Weekly News Recap: November 22, 2019

Weekly News Recap: November 22, 2019

Alex Trebek's generous donation will help to continue several education elements already in place at the university. Photo: Jeopardy

There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. -- Norwegian saying.

This week's highlights

Great ideas

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News

  • Calgary Drop-In Centre sees 47 per cent drop in chronic homelessness (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY How great is this! "A year-and-a-half-long push by the Drop-In Centre to get homeless Calgarians into their own housing has resulted in a 47 per cent drop in chronic homeless clients, the facility says. Sandra Clarkson, executive director of the shelter, said the number of chronic users peaked at 433 but has dropped to 240 as of June." 11/17/19

  • Hockey comes to museum (Castanet) KELOWNA STORY Woot! I will have to visit there when I am there over Christmas! "There's nothing more Canadian than hockey - it's in our psyche, it's in our blood. The Kelowna Museum will bring the history of our national pastime to life with Hockey: More Than Just a Game, a travelling exhibition from the Canadian Museum of History. From Paul Henderson’s winning goal for Canada in the 1972 Summit Series to Manon Rhéaume’s debut as an NHL goalie to Sheldon Kennedy’s advocacy on behalf of sexual abuse victims, Hockey revisits game-changing moments and players." 11/17/19

  • Brooks: Business leaders inducted into Hall of Fame (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY Congrats to all! "The who’s who in Calgary’s business community gathered at the Hyatt Regency [recently] to honour four individuals inducted into the Alberta Business Hall of Fame. The JA Southern Alberta hosted event proved the perfect opportunity to thank these outstanding business leaders for their time, treasure and inspiration. Inductees this night included Marg Southern, Jay Westman, Geoff Cumming, and Suzanne West (posthumously)." 11/16/19

  • Brooks: Distinguished Policy Fellow Awards Dinner (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY Congrats to all but special congrats to Jim Gray! "The Distinguished Policy Fellowships are awarded annually to leaders in public policy research, education, development, implementation or advocacy. The exclusive list of those awarded fellowships include former prime minister Stephen Harper, Thomas Jenkins, Thomas d’Aquino and Nancy Southern. Jim Gray and Steve Williams joined this impressive group at the Third Annual Distinguished Policy Fellow Awards Dinner [...]." 11/16/19*

  • UCalgary No. 6 in Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities rankings (UCalgary) CALGARY STORY Nice work UofC! "The University of Calgary has remained in the No. 6 position in Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities 2019 based on sponsored research income, according to the latest Re$earch Infosource Inc. results." 11/13/19

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Seven life and career hacks -- one for each day of the week

  1. The 15 Minute Guide To Writing Personal Notes That Will Strengthen Your Relationships (Publishous) My greatest role models and leaders have done this. No matter how busy. 11/20/19

  2. I Found My Passion Using a Tracking Method Inspired by Jim Collins (Better Humans) This is a very cool system. (If you are a nerd like me) 11/6/19

  3. The Norwegian Secret To Enjoying A Long Winter (Fast Company) I could do with a reboot on my own winter 'attitude'. I think these Norwegians are onto something. 11/6/19

  4. How To Exercise When You’re Injured (Better Humans) As I age, I am seeing the need for this more and more. A simple injury 20 years ago was easier to recover from. Now, not so much. This helps. 10/29/19

  5. Fiction Is Better Than Self-Help (Personal Growth) I never really thought of it like this before. For me, this is absolutely true. 10/29/19

  6. 5 Defining Traits Of The Truly Cool (P.S. I Love You) I wish I was this cool. I know people who are truly cool and they do embrace these traits...and more. 8/12/19

  7. Your Emotional Brain is Smarter Than Your Brain Thinks (Personal Growth) Great reminder. 6/17/19

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Uncommon knowledge

  • Unexpected Beauty in Primes (Cantors Paradise) I am pretty sure if we ever meet aliens, they will most likely speak in primes. 10/9/19

