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Weekly News Recap: February 23, 2018

Vincent Duckworth

Logan Locke, right, 17, joined fellow students on the over 400-mile trip to the state capital. Credit Julie Turkewitz/The New York Times

You train four years for this one game, but the time that it takes and the amount of work and sacrifice it takes, not just the 23 players on this roster but those who worked hard to get on this team and did not make it. This is what we worked for, the chance to win a gold medal. -- American women’s ice hockey player Monique Lamoureux-Morando on being one win away from a gold medal. (She scored the game-tying goal in the final of the 2018 Winter Olympics, on February 22, before her twin sister Jocelyne scored the last shootout goal of the game to clinch the gold medal.)

Fundraising humour

How it's done

News

  • With Grief and Hope, Florida Students Take Gun Control Fight On the Road (New York Times) "Instead of 10th-grade English and 12th-grade calculus, the teenagers from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., had another funeral to attend. When the grim ceremony was over on Tuesday morning, they hugged their parents goodbye, stashed their backpacks in the bellies of three buses and set off in grief and hope to demand gun control measures from state lawmakers more than 400 miles away." 2/20/18

  • Time to start 'phasing out' funding for private schools, says trustee on Edmonton public board (CBC) ALBERTA STORY "An Edmonton public school board trustee is asking her colleagues to support a motion calling for the phase-out of government funding for private schools." 2/20/18

  • Wildlife federation plans massive expansion thanks to donation (Saskatoon Star Phoenix) SASKATOON STORY "It was a jaw-dropping moment at the Saskatoon Wildlife Federation’s recent awards evening. [President] Robert Freberg made a surprise announcement — a half-million dollar donation from him and his long-time friend and business partner Patrick Thompson." 2/20/18

  • What This New Foundation Says About Silicon Valley Giving (Inside Philanthropy) The founders of Dropbox have just established a $20 million foundation. It has a number of interesting characteristics that make it different from its peers. To name two: it is focussed on human rights and its grants are unrestricted. 2/20/18

  • Ann Arbor dress donation program aims to put prom within reach for every girl (All About Ann Arbor) I heart this. "That one little idea has grown into a very big operation. This year, [Janice Wery] has more than 500 dresses. The way it works, Wery asks for gently worn gowns. She then washes them by hand and irons each one. In the spring, she holds a sale. In its sixth season, it’s bigger than ever. So much so, Wery has had to get a storage unit to house all of the dresses. The dresses cost $10-$25." 2/20/18

  • These Celebrities Have Donated More Than $2 Million to Florida Students' Anti-Gun March (Money) Terrific. #IAmWithTheStudents "First, George and Amal Clooney pledged to donate $500,000. Then Steven Spielberg did the same. And then Oprah Winfrey did it too. In less than 24 hours, major celebrities have joined thousands of people all over the world to raise more than $2 million for the March For Our Lives, the upcoming gun control march being organized by the surviving students of last week’s high school shooting in Parkland, Florida." 2/20/18

  • AIs, oceans and proteins: Ottawa announces winners of $950 million 'supercluster' competition (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "The Trudeau government has unveiled the winners of a competition to form technology "superclusters" — a title that will guarantee the victors a piece of up to $950 million in federal funding." 2/15/18

  • 'Mr. UBC:' why a university prof and 'reluctant' president meant so much to so many (CBC) VANCOUVER STORY "They called Walter Gage 'the Dean of Everything' at the University of British Columbia. Between 1921 and 1975, he was, at various times, a student, a math professor, the dean of two departments and finally university president." 2/15/18

  • Downturn in Calgary's economy translates into drop in charitable donations (CBC) CALGARY STORY "Calgarians were less charitable in 2016 compared with the year before, according to numbers released Wednesday by Statistics Canada — more than $105 million less charitable, to be exact. That marks a 15.1 percent drop from 2015 to 2016, one of the largest reductions in the country. In Edmonton, there was a 7.4 percent reduction in charitable giving in 2016 compared with the year before." 2/14/18

Life and career hacks

Uncommon knowledge

Philanthropic personalities

Philanthropic controversy

  • Great Ormond Street may keep Presidents Club donation (The Guardian) "Great Ormond Street hospital (Gosh) is reconsidering whether to return £530,000 it collected in donations from the controversial Presidents Club after allegations of groping and sexual harassment at a men-only fundraising gala. The London children’s hospital, which had vowed to return the money it received from Presidents Club events, said on Monday it was reconsidering the decision to ensure it had the maximum funds to support the hospital and its patients." 2/19/18

