Fourteen years ago, one unlikely donor made it possible for an overwhelmed Christian medical mission in Kenya to double its caseload of HIV patients receiving antiretroviral treatments: Mark Gerson, 44, a prominent New York Jewish businessman. Gerson, who lives on the Upper West Side with his wife and four children, has given $4 million specifically to Christian medical missions and is now beginning an annual $500,000 prize to Christian medical workers in Africa.

What to do about Aleppo? What to do about Iraq and ISIS? How can we, half a world away, help what nearly everyone acknowledges may be the worst human catastrophe of the 21st century?

These are questions I receive in emails, texts, and in question-and-answer sessions as I’ve been traveling the country speaking about this crisis and the disappearing Christians of the Middle East.

Sometimes, maybe, build a playground.

WASHINGTON—Two senators this week filed legislation aimed at encouraging Americans to donate more money to charity.

“Charitable giving is core to our society and benefits millions of Americans each year,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., one of two co-sponsors. “This bipartisan bill improves the tax code making it easier for families to support their favorite charities and ensures that charitable organizations are best equipped to accomplish their missions.”

Over a 10-day period around Christmas, 75 charities solicited my 97-year-old mother-in-law. My wife and I received just 15. My curiosity was aroused. Why such a difference? What should she and others like her do?

So I read the solicitations, sorted them, and researched each charity at Charity Navigator’s website. Its system rates charities on a zero-to-four scale, with four being the highest rating.

Media and charity watchdog groups are taking aim at Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), the nonprofit juggernaut that assists wounded and disabled veterans upon their return to the U.S. Critics are assaulting the group over its spending choices—and its claims about how many veterans it serves. 

Ready to trade in one bothersome blizzard for another? Goodbye to the avalanche of political commercials you’ve endured for the last six months from your TV, your mailbox, your computer, and your phone. Thankfully, the politicians’ pitches are over—unless you happen to live in Louisiana, where a runoff in the race for the U.S. Senate is set for early December.

INDIANAPOLIS—Engineers and social workers seem to work from opposite ends of the brain.

But retiring Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana executive Jim McClelland has worked both angles with unusual success for 40 years.