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Opinion

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Philanthropic personalities

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Philanthropic controversy

  • Homes sit empty as Habitat for Humanity struggles to find qualified families (CBC) CALGARY STORY "Habitat for Humanity is having trouble finding a family that qualifies for one of its homes in Okotoks. The duplex was built in 2018 and one family has moved in so far — in January. Spokesperson Marilyn Boake says more than 200 families have applied. 'But what we're seeing is some really big debt challenges with families,' Boake told the Calgary Eyeopener. 'Because our program is based on selling homes at fair market value, families that move in need to be able to take on a mortgage payment.'" 11/12/19

  • SickKids’ Airbnb campaign to have donors ‘check in’ to ICU met with criticism (The Star) "A recently launched fundraising campaign from SickKids Foundation in which a replica ICU room is rented to donors through Airbnb has attracted criticism that it’s disrespectful to families who have needed services at the hospital." 10/3/19

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Trends and shifts

  • EU To End All Fossil Fuel Lending In Two years (Forbes) "After months of contentious negotiations, the governing board of the European Investment Bank, the EU’s lending arm, voted yesterday to convert itself into a ‘climate bank’ - delivering a major policy promise of incoming EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen." 11/15/19

  • The Changing Relationship Between College Presidents and Their Brands (Inside Higher Education) CANADIAN STORY "Conventional wisdom might imply that, with greater marketing spend, more cabinet-level marketing officers, larger in-house marketing teams and the use of advertising agencies, the role of a university president or chancellor in promoting the brand would diminish, with more shouldered by these arguably more qualified people as part of more focused initiatives. But if other competitive categories like health care, retail and financial services are a reliable guide, the opposite is true." 11/15/19

  • Sweden's central bank dumps Australian bonds over high emissions (The Guardian) "Sweden’s central bank said [recently] it had sold off bonds from Western Australia and Queensland, and the oil-rich Canadian province of Alberta, because it felt that greenhouse gas emissions in both countries were too high." 11/14/19

  • Make a difference and donate to the CanadaHelps Winnipeg Fund. INTRODUCING A NEW, EASY WAY TO GIVE. (Canada Helps) CANADIAN STORY Looks like Canada Helps is giving United Way a run for its money. Also launched in Calgary, Edmonton Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. For now. Thanks to Ron Bailey for sharing this story. November 2019*

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Reports and studies

  • Findings: CCS Fundraising’s Snapshot of Today’s Philanthropic Landscape Report, (AFP Global) "The eighth edition of CCS Fundraising's Snapshot of Today’s Philanthropic Landscape report, a comprehensive compilation of the most recent philanthropic data from major sources in the industry, offers details on giving sources, a look at online giving and generational tendencies, as well as a multi-year view of philanthropic trends." 11/18/19

  • 2019 Alberta Budget Analysis for Nonprofits (CCVO) ALBERTA STORY A brilliant analysis. If you are a nonprofit leader in Alberta, you need to read this. November 2019

  • Reflections on Civil Society: The State of the Alberta Nonprofit Sector 2019 (CCVO) ALBERTA STORY "In an increasingly polarized environment, nonprofits may be tempted by two options: either withdraw entirely from engaging in policy advocacy to avoid perceptions of partisanship; or engage in advocacy that aligns with political rhetoric from the government and the opposition. It is vital that the sector resists both of these alternatives and instead engages more deliberately and boldly in policy advocacy, standing on the strengths of expertise, experience, and constructive criticism." November 2019

  • Corporate Community Investment in Canada - Read the 2019 report) (Imagine Canada) CANADIAN STORY "'Almost three in ten Canadian employees would take a pay decrease to work at a company where their employer contributes more to the community' [...]. Imagine Canada’s latest study shows that community investment gives corporations a decisive edge in the talent war." November 2019

