Nov. 1, 2017

The Chronicle’s 2017 ranking, drawn from IRS data and our exclusive survey results, unlocks a wealth of insights for fundraisers on how donors increasingly back nonprofits that promise solid returns and seek to influence policy.

The donor-advised-fund manager leads a pack of similar organizations in the upper reaches of The Chronicle’s annual list of charities that raise the most from private sources.

In the age of Trump, the United Way and others face the delicate task of ensuring that donors know and understand their missions and their importance.

A unique financial arrangement puts pledges to work immediately for endowed faculty. Plus: The university invites donors to help it solve major societal problems.

The international relief group makes a tech-savvy upgrade to the traditional pen-pal relationship between children and their sponsors.

Delivering Good, formerly K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers, saw private support jump 63 percent in 2016.

The results were compiled from Internal Revenue Service Form 990 filings, a survey sent to 520 tax-exempt organizations, annual reports, financial statements, and more.

Charities that rely most on donated goods and services include the Task Force for Global Health, Good360, and a host of food banks and international relief organizations.

See how much the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Fidelity Charitable, and 168 other charities received in the form of stock gifts.

The Smithsonian, the University of California at San Francisco, and several community foundations are among the leaders in big-donation fundraising. Five groups got more than 100 gifts of $1 million or more.

With an innovation lab, an eye on “customer service,” and market research on donors, CEO Caryl Stern has doubled revenue at Unicef USA.

A Dutch nonprofit first employed African giant-pouched rats to sniff out land mines; now they’re helping health officials move faster to identify carriers of TB.

Donors face too many choices when presented with lists of groups to support, so they tend to gravitate to organizations they already know, says a University of Memphis researcher.

Kashif Shaikh’s Pillars Fund aims to support charities that are fighting bias against Islam — and to simply give back.

By focusing on impact and results — and resisting mission creep — donors, foundations, trustees, and nonprofit executives can transform society.

Low-income people, mulitracial neighborhoods, and others are losing access to the news they need to improve their communities.

Signs point to strong growth in donations from both small and big donors, but political instability has the potential to spoil the party.

Positions nonprofits take on the estate tax and charitable deductions raise questions about whether they are looking out sufficiently for donors and the people they serve.

Grant makers are writing opinion articles and taking other steps to inform policy makers and advance the goals of the nonprofits they support.

Charities that conduct their own campaigns on Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, GoFundMe, or their own websites have greater control over their message than when supporters run the drives — and those groups are raising big dollars and gaining new donors.

Finding qualified board members who come from different economic backgrounds takes time, thoughtfulness, and strategy

Keen observation, open communication, and providing new opportunities are key to keeping talented workers happy.