H.O.P.E. Tutoring Plans Pancake Breakfast
 H.O.P.E. Tutoring, which provides free tutoring to students in the third through the eighth grades, will hold its sixth annual Pancake Breakfast and Silent Auction on Saturday morning, August 2nd, at Trinity United Methodist Church.  Admission to the event, which runs from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., will be $5 per person.   H.O.P.E. tutors help students with reading and math skills and with homework assignments.   Trinity is at 3321 W. Park Row Drive in Arlington.

Continuing the project it began on Global Youth Service Day, the Wesley Foundation is providing energy-saving information flyers and presenting programs on new Super-Super LSDs.  The programs will be at 8:45 p.m. on July 15th and 22nd at the Wesley Foundation Center.  On April 26th, the Foundation and co-operating churches delivered 560 CFL bulbs to low-income residents in Arlington.  Use of each bulb is expected to save the user at least $35 in energy costs over the life of each CFL that replaces an incandescent bulb.  That amounts to a total of $16,400 expected to be saved by these residents over the life of the energy efficient bulbs and reduce utilities' use of valuable oil and gas.

Funding Information Center Holds Farewell for Teresa Wright
The Funding Information Center plans a farewell celebration for Teresa Wright to honor her years of service to the organization.  The celebration will be from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 22nd at Blue Mesa Grill.  Attendees are requested to register in advance at www.ficftw.org. or to call 817-332-0228.
The Center is sponsoring a Funders Forum, beginning at 9.a.m., Wednesday, July 16th at the Botanic Gardens in Oak Hall.  Speakers for the forum include: Anne Greenhill, president of Susan G. Komen for the Cure of Fort Worth, Darlene Mann, senior vice president of U.S. Trust Bank of America Private Wealth Management, and Marilyn Jackson, director of Community Development Block Grants for the City of Fort Worth.

Almost 90 Youth Signed Up for Young Life/Wyld Life Summer Camp
 Some 70 high school students from Arlington signed up to attend a week-long Young Life Camp in July at Windy Gap High School Camp in Weaverville, North Carolina.  Simultaneously, 18 junior high students were to attend Carolina Creek Camp in Huntsville, Texas. 

Non-Profits Face Leaner Year
On the high end of the scale, the Robin Hood Foundation, which annually attracts participation by hedge fund magnates and leveraged buy-out titans, reported that receipts from its annual gala this year were down 21.5% from the year before.
Among more average donors, the Salvation Army reported that, while it had good contributions at Christmas, overall donations this year are down from 2007 and that donations of used goods to its resale shops have declined about 20% from those in the previous year.  This is despite the fact that donations normally increase in times of natural disasters, such as the floods in the Midwest.
Charitable giving in 2006 was $295.2 billion or about 2.2% of gross domestic product.  But unlike many other industries, philanthropy is tethered directly to the health of the overall economy, particularly to the health of the middle-class consumer.   If the past is any guide, it's likely to be a lean year for non-profits.  A bright spot: contributions from large multi-national corporations grew 5.6% to about $26.1 million in 2007 from $24.67 million in 2006.