Stacy Palmer

Contributions continue to pour in for relief efforts in Haiti. Twelve days after the massive earthquake struck, donors have contributed more than $438-million to 35 U.S. nonprofit groups, a Chronicle tally finds.

A celebrity-produced fund-raising telethon on Friday night was a big reason for the increase: It produced $58-million.

Plus, in other highlights of The Chronicle’s coverage:

• President Obama has signed into law a measure designed to encourage Americans to contribute cash to charities working on the Haiti relief and recovery effort.

• Technology specialists from nonprofit groups have been working long hours to establish communications networks for relief groups that are responding to the disaster.

• A view from Haiti: Habitat for Humanity’s CEO looks to the rebuilding effort

An online fund-raising expert offers advice on how to spur giving by cellphone, in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus:

• How much attention should donors pay to salaries of chief executives?

• Why technology deterred some giving to the Haiti telethon on Friday night.

• A plea for Americans to define themselves by what they give, not just what they own.

Nine days after the massive earthquake struck Haiti, donors have contributed more than $355-million to 35 U.S. nonprofit groups, a Chronicle tally finds.

Plus other highlights of our Haiti coverage:

• A surge of Haiti donations could bolster some international groups, while others struggle financially to meet the needs of people around the world.

• Tonight’s television telethon for Haiti could bring another windfall for a handful of charities operating in the earthquake-devastated nation.

• The House and Senate have approved legislation designed to encourage Americans to contribute cash to charities that help with emergency aid and rebuilding efforts in Haiti.

• In a sign of the contentious debate about how to measure the work of charities, an effort to look at relief groups in Haiti has sparked some criticism.

• In an opinion article for The Chronicle, a fund raiser for an international relief charity urges donors and others to start focusing on big questions about Haiti’s future.

• Supporters of Mercy Corps, an international charity, have raised more than $500,000 for Haiti relief through their special Web pages.

• Very few donors who have made text-message gifts to the American Red Cross’s Haiti relief efforts have chosen to receive follow-up messages from the group.

• In the week since Doctors Without Borders asked donors to make contributions to its general emergency relief fund rather than earmarking them for Haiti, many contributors have done just that.

• Give and Take: Google’s co-founder raises questions about the lack of coordination among relief groups and a charity watchdog’s poll finds few donors would give by text message to charitable efforts unconnected to dealing with natural disasters.

Many nonprofit organizations skimp on their overhead costs because of pressure from donors to prove they are spending a high percentage of their money on programs. And the bad economy has prompted many to cut back even further.

But are charities undermining their effectiveness, or even their very existence, by catering to donor concerns about overhead?

Join Ann Goggins Gregory and Daniel Stid, a manager and a partner at the Bridgespan Group, on Tuesday, January 26, at noon Eastern time to discuss how nonprofit groups can start to educate their boards and their donors — whether foundations or government agencies — about what it costs to operate a strong, healthy organization.

The Supreme Court ruled today, in a 5-4 decision, that corporations may spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, easing decades-old limits on their participation in federal campaigns, the Associated Press reports.

In the fall, Larry Ottinger, an expert on charity advocacy, wrote an opinion article in The Chronicle offering a preview of what the court case means for nonprofit groups — and what other policy changes could be made to help organizations become strong advocates for their causes.