Weekly News Recap: October 26, 2018

Late MLA Manmeet Bhullar (centre) Twitter

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself. To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart. -- Eleanor Roosevelt

Lists of lists

News

  • Internal Parks Canada report looks for ways to make money by selling, transferring assets (CBC) CANADIAN STORY I am curious if they explored philanthropic naming. They would be able to keep the asset and also garner some revenue. This is done to great effect in the U.S. "Putting tolls on highways that run through Parks Canada sites in Western Canada could net the federal agency about $85 million a year, says a consultant's report on how to manage the parks' roads, bridges and dams. But that revenue-generating measure is likely 'off the table' because of a federal policy that requires alternate free routes through national parks. On the other hand, the report identified 183 dams and bridges worth almost $1.3 billion as prime targets for disposal, whether through sales or transfers to other levels of government." 10/24/18

  • PHOTOS: Central Library prepares to close its doors after serving community needs for 55 years (CBC) CALGARY STORY "Calgary's Central Library is closing — but not to worry. It's moving a block away to a new building that's already catching the attention of the architectural world for its beautiful design. Sarah Meilleur, the library's director of service delivery, shared some old photos with CBC News, and reflected on what the downtown library has meant to the city over the past six decades." 10/23/18

  • Tiny homes to provide homeless vets 'a sense of community' (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY I love this story. Much more than a tiny bit. "Military veterans without a home will soon be receiving reinforcements. A community of 15 tiny homes fabricated by Calgary’s ATCO industries is being eyed for a site in Forest Lawn next year. On Monday, proponents of the mission unveiled two of the first 275 square-foot homes that’ll bear the names of fallen Canadian soldiers. 'Our tiny homes will provide our homeless veterans with a sense of privacy, a sense of community,' said ATCO CEO Nancy Southern.' Thanks to Scott Decksheimer for sharing this story." 10/23/18

  • Varcoe: City council faces ‘Come-to-Jesus moment’ as shrinking value of downtown towers leaves huge tax gap (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY "The downturn in oil prices in 2015 and ’16 led to thousands of oilpatch layoffs and a dramatic increase in vacant office space in the core. Under the city’s annual revenue-neutral reassessment process, empty offices and buildings with falling property values pay lower municipal taxes if their assessments decline. The city, however, still needs a certain amount of money each year to fund services." 10/23/18

  • Making space for Scotty: Royal Sask. Museum hosts online auction (CBC) REGINA STORY Even museums need to purge it appears. "As the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) makes room for a new permanent prehistoric resident, you can own a little piece of Saskatchewan's history. A replica of Scotty, the 65 million year old Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton found near Eastend, Sask., is set to come to the RSM in May of next year. An exhibit of that size will take up a lot of room — so much that the museum is hosting an auction of some exhibits to make space. 'The museum has pretty much run out of storage space. We have really no place to keep the exhibitory and cabinetry,' [said] Michelle Hunter, the executive director of Friends of the RSM [...]. 10/22/18

  • Non-profit pushes for Calgary to ban plastic bags (CBC) CALGARY STORY ViTreo's weekly news recap is plastic-free and we like it that way. "A Calgary non-profit is ramping up efforts to have plastic bags banned in the city, as part of a greater effort to eliminate single-use plastic waste. 'I want a future and we only have one planet,1 said 12-year-old Ryland Chisholm, at the first public event for Plastic Free YYC last week." 10/22/18

  • 3 Calgarians across 3 generations talk about the changing conversation around mental health (Calgary Journal) CALGARY STORY The Calgary Journal is a publication of Mount Royal University's journalism students. Congrats on making the recap! Great story. "'You’re perfectly fine. You’re going to school.' This is an answer that some parents may give their children in response to mental health complaints, from a seven-year-old who holds his abdomen in pain from being too nervous, to a 17-year-old who can’t seem to get out of bed for days. However, the conversation is slowly shifting. The Calgary Journal spoke to three Calgarians across three generations to understand how the narrative is changing." 10/21/18

