Weekly News Recap: February 15, 2019

The province announced a new mental health centre for children and teens on February 11, 2019. (EVAN KLIPPENSTEIN/CTV EDMONTON)

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things -- Peter F. Drucker

News

  • Charitable giving in Alberta Part II: Who gives the most? (The Owl) LACOMBE STORY Go Lacombe! Thanks to Michael Donlevy and Eric Rajah for sharing this story. "Yesterday in The Owl, we saw how overall charitable donations in Alberta have nearly tripled over the last two decades. In 2017, the total amount pledged to charities was $1.57 billion. But the breakdown by town and city in our province reveals some interesting trends on who gives the most. For the sixth year in a row, Lacombe wins the top honours for highest personal giving to charities. With median per donor giving at $1,000 in 2017, residents of the central Alberta community give more than twice the provincial average of $480 per donor." 2/12/19

  • U of C to receive $1.2 million for dating violence prevention program (Daily Hive) CALGARY STORY Nice move! "The federal government is funnelling $1.2 million towards a program dedicated to preventing dating violence. The Government of Canada issued a release on February 11 stating that the University of Calgary will be receiving funding over five years to deliver a teen and youth dating violence prevention program called WiseGuyz." 2/12/19

  • Prairie Women On Snowmobiles Raise Big Money For Cancer Research (Discover Estevan) SASKATCHEWAN STORY "The Prairie Women on Snowmobiles had another fantastic year this year. They held there annual mission from February 2-8th where they raised funds for the Canadian Cancer Society and the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency to help support there fight against breast cancer [...]. The mission saw some big numbers put up for the fight against cancer with a total of $23,900.81 raised for the Canadian cancer society and $59,808.89 raised for the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency. With a grand total of $83,709.70." 2/12/19

  • Bezoses and Bloomberg Top Chronicle List of the 50 Donors Who Gave the Most to Charity (Chronicle of Philanthropy) "Donors on the Philanthropy 50, the Chronicle’s annual list of the people who gave the most to charity, contributed a total of more than $7.8 billion last year, a steep drop from the $14.7 billion the top 50 donors gave in 2017." 2/12/19

  • Edmonton to get $226M children's mental health centre, province says (CBC) EDMONTON STORY Congrats to all. Nice work Stollery! Nice work Government of Alberta and Alberta Health Services. "The Alberta government announced plans Monday for a new $226-million children's mental health centre to be built in Edmonton. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2021, with the centre scheduled to be completed by 2024." 2/11/19

  • Heritage Park hopes return of paddle wheeler, extra council cash will keep it afloat (CBC) CALGARY STORY "After coming through some turbulent financial waters, Heritage Park is hoping there's smoother sailing ahead. The city-owned attraction is projecting a $250,000 deficit for 2018, its first red ink in more than five decades of operations. It blamed the financial woes on a series of challenges beyond its control." 2/11/19

  • Cancer patients may face longer delays in treatment if Alberta doesn't build Calgary cyclotron, advocates warn (CBC) CALGARY STORY "With construction of the Calgary Cancer Centre well underway, some health advocates say building a cyclotron — to produce radioactive substances used in cancer scans — should move up the government's priority list." 2/11/19

  • One of Calgary's best-known businessmen aims to 'do it right' once again at 71 (CBC) CALGARY STORY Mr. Smed is amazing. "This is ground zero for the Calgary entrepreneur's latest venture or, in his cheery parlance, his fourth 'mulligan.' 'Where we get to spend the most fun in life is making the baby,' says Smed enthusiastically. It's only been a few months since Smed — one of the city's best-known businessmen was ousted from DIRTT Environmental Solutions, the award-winning company he co-founded in 2004." 2/11/19

  • Michael Donlevy to retire from RDC after 18 years (rdnewsNow) RED DEER STORY Congrats Michael. You have been a leader in Central Alberta and across the profession. Thank you! "With Red Deer College's president and CEO Joel Ward already set to retire in 2019, the institution is now facing the departure of another high-profile face. Vice President Michael Donlevy has announced he will retire effective June 30 of this year after close to 20 years with the college. Donlevy has been a member of RDC's executive team since 2001, and during that time he led two ambitious fundraising campaigns resulting in over $60 million raised through philanthropic gifts and sponsorships. His contributions are also to be credited for more than $1 million in scholarships now awarded to students annually." 2/10/19

