Naomi Levine is executive director of New York University’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising and is an expert on Jewish philanthropy and nonprofits.

New York University’s Heyman Program for Philanthropy and Fundraising provides professional development training for nonprofit executives, employees and volunteers.

The Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal encourages donations that support small, local, often faith-based grassroots associations.

Charity Navigator is a watchdog group that keeps an eye on nonprofits and charitable organizations. It has a database searchable by religion.

The Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College, a Jesuit school, examines the relationship between spirituality, wealth and giving. Paul Schervish is director.

The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy at the University of Southern California conducts research on philanthropy and nonprofits. The center maintains a list of experts on philanthropy, both national and local.

The Center for Effective Philanthropy conducts research and gathers data on nonprofit groups to help philanthropists make effective donations. In October 2009, the center hosted an event in San Francisco titled “Foundation Effectiveness in a New Reality.” Contact through the website.

Read a Sept. 29, 2009, Associated Press story (posted by the National Conference on Citizenship) about the recession’s effect on social service charities, some of them religion-based.

Read a July 9, 2009, story in The Christian Post about a survey showing that Christian nonprofits are increasingly relying on volunteers. The study, conducted by J. David Schmidt & Associates for the Christian Leadership Alliance, showed that one out of five Christian nonprofits is relying on volunteers to offset labor and income losses due to the recession.