The New York Times investigates the 158 families that have provided nearly half of the early money for efforts to capture the White House.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/11/us/politics/2016-presidential-election-super-pac-donors.html

Kenny Tavares, a Senior Researcher at the Helen Brown Group, discusses the legislation affecting hedge funds and family offices and how this could impact the philanthropic landscape.

http://www.helenbrowngroup.com/how-dodd-frank-affects-your-top-donors/

As the arguments for student loan reform and free college education take a main stage in political rhetoric, university executive compensation plans are slowly but gradually being drawn into the spotlight.

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2015/10/26/colleges-and-universities-and-compensation-self-reform/

Wall Street billionaire Sanford I. Weill and his wife Joan have decided not to donate $20 million to the struggling northern New York college Paul Smith's after a judge ruled that the college could not be renamed for Mrs. Weill.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/nyregion/weills-20-million-renaming-gift-to-paul-smiths-college-is-withdrawn.html

Peter B. Wylie and John Sammis offer an analysis of giving at three higher ed institutions and some alarming--and possibly not surprising--conclusions.

https://cooldata.wordpress.com/2015/10/09/ready-for-a-sobering-look-at-your-last-five-years-of-alumni-giving/

Having trouble deciding which research tool to choose? Jen Filla offers some strategies that can help.   

http://www.jenniferfilla.com/3-strategies-to-choose-a-research-tool-alternate-comparing-research-tools-just-got-easier/

Development offices at major cancer centers are increasingly teaching doctors how to raise money for the medical center or for their own research. In an unprecedented survey of more than 400 oncologists at 40 leading cancer centers, nearly half said they had been taught to identify wealthy patients who might be prospective donors.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/health/patients-are-seen-as-potential-donors-many-doctors-say.html

The Helen Brown Group has compiled a list of mega-collections of research resources freely available to all. Add your favorite omnibus list to the comments here if it's not listed!

http://www.helenbrowngroup.com/expert-research-sources-10-of-the-best/

Solina Powell of EverTrue offers some strategies to harness the power of social media for more dynamic prospect research in this post on the DonorSearch blog.

http://www.donorsearch.net/prospect-research-social-media/

Ten predictions of potential estate and succession planning issues that the Lyon family of the Fox television show Empire may face this year.

http://wealthmanagement.com/estate-planning/ten-estate-and-succession-planning-predictions-empire-season-two