Weekly News Recap: February 8, 2019

Chancellor of the University of Lethbridge Charles Weaselhead poses in this undated handout photo. Charles Weaselhead is the former chief of the Blood Tribe and one-time Treaty 7 grand chief. (The Canadian Press/HO - University of Lethbridge)

We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them -- Albert Einstein

AFP News

  • AFP Foundation for Philanthropy- Canada National Scholarship Program (AFP Global) The AFP Foundation for Philanthropy—Canada offers Canadian fundraising professionals working for charitable and non-profit organizations the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills in fundraising. Financial scholarships, up to a maximum of $1000, are being offered to cover registration and travel costs for educational programs at the local, national and/or international level. The Next Scholarship Deadline is March 15, 2019, at 5pm EST 2/6/19

News

  • Schools still in need of playground funding after minister promised action months ago (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY "Desperate to build playgrounds on barren school properties, parents are increasingly suffering from fundraising exhaustion and donor fatigue as the province still considers funding options." Thanks to Scott Decksheimer for sharing this story. 2/4/19

  • Maroon 5 Is Donating Their Entire $500,000 Super Bowl Fee To Charity (Sport Bible) "The band have gone and donated $500,000 (£380,000) - their performance fee - to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America charity." 2/3/19

  • Former chief Charles Weaselhead elected University of Lethbridge chancellor (CBC) LETHBRIDGE STORY What a great honour for everyone involved. Congrats to the University of Lethbridge and to the Chief Weaselhead. "An Indigenous man has been elected as chancellor of the University of Lethbridge for the first time in the school's 52-year history. Charles Weaselhead is the former chief of the Blood Tribe and one-time Treaty 7 grand chief." 2/2/19

  • Public members appointed to University of Calgary Board of Governors (UToday) CALGARY STORY Congrats to Nancy Foster and Fauzia Lalani. "The Government of Alberta has appointed two new public members to the University of Calgary’s Board of Governors, effective Jan. 22, 2019 for a three-year term." 2/1/19

  • Ron Joyce, billionaire who brought Tim Hortons coffee to the masses, dead at 88 (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Thank you for your philanthropy Mr. Joyce. RIP. "Ron Joyce, the Nova Scotia native who made Tim Hortons coffee and doughnuts a staple of Canadian diets and created a billion-dollar empire, has died. He was 88." 2/1/19

  • Resolve Campaign's latest building, the Triveri, is a tribute to helping up (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY Congrats to RESOLVE and thank you to Calbridge Homes. "Calbridge Homes was one of 11 home builders and developers that each committed $1.4 million to create affordable rental housing with support services for up to 3,000 vulnerable and homeless Calgarians. Including other donations, $27 million has been donated by the local homebuilding industry to Resolve. The new building, the Triveri, is underway in Calgary’s southeast community of Forest Lawn, and is the largest project to date, with 38 bachelor-style suites. Each home will have a kitchenette and washroom, there will be communal and amenity space in the building for residents’ use, and they will have 24-hour supports available. Construction is expected to be completed in February 2020." 2/1/19

  • Rocker Randy Bachman donates hundreds of guitars to National Music Centre in Calgary (CBC) CALGARY STORY Thank you Mr. Bachman! "Canadian rocker Randy Bachman has donated his guitar collection to the National Music Centre in Calgary. Bachman, a Winnipeg-born, award-winning musician and beloved broadcaster, is best known as the lead guitarist and a founding member of The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive." 1/31/19

  • Portrait of former Alberta premier Jim Prentice going up at legislature (CBC) ALBERTA STORY "An official portrait of former Alberta premier Jim Prentice is to be unveiled at the provincial legislature on Monday. Prentice was Alberta's 16th premier when he was chosen by Progressive Conservative party members to be their leader in September 2014. He lost to Rachel Notley's NDP in an election that followed eight months later. Prentice quit politics after the loss and was killed in a small-plane crash outside Kelowna, B.C., in the fall of 2016." 1/30/19

  • 19 Calgary non-profits will get $3M to tackle mental health and addiction (CBC) CALGARY STORY Nice move Calgary. "The City of Calgary is giving $3 million to 19 non-profits to help treat mental health and addiction issues. The city's mayor said the programs will be innovative, and will focus on early and targeted interventions." 1/30/19

  • Peter Valentine remembered for decades of community contributions (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY I had the privilege of working with Peter in his role as auditor general when I worked at NAIT. A wise and caring Canadian. RIP Mr. Valentine. We will not see your like again. "Order of Canada recipient Peter Valentine is being remembered for the 'huge love of Calgary and country' that fuelled his decades of contributions to the community. Valentine, who served in the auditing firm KPMG for 37 years and as Alberta auditor general from 1995 to 2002, died Jan. 24. His long list of roles in the community included chair of the Calgary Stampede Parade Committee, president of the Nat Christie Foundation and chair of the audit committee for the Calgary Health Trust." 1/30/19