  • Swann song celebration held for former Alberta Liberal party leader (CBC) ALBERTA STORY Dr. Swann, thank you for years of service to Albertans. Of course, to me, you are, first and foremost, the grandfather to an amazing passel of grandkids in Sunnyside. "Former Alberta Liberal leader Dr. David Swann was met with hugs, cheers and well wishes from supporters on Saturday to celebrate his coming retirement after 15 years in provincial politics. Swann, the MLA for Calgary-Mountain View — a riding he's lived in for the last 35 years — announced last spring that he won't be running in the next provincial election." 2/10/19

  • National collection enriched by close to 1,000 works of Inuit art (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Marmie, we miss you. Dearly. But this. This! Your generosity even in death is a gift to generations of Canadians. Thank you! "The Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., has been enriched by a donation of more than 900 works of Inuit sculpture, prints, drawings and other material. The collection arrives from the estate of the late Margaret (Marmie) Perkins Hess, a prominent Calgary gallery owner, art historian, professor and business person. She had assembled the collection over decades of travel and research in Canada's North." 2/10/19

  • York couple offers Pope $1m charity donation to go vegan for Lent (Premier) "A couple from York have challenged Pope Francis to become vegan during Lent this year in return for a donation of $1m (£771,405) to the charity of his choice. Jane Land and Matthew Glove are the founders of Veganuary and their latest project, Million Dollar Vegan, has received backing from a number of celebrities including Paul McCartney and Manchester United footballer Chris Smalling [...]. The Vatican has yet to respond." Lent takes place in the 40 days beginning March 6, 2019. 2/8/19

  • Swift Current names rink after Sheldon Kennedy (CTV Regina) SWIFT CURRENT STORY Full circle. Very appropriate. "The City of Swift Current and Safe Places announced an outdoor skating rink will be named after child-advocate Sheldon Kennedy. Kennedy was in Swift Current to open up the Sheldon Kennedy Youth Outdoor Classic, a part of the 2019 Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada festivities." 2/8/19

  • Instagram plans charity donation feature (Third Sector) Brilliant! "The social media platform Instagram is working on a new feature that will allow users to donate to charity, the company has said. A spokesman for Instagram told Third Sector it was working on a new 'donation sticker' in its Instagram Stories feature that would enable users to donate to charitable causes of their choice." 2/8/19

  • Charities spreading the love (St. Albert Gazette) EDMONTON STORY I love the campaign name. "No Woman Without. Period. kicked off its month-long drive this week by announcing that its goal is to collect more than 7,000 packages of feminine hygiene products for WIN House, Lurana Shelter, The Bissell Centre and other organizations that serve Edmontonians in need." 2/8/19

  • Interracial Couples And Disability-Friendly Emoji Coming Soon To Smartphones (NPR) I <3 data-preserve-html-node="true" this. "The humble emoji, originally a set of basic symbols designed to add visual flair to text-based messages, has become a way for people to express their identity. And with the latest crop of tiny icons, smartphones around the world are about to become much more inclusive. Disabled individuals will see a wide range of new emoji devoted to them, including wheelchairs, canes, hearings aids and prosthetic limbs. These emoji were proposed by Apple to better represent individuals with disabilities." 2/7/19

  • Zoo's Valentine cockroach revenge for ex-lovers (BBC) What could go wrong. "A zoo in the US state of Texas is celebrating Valentine's Day by inviting visitors to name cockroaches after their ex-partners. In an event called Quit Bugging Me!!!, keepers at El Paso Zoo will feed the insects to hungry meerkats. They will also display ex partners' names around the meerkat enclosure and on social media." Thanks to Denise Summers for sharing this story. 2/7/19

  • Forty years of Calgary Folk Music Festival memories in focus with new photo exhibit at Studio Bell (YYScene) CALGARY STORY The Calgary Folk Fest is my Christmas. "The relationship between the Calgary Folk Music Festival and the National Music Centre has always been a close one. Last year, for example, the fest moved part of its colder cousin Block Heater into NMC’s Studio Bell and for the upcoming event, Feb. 21-23, they will once again put the bulk of the Friday and Saturday programming into the East Village hub and home. It’s a home, it should also be noted, that NMC’s president and CEO Andrew Mosker says was architecturally inspired by the summer experience on Prince’s Island Park." 2/6/19