  • Oxfam scandal highlights spectrum of abuse: local staff, recipients — aid workers, too (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT "It was three years almost to the day after Canadian Megan Nobert was drugged and raped by a colleague while working in South Sudan that sexual misconduct among aid workers finally hit international headlines." 2/15/18

  • Meet the Sacklers: the family feuding over blame for the opioid crisis (The Guardian) "The Sackler Drug Rehab Facility, unlike the prestigious Sackler art galleries of New York and London does not exist. Yet. If lawyers have their way, however, or public opinion pricks a few consciences, it may soon." 2/13/18

Trends and shifts

  • Singapore Budget 2018: S$190m yearly to boost philanthropy (Business Times) Nice work Singapore! "The government will allocate about S$190 million yearly to support boosters that will lift the spirit of giving. These boosters include extending the 250 per cent tax cut for donations to Institutions of a Public Character (IPC) for three years, beefing up the government's one-stop platform to better match donors and volunteers with charities, raising the cap for government support for the Community Development Councils (CDCs) and extending the Business and IPC Partnership Scheme (BIPS) for three years." 2/20/18

  • Playing favourites: Edmonton's building blitz of mega recreation centres a tough act to follow (CBC) EDMONTON STORY "In 2008, city council approved funding for an ambitious, $500-million plan to build multiplex centres in different corners of the city. Ten years later, the model has been so successful that delegations from other jurisdictions — from North Vancouver to Iceland — have visited to learn from [Edmonton's] rec centre designs." 2/15/18

  • Crypto Is Now Fastest Growing Donation for Fidelity Charitable (CoinDesk) "Cryptocurrency enthusiasts have proved quite charitable, at least as far as Fidelity Charitable is concerned. [The] global charity revealed it has received $69 million in cryptocurrency donations in 2017, making it the fastest-growing asset type accepted by the firm." 2/14/18

  • "One World" Philanthropy: An Unusual Campus Bequest Gift for Social Justice (Inside Philanthropy) "Support for university-based efforts to advance social justice [...] tends to come from institutional grantmakers [...]. What we see less often are patrons like Seymour S. “Sy” Bluestone. Bluestone, a former doctor, was a longtime supporter of social justice initiatives at Brandeis University. He passed away in September at the age of 96. And though he only visited Brandies once in his long life, he left the school an $8.4 million bequest earmarked for social justice initiatives." 2/14/18

Large gifts

  • Singapore American School receives S$3 million donation from Razer investor, Lim Kaling (PR Newswire) "Singapore American School (SAS) Foundation [has] announced a gift of S$3 million from Singapore business magnate, investor and philanthropist, Mr. Lim Kaling -- the second largest in the school's history." 2/21/18

  • Friendship between Reagor, 5-year-old ballerinas leads to $1 million donation (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal) "Reagor Dykes Auto Group and the Lubbock Entertainment/Performing Arts Association [have] announced [...] a $1 million donation to the Ballet Lubbock facility at the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences." 2/20/18

  • Arkansas Symphony Orchestra receives $1.8M donation (Arkansas Online) "A $1.8 million donation to the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra is the largest individual gift in the organization's history [...]. The orchestra said in a statement that the ´transformational gift´ to its endowment came from the estate of Linda Garner Riggs, a former chairwoman of the Board of Directors of its foundation." 2/20/18

  • UT alum earns place in Longhorn Band history with $12 million donation (Statesman) "A graduate of the University of Texas now holds the record for the largest planned donation to the Longhorn Band after gifting $12 million to the program. Rick Church, a 1977 engineering graduate who still plays his tuba in the 'X' of the 'TEXAS' formation during Alumni Band Day, also committed $7 million from his estate to the university’s Department of Engineering and the Cockrell School of Engineering, and $350,000 to the band’s Legacy Fund and scholarships [...]." 2/19/18

  • Georgia Island Preservation Group Gets $1 Million Donation (U.S. News) "A group committed to preserving the scenic character of St. Simons Island on the Georgia coast is $1 million richer thanks to an anonymous donor." 2/18/18

  • UBC leads global Buddhism research network after receiving $4.9 million donation (The Ubyssey) VANCOUVER STORY "With a $4.9 million donation from the Liuzu Temple of Chan Buddhism in China, UBC is now leading a long-term international network to advance the study of Buddhism and East Asian cultures." 2/18/18

