With help from several volunteers, we have now got most of our features back in operation. The Nonprofit Locator is still not functioning. Several critical files still need to be restored and finding the time to do that at this season is a stretch. Some other less frequently used elements of the site are also still not fully functional.

There is no doubt that we could use more help updating, maintaining and protecting the various parts of the Internet Nonprofit Center. If you have an interest in some area of the nonprofit world and would be willing to edit related items in the Frequently Asked Questions file -- prune outdated material, add new information, clip and edit online traffic for including in the FAQ -- please email me (editor@tess.org). If you know how to work with RedHat Unix and would be willing to help with the invisible administrative side of maintaining a functioning website, please email Cliff Landesman (cland@netbox.com) and tell him how you might pitch in. And if you have other ideas about how you could help us make this site as useful as possible, either one of us would be glad to hear about them.

The topic of online fundraising continues to bubble and boil at a furious pace. I continue to try to maintain a useful inventory of sites related to the topic at http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/misc/990804olfr.html. Additions, corrections and other improvements in this listing are always welcome. As you will see if you scan through it, there are now well over 100 entries. They range widely, from highly focused charity malls serving a few named nonprofits to websites which offer visitors the opportunity to direct support of various sorts to any charity they choose (or even, in some cases, any cause they believe in, whether it is a charity project or not).

Two recent developments in this area are especially worth noting.

The AOL Foundation has teamed up with several strong collaborators to create Helping.org -- http://www.helping.org. Helping.org offers information about the nonprofit sector, links to volunteer opportunities, and a way to donate using a credit card to any recognized charity in the US. The recipient charity doesn't need to have any sort of access to the Internet, and there are no costs or charges for the service except the processing fee charged by the donor's credit card company (usually a couple of percentage points). I've written a FAQ item at http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/18/05.html that explains how to do this.

The other recent announcement of interest is that iGive now offers a way that shoppers can not only benefit favorite causes by shopping online, but can even claim a tax deduction for the amounts the charities receive. The procedure has a few twists and turns that need to be studied carefully (and iGive claims a US patent is pending on the process). Visit http://www.igive.com/ to find out more.

The Internal Revenue Service included an interesting discussion of several public policy and tax issues related to online activities by nonprofits in a recent continuing education publication for agents. The text of this public document is available in .pdf format through the CharityChannel's "GuestShare" system at http://charitychannel.com/GuestShare/irs/worldwide/

On another front, a strong list of national organizations are collaborating in a nationwide effort to improve the quality of information provided on IRS Form 990. The Quality 990 project has a website with information about the project and why it is needed at http://www.qual990.org

The 990 is becoming a critical document for public confidence in individual nonprofits and the nonprofit sector as a whole. If you have anything to do with the preparation of your organization's 990, please take a moment to look at the Quality 990 project website and consider things you might do in the next year to make your own 990 more accurate and useful.

Thank you for your interest and support of the Internet Nonprofit Center during 1999. We are looking forward to the first year of the new millennium with interest, and wish all our readers good times in this holiday season and great success in the year 2000.

Putnam Barber, Cliff Landesman and Michael Gilbert