  • RDC's Alternative Energy Lab opens (Red Deer News Now) RED DEER STORY Congrats! "Fossil fuels may be our bread and butter, but if you ask the folks involved with renewable and alternative energy initiatives at Red Deer College, that reality is swiftly changing. On Saturday, RDC hosted the first ever Renewable Energy Fair along with tours of the brand new and recently opened Alternative Energy Lab." 10/21/18

  • Historic airplane makes journey from High River to museum in Nanton (CBC) NANTON STORY "Motorists travelling between High River and Nanton, Alta., were treated to a rare [sight] — a vintage, twin-engine plane used to train crews during the Second World War being trucked to the Bomber Command Museum of Canada. The Cessna Crane — with its nearly 13-metre wingspan — was loaded onto a flatbed truck in High River and driven south to Nanton, having been donated to the museum by an Alberta family." 10/20/18

  • PHOTOS: Brooks: Wood's Homes Never Give Up Gala (The Province) CALGARY STORY Congrats! ViTreo is proud to be working with Wood's Homes. "The 21st anniversary of Wood’s Homes’ Never Give Up Gala, held Sept. 29 at Hyatt Regency Calgary, was a success, raising more than $200,000. The funds will support mental health treatment services Wood’s Homes provides to more than 20,000 children, teens and families every year." 10/20/18

  • Former politician being honoured with a Calgary park (660 News) CALGARY STORY "Hundreds of Calgarians and dignitaries [attended] the official opening Saturday of Manmeet Singh Bhullar Park. It honours the life and legacy of the politician who died in a tragic crash in November 2015, when he stopped to help another motorist [...].'He was a hero really to the community, and he was involved in many, many areas, including parks and green spaces,' [Sheila Taylor, CEO of Parks Foundation Calgary] said." ViTreo is proud to be working with Parks Foundation Calgary. 10/20/18

  • Twelve projects distinguished in 2018 Canadian National Urban Design Awards (Archinect) CANADIAN STORY I love urban design. Congrats to all. From Vancouver to Kuujjuaq, from Montreal to Charlottetown to Edmonton, from Calgary to Quebec City, and from Toronto to Anse-du-Sud sector of Percé and back to Etobicoke, these are all winners in my mind. 10/19/18

  • Calgary companies hiring again, but mostly for temporary jobs, recruitment expert says (CBC)CALGARY STORY "There are clear signs that the economy in Calgary is starting to pick up again, according to the head of a staffing and recruitment company. Sharlene Massie, CEO of About Staffing, says lots of small- and medium-sized companies are having a hard time finding qualified staff. 'We're having a really busy year for requests for employees, and it's all over the map,' she said. 'Diversified sectors, so, not so much in oil and gas, but lots of small to medium-sized businesses are using our services. And it's usually because they need some temporary help and it's a position that they have a definitive contract for.'" 10/19/18

  • Frederick Banting's painting of the lab where he discovered insulin part of auction preview (CBC) CANADIAN STORY As a diabetic, I heart this story.10/18/18

  • Edmonton Girl Guide sells out of cookies in cannabis store lineup (CBC) EDMONTON STORY This belongs in the fundraising hall of fame. This girl is genius! "As Edmontonians lined up to buy legal cannabis from retail stores on Wednesday, Elina Childs saw a business opportunity. The nine-year-old Girl Guide and her father showed up at Nova Cannabis just south of Whyte Avenue, pulling a wagon filled with top-shelf munchies: sandwich cookies and mint thins. She sold all 30 boxes in less than 45 minutes, earning $120 for Girl Guides." 10/18/18

  • Aga Khan officially inaugurates University of Alberta’s showpiece garden (The Star) EDMONTON STORY Fantastic! "With a geometric shape that is Islamic in design but Albertan in ecological makeup, the Aga Khan opened his namesake garden in Edmonton with much fanfare Tuesday. The 4.8-hectare garden at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden, 15 minutes southwest of Edmonton, is being billed as the northernmost Islamic garden in the world." 10/16/18

