From the Washington Post Concerned that the Gulf Coast hurricanes are spawning an unprecedented number of bogus appeals to help victims, law enforcement officials and charities have launched aggressive efforts to prosecute fraud. State and federal officials have filed charges in at lease four cases involving fraudulent appeals. They expect that number to rise sharply in the coming weeks as investigators examine thousands of suspicious fundraising Web sites, "phishing" schemes that steal financial information from donors and people falsely claiming to be raising money for hurricane funds.

The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector invites the nonprofit community to comment on the draft recommendations it is considering for inclusion in a special supplement to the Final Report. The Panel’s Work Groups and its Expert Advisory Group deliberated throughout the summer on such key issues as proposed federal regulation of charitable solicitations, international grantmaking, consumer credit counseling agencies, and prudent investor rules. The Panel will consider comments as it prepares the additional recommendations it will submit to the leaders of the U.S.

The White House is drafting a plan that would provide more than $1-billion to nonprofit organizations to help resettle Hurricane Katrina survivors in cities across the country, reports CNN. The nine charities being considered to help with the resettlement process have experience helping refugees who have immigrated to the United States, and at least half are religious charities.