General Mills, NBC's The Biggest Loser and Feeding America today announced they are partnering to launch the Pound For Pound Challenge, an initiative that encourages Americans to lose weight and feed the hungry. For every pound dieters pledge to lose this new year, a pound of groceries will be delivered to a local food bank.

Ocean explorer and conservationist Dr. David E. Guggenheim, the "Ocean Doctor," begins a one-year journey of education and discovery called The Ocean Doctor's 50 Years - 50 States - 50 Speeches Expedition. The expedition begins on January 7, 2009 at the Sonoma Ecology Center in Eldridge, California.

A new book written by the clinical director of one of America’s leading children’s charities casts new light on the causes of school shootings ten years after Columbine, dispelling many conventional notions and presenting surprising facts about the psychology of school killers.

Ways to Work, Inc., the Milwaukee-based affordable loan and financial education organization, has secured more than $16 million in new financing to drive its expansion across the nation and more than double the size of its program network.

The beneficiaries of philanthropic dollars are holding their collective breath to see who else among their donors will be affected by the likes of a Madoff scandal. Betsy Brill of Strategic Philanthropy, Ltd. sheds light on a critical topic in 2009 via a handy Top 10 Due Diligence List donors should follow before making a charitable gift to an institution or organization:

More than half of charities across North America are raising less money during the 2008 holiday giving season (October through December) than they did last year, according to a survey by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).

A new report released today has found that school districts across the country have experienced a significant spike in the number of homeless students. The report centers around a voluntary survey conducted during the fall of 2008 by the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth and First Focus.

Feeding America (formerly named America's Second Harvest), the nation's largest domestic hunger relief organization, announced today that the Bank of America Charitable Foundation has donated $1 million to help provide food and groceries to the dramatically increasing number of hungry people in the U.S.

For Chicagoans who want to make a difference in their communities, chicagotribune.com launches this week its Do Good channel, which enables visitors to participate in specific local causes by linking site content to information about nonprofit organizations and opportunities to donate time or money.