First Peoples of Canada

  • 'In our bloodline:' Land-based learning links curriculum with Indigenous culture (CBC) SASKATCHEWAN STORY "A school day for six-year-old Hunter Sasakamoose can start with lighting a fire for breakfast and end with doing math by candlelight. In between, the boy learns life skills such as hunting and fishing as well as first-hand science lessons about how rain soaks into the ground to help grow the plants he's harvesting. His education combines lessons from his ancestors on the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation in Saskatchewan with the curriculum of his peers in Regina, where he goes to school half the year. He's taking part in land-based learning and his mother, JoLee Sasakamoose, is his teacher." 10/21/18

  • New partnership aims to bring more library services to Indigenous communities (CBC) SASKATCHEWAN STORY I heart this. "Out of 306 public library branches in Saskatchewan, only six are on First Nations reserves — but a team of people is working to change that. The Saskatchewan Committee on Indigenous Library Services (SCILS) is partnering with the Office of the Treaty Commissioner and the Saskatchewan Provincial Public Library Systems to bring more library services to Indigenous communities." 10/21/18

  • Wharf worries: Northern Alberta community worries about the privatization of their port (CBC) FORT CHIPEWYAN STORY "A fly-in northern Alberta hamlet is concerned about the privatization of the community's port, which is one of the few points of escape should there be a wildfire and is the main way the community receives food and fuel during the summer months. Transport Canada has said it's in talks with an unnamed company to take ownership of Fort Chipewyan's main wharf. But community members fear the transfer in ownership might leave them high and dry should the new owners decide the wharf is unprofitable." 10/19/18

Life and career hacks

Studies and reports

Uncommon knowledge

Philanthropic personalities

Philanthropic controversy

  • City pulls plug on Bowfort interchange public art (CBC) CALGARY STORY "Plans for public art at the Bowfort interchange in Calgary were paid for, but more than a year after the piece was partially unveiled, CBC News has learned it will never be completed. This week, the city pulled the plug on the landscape piece, known as drumlins, originally planned for the opposite side of the highway." 10/19/18

  • 5 Calgary galleries end partnerships with Arts Commons after censorship accusation (CBC) CALGARY STORY "Five Calgary art galleries have chosen to end their partnership with Arts Commons after the organization was accused of censoring a transgender artist's work last month. The decision will leave empty the majority of the nine window art galleries in the facility's Plus-15 walkway." Thanks to Katia Asomaning for sharing this 10/18/18

  • Critique of Gates Foundation’s Organizational Culture Should Be Warning to All Philanthropy (Capital Research Center) "Rachel Schurman, a professor of global studies and sociology at the University of Minnesota, has done the entire philanthropic sector a great service by writing an article published in the December 2018 issue of World Development. Her article, “Micro(soft) managing a ‘green revolution’ for Africa: The new donor culture and international agricultural development,” examines how the organizational culture of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has affected its international Agricultural Development program. Applied to that specific context alone, the piece contains some harsh criticisms. But if applied more broadly, Schurman’s piece is positively scathing." 10/17/18

Embracing failure

  • Getting the Best Possible Failures in Philanthropy (Stanford Social Innovation Review) "[While] success should always be the goal, it’s important to remember that not all failures are created equal. There are good failures and bad failures. Many investments don’t achieve their intended outcomes, but they nevertheless: 1) contribute knowledge to the field, 2) have a significant, positive, but unintended consequence, or 3) increase the capacity of all involved to try other approaches." 10/16/18

Trends and shifts

  • #MeToo Brought Down 201 Powerful Men. Nearly Half of Their Replacements Are Women. (New York Times) "[The] analysis shows that the #MeToo movement shook, and is still shaking, power structures in society’s most visible sectors. The Times gathered cases of prominent people who lost their main jobs, significant leadership positions or major contracts, and whose ousters were publicly covered in news reports. Forty-three percent of their replacements were women. Of those, one-third are in news media, one-quarter in government, and one-fifth in entertainment and the arts." 10/23/18

  • The City That Had Too Much Money (Bloomberg) VANCOUVER STORY "Since mid-2014, capital flight from China may have totaled as much as $800 billion, according to estimates from the Institute of International Finance. In Vancouver, the tidal wave has wrought a dramatic economic, demographic, and physical transformation." 10/20/18

