Weekly news roundup

News from the Case Foundation and what people are talking about this week in the world of giving, tech and everything in between.

David Cook donates proceeds from sale of live recording on "American Idol" to ABC2
We were thrilled this week when musician David Cook announced that he designated Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2), a Case Foundation partner organization, to receive all proceeds from the sale of the live recording of his performance on the American Idol season finale Wednesday night. David spoke with several television and radio shows about his commitment to ABC2, including during an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. The recording is now available for purchase on iTunes.

Good.ly shortens URLs for Charity
This week marked the launch of Good.ly, a new service that enables consumers to shorten URLs for good. When you use Good.ly to make a product recommendation on Twitter, Facebook or anywhere else, and someone clicks on and buys what you suggest, 55% of any earned referral fees are donated to charity. The Chronicle of Philanthropy explains in more detail how the service works, and Nathaniel Whittmore at Change.org's Social Entrepreneurship blog notes: 

I don't think that this sort of embedded philanthropy is going to in any way diminish more "traditional" forms of philanthropic action. I think its power is that it reflects a growing desire I think we're experiencing to integrate our values with our commercial and career desicions.

Hope Phones initiative recycles US cell phones for clinics and healthcare workers in developing countries
Earlier this week, FrontlineSMS:Medic, an organization committed to supporting community health workers in the developing world through mobile technology, launched Hope Phones, a nationwide mobile phone collection campaign supporting mHealth programs at medical clinics in more than 30 countries. The campaign, which will make use of old cell phones in the US to provide phones for clinics and healthcare workers in developing counries, was covered by several news outlets and bloggers, including Beth Kanter, who plans to donate her Palm Treo to the organization. 

Fidelity study concludes women are shaping future of philanthropy
An interesting study out this week from the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, concludes that women are shaping the future of philanthropy, and found that high-income women are more likely than other donors to give publicly, rather than anonymously. The Chronicle of Philanthropy features a nice summary of the study, which surveyed 1,000 adults who had given $1,000 or more to charity in 2007, noting: 

The survey’s findings offer insights into how women are likely to shape the future of philanthropy, says Sarah C. Libbey, Fidelity’s president. “Women have always had a hand in their household’s charitable outreach, but that role is evolving as women increasingly create their own wealth and become beneficiaries of wealth transfers because they live longer,” said Ms. Libbey, in a written statement. “We, and other nonprofit organizations, should pay more attention to this very influential group of donors.”

What were you paying attention to in the news this week? We welcome your thoughts and ideas for the next weekly news roundup.