  • City awards $8.5M to 'life sciences hub,' an incubator for new companies (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY "The grant — the third and largest yet from the $100-million Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund established by city council in 2018 to help stimulate the economy and support diversification — will support programming at the Life Sciences Innovation Hub located at University Research Park. The facility, which was purchased by the U of C in November and is scheduled to open this summer, is meant to be a place where growing and developing companies can find a home and advance the commercialization of their products and services." 2/6/19

  • NAIT campus to double in size after land purchase (CBC) EDMONTON STORY "NAIT will be expanding its main campus to almost double its size after acquiring 18 hectares of city-owned land, which includes a portion of the Blatchford development [...]. NAIT acquired 13.27 hectares west of its current campus on the City of Edmonton's Blatchford development site, along with an option to purchase another 3.23 hectares. It's also acquired another 4.8 hectares north of the campus, once home to the city's Westwood transit garage. NAIT will make a student residence and a skills centre the priority for construction on its new site." 2/6/19

First Peoples of Canada

  • Alberta contributes $3.3M for huge solar farm in remote Fort Chipewyan (Global News) FORT CHIPEWYAN STORY "Alberta will work with Indigenous groups in the province’s remote northeast corner on what the government says will be Canada’s largest off-the-grid solar power project. The plan is for 7,500 solar panels to be erected at the power plant near the airport at Fort Chipewyan." 2/7/19

  • New high school for Tsuut'ina Nation will have strong focus on culture and curriculum (CBC) CALGARY STORY Awesome! "Construction is starting on a new high school for the Tsuut'ina Nation, west of Calgary, Alta. The new 43,000-square-foot school is the latest in a string of big development pieces for the First Nation, including the Grey Eagle Casino and hotel, a new sportsplex and the new southwest ring road currently under construction." 2/7/19

Life and career hacks

Uncommon knowledge

Family Giving

  • You are Going to Die! Philanthropy 3.0 – Your New Wealth Planning Strategy (Karma & Cents) CANADIAN CONTENT Great blog post by our friend Gena Rotstein. Thanks Gena! "They say that nothing is certain except death and taxes. Since those two things are inevitable, what can be done to make them less stressful? This is where Philanthropy 3.0 comes in. As a planning tool, Philanthropy 3.0 can work towards wealth management, tax planning and establishing a living legacy that can be an emotional comfort for your friends, family and community upon your passing." 2/7/19

Philanthropic controversy

  • Alabama church returns $25,000 gift from casino (AP News) "An Alabama church damaged by a tornado is returning a $25,000 donation from a casino because it doesn’t support gambling. The pastor of the First Baptist Church of Wetumpka, James Troglen, tells WSFA-TV that church members voted Sunday to return the contribution from Wind Creek Casinos. Troglen says church members were 'extremely moved' by the donation. But Troglen says he doesn’t support legalized gambling and church members who share his beliefs thought it would be a conflict to keep the money." Thanks to Gina Wheatcroft for sharing this story. 2/13/19

  • Tyson Foods heir fulfills donation, Zach Theatre says, ending suit (The Statesman) "Zach Theatre has dropped its lawsuit against Carla Tyson, a member of the family behind Tyson Foods, after she paid the remainder of a promised $500,000 donation. Zach Theatre had sued Tyson, the daughter of former Tyson Foods executive Don Tyson and sister of current Tyson Foods chairman John Tyson, in federal court [...] saying she owed them around $245,000." 2/7/19

  • "Impossible to Justify." A Political Scientist Takes on American Philanthropy (Inside Philanthropy) "Rob Reich stumbled into his study of philanthropy by accident, when he and his wife enrolled their son in kindergarten in Palo Alto, California, one of the nation’s wealthiest communities. On the first day of classes, they got a letter requesting a $2000 donation to the local foundation that supports the town’s public schools [...]. Over the ensuing years, that intellectual journey would lead Reich to become one of the nation’s preeminent scholars of philanthropy. He is read widely in both academic and grantmaking circles, he’s a frequent speaker at events in the sector, and faculty co-director of the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society. While the center is backed by a number of private funders—and Reich’s own position there has been supported by Marc and Laura Andreessen—he’s made his mark by asking hard questions about the role of philanthropy in a democratic society. " 1/7/19

Trends and shifts

  • Text donation in the UK – infographic (Charity Digital Times) BTW, great infographic! "We explore why charity donations by SMS on the rise, who’s giving this way and how charities can enable their supporters to give quickly and conveniently by text." 2/12/19

