Nonprofit hospitals and other charities are being forced to re-direct their efforts to attract donors to survive the ongoing recession, according to a report in USA Today. Butler Hospital in Providence, R.I., had to abandon its annual celebrity-studded luncheon in support of the general fund--an event that cost $30,000 to $60,000 to produce but only provided a net profit of $10,000 in 2008, says Michele Berard, the hospital's development director. In 2009, the hospital board members replaced the luncheon event with several smaller gatherings in their own homes. At these parties, board members showed a 10-minute video detailing the hospital's research activities for Alzheimer's disease and depression and announced the launch of a research endowment. Following the parties, hospital fundraisers met with attendees to ask them to support the endowment. This personal approach and new focus helped the Butler raise $1.5 million, up from $616,000 in 2008. Article