First Peoples of Canada

  • Syncrude, Mikisew Cree sign agreement over Mildred Lake Extension (Fort McMurray Today) FORT MCMURRAY STORY "The Mikisew Cree First Nation has signed an agreement with Syncrude over the company’s Mildred Lake Extension. The Fort Chipewyan-based First Nation will now no longer be an intervenor on review hearings for the project that began last week." 1/29/19

Books to read

  • The Best Books I Read in 2018 (The Mission) It has been a while since I put something in this section. This is an excellent list not least because it includes two biographies of Churchill, a book by the most amazing physics teacher ever born, and some really cool books on self-discovery. 1/16/19

Life and career hacks

Uncommon knowledge

  • What Personality Tests Really Deliver (New Yorker) A great read (and a bit of a deep dive) into Myers and Briggs and much much more. As a recovering ENTJ, I read with great interest. Thanks to Gina Wheatcroft for sharing this article. 9/10/18

Opinion

  • Opinion: We need to fix implicit bias in philanthropy. Here's how. (devex) "Social innovators who don’t fit a certain profile face a clear disparity in philanthropic investment. The 'right' networks to help secure funding are far from inclusive. The unwritten rules of the social entrepreneurship funding landscape form a labyrinth of invisible barriers to capital, every decision influenced by unconscious bias." Thanks to Ron Bailey for sharing this article. 1/30/19

Philanthropic personalities

  • MEET 3 MILLENNIAL GIVERS REDEFINING PHILANTHROPY (Maxim) "The mere mention of the word 'philanthropist' may conjure images of austere hospital wings, beloved but weathered university buildings, and red-velvet ensconced theaters—all of them displaying burnished signs that name benefactors long forgotten and bear dates long past. However, by contrast, the successful millennial philanthropist is defining himself to be a vibrant, compelling, and motivated individual who walks amongst us every day in the fast lane. They start companies and bake generosity right in to the corporate culture; the giving grows right along with the company’s bottom line. Promoting important causes such as health and wellness, the arts, and the environment, today’s philanthropists are leaving their mark on the world in a profound way." 1/30/19

Philanthropic controversy

  • Alberta's lottery regulator investigating contest to give away $1.7M home (CBC) MILLARVILLE STORY Hmmmm...it appears she did NOT have a raffle licence. "Alberta's lottery regulator is investigating the legality of a contest run by a woman trying to give away her $1.7-million home in Millarville." 2/1/19

  • Sackler family, fortune and philanthropy under scrutiny amid opioid lawsuits (KRTV) "A series of lawsuits spurred by the opioid epidemic has thrust one of America’s richest yet little-known families into a spotlight they’ve long sought to avoid. The Sacklers, owners of the pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma LP, have a combined fortune estimated by Forbes at $13 billion. The lawsuits, including a case brought by the Massachusetts attorney general’s office that produced fresh and deeply unflattering revelations about the family on Thursday, have alleged that the Sacklers boosted their wealth by pushing what they knew to be addictive and deadly painkillers onto doctors and patients while reaping more than $4 billion in opioid profits over the course of a decade." 2/1/19

  • Historian berates billionaires at Davos over tax avoidance (Guardian) "A discussion panel at the Davos World Economic Forum has become a sensation after a Dutch historian took billionaires to task for not paying taxes. In a video shared tens of thousands of times, Rutger Bregman, author of the book Utopia for Realists, bemoans the failure of attendees at the recent gathering in Switzerland to address the key issue in the battle for greater equality: the failure of rich people to pay their fair share of taxes." 1/30/19

  • Will sex abuse allegations scuttle Boy Scouts donation of Norman Rockwell art to Youngstown museum? (Cleveland.com) Gift acceptance is all about mission. Whichever way this decision goes, this board is doing their job by having the conversation. "A board of trustees for an Ohio art museum has delayed accepting Norman Rockwell art from the Boys Scouts of America, fearing community backlash because of a recent report detailing the scouting organization’s problems involving child sex abuse allegations." 1/29/19

Trends and shifts

  • 9 email marketing trends to watch in 2019 (PR Daily) I know it might be hard to believe but...email is NOT dead. "Though it doesn’t tend to get the same buzz as channels such as social media, email quietly delivers extraordinarily impressive results for marketers year after year." Thanks to Ron Strand for sharing this article. 2/4/19