  • Philanthropy: How do you start? (MacFarlanes) "In 2017 there was a 20 per cent increase in charitable giving by the wealthiest donors, according to research by the Charities Aid Foundation [...]. The primary motivation of most philanthropists is to give back to society after a fruitful career. They recognise that they have the financial resources, and often the skills and experience, to have an impact on societal problems." 10/18/18

  • Your Alma Mater Wants Your Donation—Just Not in Bitcoin (Fortune) "If you’ve invested in Bitcoin and want to share the cryptocurrency with your alma mater for a donation, you might face some trouble. According to a new report from Bloomberg, the University of Puget Sound is believed to be the first in the country to have accepted a Bitcoin donation from an alumnus. The college wasn’t sure how to accept it at first and nearly balked at accepting Bitcoin. But the person who donated the Bitcoin, Nicolas Cary, co-founder and vice chairman of Blockchain, a site to create wallets for Bitcoin, was able to help." 10/17/18

Large gifts

  • Million-dollar donation will jump-start digital innovation center at USM in Portland (Portland Press Herald) "A gift from Wex board chairman Michael Dubyak is intended to launch a state-of-the-art tech complex for students that will also be open to K-12 programs and midcareer professionals." Yes, that Portland. This gift is being directed to the University of Southern Maine (USM). 10/24/18

  • Tsinghua Uni recipient of largest donation to a university in China (China.org.cn) "The Guangdong Guoqiang Public Welfare Foundation will donate 2.2 billion yuan [($415 million CAD)] to Tsinghua University over the next ten years to support basic frontier scientific research, talent training, and to help the development of the university." 10/24/18

  • Ole Miss to honor late Miss America for $1.6M donation (The Sacramento Bee) "The University of Mississippi will honor a former Miss America and her husband after the couple's daughter gave more than $1.6 million of her parents' money to the university. Ole Miss [...] will name a 130-seat theater as the Mary Ann Mobley Collins and Gary E. Collins Studio Theatre. The school says the gift, directed to the school by Clancy Collins White, will also fund as many as 10 scholarships, the school's first ever designated for theater and film students. Mobley graduated from Ole Miss in 1958, the same year she won the Miss America crown." 10/23/18

  • Red Tide Institute: Mote Labs uses $1M donation to focus on the algae (Charlotte Sun) "Thanks to the Andrew and Judith Economos Charitable Foundation, Mote Marine Laboratory will be better able to research the red tide algae. Mote announced [...] how a $1 million endowment from the foundation will establish and support the first year of operations for the Red Tide Institute at the nonprofit Mote lab in Sarasota." Mote Marine Laboratory is an independent, not-for-profit, marine research organization based on City Island in Sarasota, Florida. Now you know! 10/23/18

  • Vienna’s Albertina museum receives €90m donation of 1,323 works from Essl Collection (The Art Newspaper) Mind blowing! "Vienna’s Albertina museum has received a gift of 1,323 works valued at about €90m, including pieces by Cindy Sherman, Tony Cragg, Karel Appel, Georg Baselitz, Alex Katz and Neo Rauch, which it plans to house in a new home for contemporary art opening next year. The Essl Collection was assembled by Karlheinz Essl, the founder of the Baumax chain of DIY shops, and his wife Agnes." 10/23/18

  • Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar Honoured by a $1 Million Donation (International League of Antiquarian Booksellers) Wow! Say that source three times fast! Nice nerdy gift. I like it. "[The] Antiquarian Book School Foundation, received a gift from an anonymous donor of $1 million. This generous gift, one of the largest gifts given to an antiquarian book trade organisation, will go directly into the [Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar] (CABS) permanent endowment enabling CABS to keep delivering education and support to members of the trade well into the future." 10/23/18

  • Stanford Law School Pulls Down Largest Ever Alumni Donation Of $25 Million (Above The Law) "'As a result of this visionary gift, [Stanford Law] graduates will have an educational experience that reflects the global world [they] live in, and they will be ready to lead in an increasingly complex and borderless world,' said Stanford Law Dean Elizabeth Magill on the $25 million gift from Class of 1961 member and airline executive, William Franke. " 10/22/18