  • Emma Watson makes million pound donation to new fund(Daily Mail) I always liked that Hermione Granger. "Harry Potter actress Emma Watson has made a £1 million donation to a new fund that will help set up a framework and provide support for those affected by sexual harassment." 2/18/18

  • Arts center donation expected to help offset rising costs (Leader-Telegram) "The Confluence Arts Center in downtown Eau Claire [in Wisconsin] will have a new name, thanks to a $5 million donation from a recently formed local philanthropic group that will help fill an arts center funding shortfall created as its cost has risen about $13 million, to $60.5 million. The Pablo Foundation on Friday announced its gift toward the Pablo Center at the Confluence, the new name for the arts center." 2/16/18

  • Westport Country Playhouse Renamed Following $3 Million Donation (Westport Patch) "Following a $3 million donation, the Westport Country Playhouse will now be renamed for the generous donor, Westport News reported. The campus will now be known as The Howard J. Aibel Theater Center at Westport Country Playhouse." 2/16/18

  • Sacramento State receives the largest donation in its history. Who’s the benefactor? (Sacremento Bee) "Ernest E. Tschannen celebrated his 93rd birthday not by receiving presents, but by giving Sacramento State its biggest gift ever. Mayor Darrell Steinberg joined Sacramento State president Robert Nelsen for Tschannen’s ´birthday party´ [...] at Riverview Hall, where a ceremony was being held to announce the businessman’s $9 million donation to the university." 2/16/18

  • $1M donation could mean new home for non-profit supporting Winnipeggers with intellectual disabilities (CBC) WINNIPEG STORY "A Winnipeg non-profit group that provides support for people with intellectual disabilities just received a million-dollar boost. DASCH (Direct Action in Support of Community Homes) announced [...] it has received a legacy gift of $1 million from the Jessiman Foundation." 2/16/18

  • Steve Schwarzman Makes The Biggest-Ever Donation To A Public High School (Forbes) Boom! "Billionaire private equity titan Stephen Schwarzman startled educators gathered at the annual American Association of School Administrators conference today when he announced that he was giving his public high school in suburban Philadelphia a gift of $25 million." 2/15/18

  • Sustainable Ocean Alliance Receives $1 Million Bitcoin Donation from Pineapple Fund (PR Newswire) 'Pine' is at it again. Love it! "Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA), [has] announced [...] that it has received a donation of 123.32 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at $1 Million, from the Pineapple Fund. SOA advances the impact of startups, social enterprises and youth-centered initiatives developing solutions to protect the health of the ocean and sustain the ocean economy." 2/15/18

  • $1M donation is largest faculty cash gift in ISU history (Herald & Review) "Illinois State University rang in Founders Day with a bang — the announcement of the largest faculty cash gift in the school's history: $1 million from Carson and Iris Varner." 2/15/18

  • $10M donation to Wheaton matches largest in school history (Fox News) "Wheaton College in Massachusetts announced [that it has received] one of the largest donations in its 183-year history. The school said it received a $10 million commitment from the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation to expand its social entrepreneurship programs and create a professorship on the subject." 2/15/18

  • Anonymous $1 million donation boosts St. Simons Land Trust (The Brunswick News) "The St. Simons Land Trust is $1 million closer to its goal of meeting a $4 million challenge thanks to a recent anonymous donation." 2/14/18

  • Children's Museum receives $6M donation (ABC) "The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation has announced a $6,000,000 donation to the Explore & More Children's Museum." The Explore & More Children's Museum was founded in 1994 and is based in East Aurora, New York. 2/14/18

  • $3M donation going to GRPS teacher training (NBC) "Former Perrigo CEO Mike Jandernoa and his wife Sue, a former teacher, earmarked $3 million to go toward expanding a partnership between GRPS [Grand Rapids Public Schools] and the U of M-based TeachingWorks, which provides more training for teachers." 2/14/18

  • Gustavus Tennis and Life Camps receives $1 million donation (St. Peter Herald) "Tennis and Life Camps at Gustavus Adolphus College [have] announced a $1 million gift from Boy and Betty Toy [...]. The commitment serves as a cornerstone gift of Tennis and Life Camps’ (TLC) ambitious 40-Love Campaign, which seeks to raise $4 million over the course of 40 months to celebrate the 40th anniversary of one of the nation’s preeminent summer tennis camps." 2/14/18

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