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Large gifts

  • Penn Engineering receives record $25 million donation for new data science building (The Daily Pennsylvanian) "The School of Engineering and Applied Science received a record $25 million donation to fund a new data science building. The donation, made by 1980 College graduate Harlan Stone, is the largest in the history of the school, according to a Penn Engineering press release." 11/18/19

  • Mizzou gets $10M donation to fund new degrees (St. Louis Business Journal) "The University of Missouri - Columbia has received a $10 million gift from the Kinder Foundation to support two new degrees." 11/18/19

  • The Future Science Prize Sets $100M Permanent Donation Fund (China Money Network) This is amazing! "Their award-winning achievements have been made in Greater China and represent the high level of scientific research and technology in the world. In addition, on behalf of the 12 donors of the Donor Conference, [Shen Nanpeng, the rotating chairman of the Future Science Prize Donor Conference and the global executive partner of Sequoia Capital] promised to establish a permanent donation fund totaling US$100 million in addition to continuing the original annual donation, and 'permanently' the Future Science Prize to achieve generational inheritance." 11/18/19

  • Auburn receives largest donation in athletics history toward football facility (AL.com) "The program announced it received a $10 million donation commitment toward the Football Performance Center from Walt and Ginger Waltosz. It is the largest single donation in Auburn athletics history." 11/16/19

  • Alex Trebek increasing donation to University of Ottawa to hit $10M total (CTV) OTTAWA STORY Who is an amazing philanthropist Alex? "Just a month after beloved 'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek donated $1.2 million to the university, his alma mater, Trebek decided to 'round up the number' to make his overall contribution a cool $10 million." 11/18/19

  • 3 universities, medical center get $1B to teach and research (The Morning Call) Holy gadzooks! "Three universities and a health care institution are sharing a gift of more than $1 billion that's one of the largest in the history of higher education [...]. Receiving $260 million apiece will be Duke University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California, and the Cleveland Clinic. The institutions are free to use the money as they see fit." 11/17/19

  • Citi's Annual e for education Campaign Raises $8.15 Million (Financial Post) That is a lot of $1 million trades! "Throughout the nine-week campaign, Citi’s Foreign Exchange business donated $1 for every $1 million traded on its electronic platforms including Citi Velocity, Citi’s flagship trading platform for institutional clients, and CitiFX Pulse for corporate and custody clients." 11/14/19

  • Philanthropists Give $106M to Fund Brain Research Alliance (New York Times) "Billionaire philanthropists Joan and Sandy Weill announced [...] they are donating $106 million to launch a research initiative at three West Coast universities aimed at finding treatments for brain disorders like epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. The donation to the University of California, San Francisco, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Washington will go toward a 'neurohub' that will bring together data-driven and engineering work done at the three [institutions]." 11/12/19

  • $5 million donation: South Jersey medical center receives record individual gift (Philadelphia Business Journal) "Deborah Heart and Lung Center said [...] it has been gifted $5 million, the largest single amount given by an individual donor in the history of the 97-year-old Burlington County specialty hospital. The gift by Gregory Olsen was made to 'Deborah100,' a multi-year campaign raising funds to add two new patient floors with all private rooms at the medical center." 11/12/19

  • St. Ignatius Prep receives anonymous $15 million donation to fund minority scholarships (Chicago Tribune) "St. Ignatius College Prep, a prestigious Jesuit Catholic school on the Near West Side, has received an anonymous $15 million donation, the largest in school history, to fund scholarships for minority students." 11/12/19

  • SMU to create new graduate school after $100 million donation (Fox News) "Southern Methodist University will create a new graduate school thanks to the largest gift the university has ever received. The landmark commitment comes from the Moody Foundation in the form of a $100 million donation." 11/12/19

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Welcome to our recap of the week's news, articles, and information of note. ViTreo Group Inc. provides this information for the benefit of our clients, associates, staff, partners, and stakeholders. The content is collected and curated by ViTreo partner Vincent Duckworth. If you would like to submit a link for consideration, please send an email to info@vitreogroup.ca

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