  • Utah Food Bank receives large donation thanks to charity vending machines (ABC) This is a follow-up story to an earlier recap story. "The Utah Food Bank received a major donation on Thursday from the #LightTheWorld giving machines campaign. Charity vending machines created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints resulted in a $163,502 donation." 2/7/19

  • The Rise of the Robot Reporter (New York Times) "As reporters and editors find themselves the victims of layoffs at digital publishers and traditional newspaper chains alike, journalism generated by machine is on the rise." 2/5/19

  • Tech Is Splitting the U.S. Work Force in Two (New York Times) "A small group of well-educated professionals enjoys rising wages, while most workers toil in low-wage jobs with few chances to advance." 2/4/19

  • My 2019 Predictions for Big Tech and Beyond (Business) "I love predictions. Nothing is more certain than the past, nor more uncertain than the future. Similar to a jet launching off an aircraft carrier, predictions ask us to mentally chart a path on the hard surface of the past. We leave the safety of the flattop and trust our wings of logic and creativity to support the prediction on the airflow of the future. I’m not sure if what I just said is more poetic or lame. Good money is on 'yes.'" 1/14/19

  • The Future of Celebrity Is a Japanese Hologram Named Hatsune Miku (Music) William Gibson had a character in his 1996 book Idoru that predicted just this possibility. 7/24/18

  • This Is How You Should Be Prioritizing Your Work And Life (Fast Company) The three questions are everything. 4/19/18

Large gifts

  • McGill receives record-setting $200-million donation (The Star) MONTREAL STORY Boom! Nice gift! "Montreal’s McGill University has received what it says is the single largest donation in Canadian history in the form of a $200-million gift towards a graduate scholarship program. McGill said [...] that the donation by John and Marcy McCall MacBain will be used to support up to 75 Canadian and international graduate scholars every year." 2/13/19

  • Loras lands $5 million donation from academy graduate (Telegraph Herald) "Loras College [...] announced receiving a $5 million cash gift [...]. The donation came from Bill P. Miller, now of Camarillo, Calif., and a 1952 graduate of Loras [Academy.]" Loras College is a Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa. 2/13/19

  • 'It's time for me to give back': Donald's Fine Foods owner gifts $1.5M to lung cancer research (CBC) VANCOUVER STORY "Donald's Fine Foods, headquartered in Richmond, employs more than 800 people across Canada and exports meat to more than 25 countries. It's the success [Donald] Leung built with his business over 25 years that's allowed him and his wife Julia Leung to donate $1.5 million to the B.C. Cancer Foundation. The money will go towards lung cancer research and equipment needs." 2/12/19

  • HILLEL ONTARIO RECEIVES $1-MILLION DONATION (Canadian Jewish News) CANADIAN STORY "Campus advocacy for Israel and Jewish issues has received a big boost, with a $1-million donation to Hillel Ontario from the Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Foundation." 2/12/19

  • Canadian Canoe Museum receives anonymous $1.25M donation for new museum (Global News) PETERBOROUGH STORY "Officials at the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough say an anonymous out-of-province donor has invested $1.25 million to support the construction of a new museum. The new museum is to be built alongside the Peterborough Lift Lock on the Trent Severn Waterway in the city’s east end, replacing the 1960s-era building on Monaghan Road. The museum boasts the world’s largest collection of canoes, kayaks and paddled watercraft." 2/7/19

  • Rawlinsons donate$1 million to new Saskatchewan Hospital (Battlefords News Optimist) BATTLEFORDS STORY "The Saskatchewan Hospital New Beginnings campaign has ended with a big donation. Gordon and Jill Rawlinson have contributed $1 million toward the new Saskatchewan Hospital. The main lobby and central hub of the new hospital will be called the Gordon and Jill Rawlinson New Beginnings Centre." 2/7/19

  • Craigslist Founder Donating $15 Million to Promote Journalism Ethics (Fortune) "Craigslist founder Craig Newmark thinks fake news is a problem—and it’s time for the industry to get on top of it. To tackle the issue, Newmark is donating $15 million to two separate efforts to promote ethics in journalism. Newmark will give $10 million to Columbia University’s journalism program, to establish the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security [...]. He will also donate $5 million to the Poynter Institute, a Florida-based journalism think tank." Thanks to Janice Paskey for pointing us at this story. 2/6/19

  • BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS RECEIVES $5M DONATION, LARGEST IN HISTORY (WJON) "The Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota has been given a $5 million donation from the Norman C. Skalicky Foundation to launch its Great Futures Endowment Campaign." 2/6/19

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