Jin Zidell poured half his net worth into the Blue Planet Run Foundation, an effort to finance projects that increase the amount of safe drinking water available around the world.

From the issue dated October 18, 2007 About Gifts and Giving ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER, a vast and persistent problem in the developing world, is attracting new attention from charities and grant makers. THE BLUE PLANET RUN, a global marathon that sent runners around the Northern Hemisphere this summer, wants to get safe drinking water to 200 million people by 2027. WATER 1ST INTERNATIONAL, in Seattle, is working to raise $270,000 for an effort to provide clean water and sanitation to a cluster of Ethiopian villages. WATER IS KEY, a book of photographs published this month, conveys in stark black and white the critical importance of water, and the lack thereof, in Africa. AT THE CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE, the scale of giving appeared to outpace previous such gatherings, though no specific total figure was announced. CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Erie Community Foundation have received gifts or pledges of $100-million or more. LOS ANGELES PUBLIC SCHOOLS will benefit from a $50-million pledge; other recent gifts to nonprofit organizations and institutions. THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY: The American Museum of Natural History, in New York, holds sleepover parties to get children interested in visiting the institution. About Achieving Diversity THE NONPROFIT WORLD'S idealism about diversity has yet to translate into widespread change at organizations and their boardrooms. HOW AMBITIOUS MANAGERS who are minorities are trying to crack the glass ceiling -- and why they still face barriers. FOUNDATIONS take the lead in creating programs to groom minorities for leadership roles. DIVERSITY OFFICERS steer the efforts of nonprofit organizations to become more inclusive. TIPS for nonprofit employers that seek to create leadership opportunities for minorities. YOUTHBUILD USA shares power with its clients, laying the foundation for future charity leaders. A NEW YORK HOUSING GROUP recruits staff -- including its top executive -- from the neighborhood. A BAY AREA HEALTH CHARITY reaches out to new immigrants and learns to speak their language. THE FORD FOUNDATION'S decades-long commitment to aggressive recruiting of minorities trickles down to influence its grantees and partners. A WASHINGTON COMMUNITY FUND creates a new approach for recruiting a fresh group of dedicated donors. A SAMPLING OF RESOURCES to help nonprofit leaders as they try to make their organizations more diverse. About Fund Raising A NONPROFIT CONSULTANT has issued a scathing attack on state charity regulators, saying registration requirements are unnecessarily cumbersome and costly. UPDATE ON CAMPAIGNS for endowments, capital improvements, and other needs. INTEREST RATES for planned gifts, issued by the Internal Revenue Service. About Managing Nonprofit Groups WITH THE OVERHAUL of the Form 990 proceeding toward its deadline, the Internal Revenue Service has announced new changes made in response to criticism of the draft form released in June. THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, just regaining its footing after the turmoil caused by a newspaper investigation into its business practices, now must deal with the unexpected resignation of its president. INVESTMENT ASSETS held by nonprofit health-care organizations grew an average of more than 10 percent last year, the Commonfund Institute reports. SUCCESSFUL CHARITIES that nevertheless have trouble balancing their books often call on the services of the Nonprofit Finance Fund. YET ANOTHER BILL has been introduced in Congress to extend the law permitting people to make charitable gifts from their individual retirement accounts tax-free (Tax Watch). THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT has concluded that a 2005 law has not been sufficiently effective in preventing taxpayers from inflating the value of donated vehicles (Tax Watch). TWO CHARITIES HAVE SUED to block a federal rule, scheduled to take effect November 1, that would bar housing organizations from providing down-payment assistance to home buyers (Tax Watch). THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE has posted an online question-and-answer page to help the smallest charities with the informational returns they will now be required to file (Tax Watch). WITH TWO PULITZER PRIZES to his name and a coveted position at The New Yorker, Steve Coll brings a glamorous résumé to the task of leading the New America Foundation (New on the Job). THE PASTOR of two once-languishing Catholic parishes in Baltimore finds his days filled with efforts to help the growing number of immigrant parishioners (Day in the Life). REPORTS ON CHARITIES by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance. About Technology GOOGLE AND YOUTUBE have both embarked on efforts to help charities raise money and spread their messages online. PLASTIC SURGEONS in developing countries, whose practices are often isolated, can get advice on difficult cases from colleagues around the world through a Web site sponsored by a California charity. BLOG ADVERTISEMENTS are a vehicle one charity has chosen for its campaign to urge Congress to override President Bush's veto of a children's-health-insurance bill. TECHNOLOGY BITS: An Australian group has won the 2007 Access to Learning Award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Greenpeace has issued a directory to rate cellphone manufacturers. About Grant Makers THE CARNEGIE CORPORATION has announced plans to restructure its giving and eliminate a handful of grant programs. CHARLES F. FEENEY, the billionaire businessman who founded Atlantic Philanthropies, grew uncomfortable with his wealth and gave it all away — in secret: an interview with the author of a new biography. STRATEGIC GRANT MAKING is a practice most foundation officials pay lip service to but rarely practice, according to a new report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy. A FORMER EXECUTIVE of the Schlinger Foundation, in California, and four associates have been ordered to repay $35-million for mismanaging and defrauding the organization. MORE THAN $185-MILLION in grants by foundations, corporations, and other grant makers. NEW GRANT PROGRAMS announced by foundations SUMMARIES OF ANNUAL REPORTS from the Andrew W. Mellon, Gordon and Betty Moore, and Public Welfare Foundations. Also in This Issue OPINION: Mark Rosenman argues for mandatory national service, and Leslie Lenkowsky echoes donors who want more accountability from colleges and universities. BOOKS: A biography of a secretive philanthropist, a guide to seeking bequests, plus summaries of other publications on cultivating donors, the effects of "eminent domain" rulings on community development, and how foundations can help black men and boys. PEOPLE: Appointments and promotions in the nonprofit world. AWARDS: Honors for people and organizations in philanthropy.