  • Philanthropy And Family Offices: The Gift That Keeps On Giving (Forbes) "If philanthropy is an investment-driven purely by the Love(philos) for Humankind(anthropos), it is not surprising that many commercially driven businesses consider it to be no more than a noble pursuit for the super-rich. However, for family businesses in particular, it may be prudent to employ a more holistic and open-minded perspective on the potential benefits of philanthropy, not only as an investment into society as a whole, but as a long term investment into a healthy, sustainable business that both family and employees feel a meaningful connection to." 1/31/19

Large gifts

  • Cambridge University secures unprecedented £100 million gift to support students (University of Cambridge) Wow! What a gift! "Cambridge University has announced an unprecedented £100 million gift to help attract the most talented postgraduate and undergraduate students from the UK and around the world The donation from the David and Claudia Harding Foundation is the biggest single gift made to a university in the UK by a British philanthropist." 2/5/19

  • Colby College receives $5 million donation for biomedical research (Press Herald) "Colby College has received a $5 million donation to support student biomedical research, marking the school’s third major financial commitment to the sciences in the past three years. Trustee and alumnus David Pulver and his wife, Carol, committed the money, which will be used to create the Pulver Science Scholars Program [...]. " 2/1/19

  • Montreal Heart Institute launches drug study with $1-million donation (Montreal Gazette) MONTREAL STORY "It’s a drug that’s extracted from the autumn crocus, a plant that blooms purple every fall. It’s been used for years to treat gout and familial Mediterranean fever. And now, thanks to a $1-million donation from the Fondation J. Armand Bombardier, the Montreal Heart Institute is launching an international clinical trial to show whether the anti-inflammatory drug — known as colchicine — can prevent repeat heart attacks and strokes, possibly even death, in patients who have recently suffered a heart attack." 1/30/19

  • Guelph General Hospital receives $5M donation (Global News) GUELPH STORY "In what’s being called an unprecedented gift, Guelph General Hospital received a $5-million donation from Linamar Corp [...]." 1/30/19

  • Moody Foundation Makes $5M Donation To Leadership Program (Patch.com) "The Moody Foundation has made its second $5 million grant to the Presidential Leadership Scholars (PLS) program. PLS serves as a catalyst for a diverse network of leaders brought together to collaborate and make a difference in the world as they learn about leadership through the lens of the presidential experiences of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Lyndon B. Johnson." 1/30/19

  • Anonymous Donation Pushes Hospice Fundraising Closer to Goal (CJWW) SASKATOON STORY What a lovely gift. It is not often that a gift of this size is made to a hospice. "The Close to Home Campaign has launched with a flourish. St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation announced [...] there has been a 6 million dollar anonymous donation for their drive to build a free standing residential hospice in Saskatoon." 1/31/19

  • U of T receives $4-million donation to create Chinese-Canadian archives (UofT News) TORONTO STORY "The University of Toronto will establish a Chinese-Canadian archive to collect, preserve and digitize cultural and personal records and stories from the Chinese diaspora in Canada, including oral histories, video and photographs. The Richard Charles Lee Chinese-Canadian Archive is made possible with a $4-million gift from an anonymous donor." 1/31/19

  • Northern Ontario hospital receives largest private donation to date (Elliot Lake Today) ELLIOT LAKE STORY "Marcel and Frances Labelle of Cochrane have donated $5 million to support Health Sciences North's new Innovation and Learning Centre." Elliot Lake is north of Lake Huron, midway between the cities of Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie 1/31/19

  • Donation from Virgil Elings Caps $40 Million Campaign for 155,000-Square-Foot Humanitarian Hub (Direct Relief) "Direct Relief [...] announced it received a $5.1 million donation from Virgil Elings to complete funding for its new headquarters facility. The $40 million facility [...] includes both Direct Relief’s headquarters offices and the largest distribution hub for humanitarian medical aid in the United States." 1/31/19

  • MUSC receives $5 million donation for new children's hospital (NBC) "[A] generous $5 million gift was donated by local businessman, Gene Reed Jr., to the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital. Construction is in its final stages for the free-standing children's hospital which will allow MUSC to treat more pediatric patients than ever before." 1/31/19

  • Obama delivers speech to Boeing after $10M donation made to his presidential center (Washington Examiner) "Former President Barack Obama delivered a speech at Boeing’s annual executive retreat earlier this month after the company donated $10 million to Obama’s library and museum in Chicago. Obama made an appearance at the retreat to provide leadership tips and waived his usual speaking fee for the occasion, Obama’s spokeswoman Katie Hill told Bloomberg." 1/28/19

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