  • Ryan Murphy Makes $10 Million Donation to Children’s Hospital After Son's Cancer Battle (Just Jared) Good. It will help save others. Thanks Ryan! "Ryan Murphy is opening up about his son Ford‘s cancer battle. The 52-year-old American Horror Story and Glee creator took to his Instagram to reveal that the four-year-old was diagnosed with neuroblastoma two years ago [...]. Since the discovery, Ford underwent surgery and today, is thriving. In honor of his recent fourth birthday, Ryan and his husband David Miller are donating $10 million to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles." 10/22/18

  • Local couple donates $2 million for Golisano Children's Hospital (WXXI News) "An area couple has donated $2 million to UR Medicine’s Golisano Children’s Hospital. The donation comes from Mark and Maureen Davitt. Mark is CEO of ConServe, a Rochester area-based company that specializes in doing collection work for colleges and universities." 10/19/18

  • Telus donating $120 million to launch foundation to help vulnerable youth (National Post) CANADIAN STORY Holy moly. This is huge. Thanks Telus. "Telus Corp. will announce Friday a $120-million donation to launch a foundation that helps vulnerable Canadian youth. Canada’s third-largest telecommunications company says the inaugural donation is the largest made by a publicly traded Canadian company in history. The funds come from Telus’ sale of its downtown Vancouver headquarters, for which it planned to record a $170-million gain in the third quarter." Thanks to Scott Decksheimer for sharing this story. 10/19/18

  • Researcher and team awarded $1M health prize for research on origins of congenital heart disease (UToday) CALGARY STORY "Dr. Myriam Hemberger, PhD. [...] has just won one of the world’s top prizes in women’s health and reproduction, the inaugural $1 million U.S. Magee Prize. It is funded by the Richard K. Mellon Foundation in the United States. The prize was awarded for research into the association between placenta defects and congenital heart disease." 10/18/18

  • Record $17.3 Million Donation Made To PSU Abington (Abington Patch) "A former Penn State Abington student has committed to donating $17.3 million to the university, marking the largest donation in school history. The donor is Stephen Taub, who graduated from Penn State's main campus in 1973 and went to become the president and CEO of Mafco Worldwide Corp, one of the largest licorice manufacturers in the world." 10/18/18

  • Rider Hall Named For Alum Who Made $5.5 Million Donation, Friend (Lawrencevill Patch) "A Rider University alum has donated $5.5 million to the university, and surprised his longtime friend by dedicating a building in his honor, the university announced on Thursday." 10/18/18

  • The Leo Messi Foundation Makes Final Donation To Complete Funding For Pediatric Cancer Center (Sport Bible) "The Leo Messi Foundation and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) have made a monumental move after donating €2.6m to complete the €30m funding needed to build the SJD Pediatric Cancer Center in Barcelona." 10/18/18

  • Montana State Athletics receives record-setting $2 million donation (KBZK) "Montana State University Athletics has received a $2 million commitment from an anonymous donor — the largest single gift the program has ever received — to support a pair of projects that are part of the first phase of athletics’ master plan for facilities." 10/17/18

  • Detroit, Southeast Michigan Receives $100 Million Donation for Parks and Trails (wdet) Boom! "The foundation announced $100-million dollars in the city of Detroit and the Detroit region. Of that, $50-million will go to the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park, which was previously known as West Riverfront Park. $50-million will go to the parks and trails network that’s around here in Southeast Michigan." 10/17/18

  • $3M donation will fund child abuse treatment center (CBS) "Alaska CARES, the state’s largest children’s advocacy center, is getting a $3 million donation from the Southcentral Foundation for operations and to build a new treatment facility [...]." 10/17/18

  • Hubbell Realty makes major donation to $117 million plan for Des Moines' rivers and streams (Des Moines Register) "Hubbell Realty Co. is donating $1 million to an effort to bring recreation to downtown Des Moines' rivers and create a network of 80 water trails across central Iowa." 10/16/18

  • UA Science and Engineering Library Receives $7 Million Donation (Tuscon Weekly) "Tired of squeaky chairs, coffee-stained carpets and the search for a desk with a power outlet when you go to the library? Well, those will be a thing of the past at the University of Arizona’s Science and Engineering Library thanks to a $7 million donation from the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation." 10/16/18

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