To the surprise of many in philanthropy, the Stupski Foundation, a 16-year-old operating fund dedicated to improving public education, announced July 17 that it would close.

http://philanthropy.com/article/112-Million-Stupski/133359/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/features/2012/college-rankings.html

When the economy started to show troubling signs, many decided to skip college and join the workforce earlier.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-highest-paying-jobs-you-can-get-without-a-bachelor-s-degree.html

Recent U.S. economic troubles are often referred to as the Great Recession, implicitly equating them with conditions during the Great Depression. Yet by many measures the economic deterioration of the past few years is not as serious as in some earlier downturns.

business.time.com/2012/08/07/nine-reasons-why-this-economy-feels-so-bad/

A new report by the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) finds that nonprofit grantees are largely not connecting with foundation funders via social media.

www.nonprofitquarterly.org/philanthropy/20752-is-anybody-listening-to-foundations-on-social-media.html

It's no secret that falling behind on student loan payments can squash a borrower's hopes of building savings, buying a home or even finding work. Now, thousands of retirees are learning that defaulting on student-debt can threaten something that used to be untouchable: their Social Security benefits.

http://www.smartmoney.com/borrow/student-loans/grandmas-new-financial-problem-college-debt-1344292084111/

“We don’t want this foundation to be run from the grave,” Henry Bloch, cofounder of H&R Block Inc., said of his new foundation this week. “That would be a terrible mistake.”

http://nonprofitquarterly.org/philanthropy/20764-bloch-wont-limit-new-family-foundations-charitable-options.html

When Hull House, founded by legendary social activist Jane Addams, closed down early this year, the reverberations of the failure of the nation’s most famous settlement house were somewhat muted. Was it that the modern era Hull House was so different from the Hull House Addams described in her autobiographical 20 Years at Hull-House that the place had lost its symbolic meaning for the nonprofit sector?...Or, was the bankruptcy of Hull House... just another example of a nonprofit caught in an exorable spiral of decline due to the usual factors we all associate with nonprofit shutdowns?

http://nonprofitquarterly.org/management/20758-death-of-the-hull-house-a-nonprofit-coroners-inquest.html

“According to a November 2011 tax filing, the Deborah and Andrew Madoff Foundation gave $176,000 to the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund in December 2010 to meet giving requirements on $3.5 million in assets. The Mark and Stephanie Madoff Foundation, which controls $1.9 million, gave $79,000 to Fidelity.” However, the Post portrayed Fidelity as having turned down the gifts, perhaps not wanting to take the risk of having to be involved in any kind of potential “clawback” of those monies ..."

http://nonprofitquarterly.org/philanthropy/20778-fidelity-reportedly-rejects-madoff-money.html

The Ford Foundation today announced that it is giving $500,000 to help The Washington Post strengthen its reporting on government accountability.

http://philanthropy.com/article/Ford-Gives-500000-to-Augment/133247/