A Spanish charity group has raised enough money through its Second Life awareness campaign, which featured a homeless avatar, to provide a month of healthcare and education for a real-life child.
Asociacion Mensajeros de la Paz (Messengers of Peace), which runs some 300 foster homes, created the avatar MensajerosDeLaPaz Jubilee.

I've seen a number of similar charities in SL, and was always rather suspicious of them. I guess the real question is, can I deduct the purchase of lindens needed for such a charity on my taxes?

Charity Raises Funds With Homeless Avatar

The number of Second Life residents making profits over US$5,000 a month surged more than 40 percent in November, according to data released on Tuesday by Linden Lab, while the total number of profitable residents rose 11.5 percent from the prior month.

Month by month, Second Life proves itself more and more to be a viable business platform. After interviewing a number of highly successful SL entrepreneurs, these rewards do not come easy. Those that are clearing US$5,000 a month are doing such on a full time basis. Second Life is their primary source of income, and the skills required to pull it off often match the RL equivalent of a similar position. If Second Life is a game, for these people, the Linden Dollar is the high score.

Surge in High-end Second Life Business Profits