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Val Hoey, Bow Valley College (credit: Ted Rhodes, Calgary Herald)

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News

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• Airdrie Food Bank serves record 26,000 people in 2015 77% increase during last half of 2015. Food banks play such an important role in helping all of us. ALBERTA STORY (2/12/16)

• Jordan and Evan Caldwell remembered as 'very deep' but incessant pranksters at packed Calgary funeral This was a big story in Calgary. Our hearts go out to the Caldwell Family. CALGARY STORY (2/11/16)

• Alberta non-profits get $10.5M in provincial grant funding Full list of projects funded through the Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) and the Community Initiative Program (CIP). $6 million to CFEP, $4.5 million to CIP. 294 Alberta communities served. These are great programs, so glad we have them. ALBERTA STORY (2/11/16)

• Northeastern University professor helps develop experiential philanthropy education program This is cool. This professor is helping to develop philanthropy in Saudi Arabia. (2/11/16)

• Donations down as United Way braces for 'challenging year' It is not often that Calgary's United Way raises less than the year before. Still, a great performance from the campaign and the campaign team. CALGARY STORY (2/10/16)

• Supporters of downtown Edmonton Galleria push ahead, despite no word on government funding Such an important project. Glad to see it continues to move forward. ALBERTA STORY (2/9/16)

• Low oil prices hollow out Calgary's downtown core Is this an opportunity to re-purpose Calgary's downtown towers? CALGARY STORY (2/9/16)

• Economic downturn impacting mental health of Calgarians, study says Thank you Distress Centre. CALGARY STORY (2/9/16)

• Discover Studio Bell: NMC Exhibitions Sneak peak at National Music Centre exhibits for all you exhibit nerds out there. That would be...me. CALGARY STORY (1/27/16)

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Life and career hacks

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• Thriving in a 24-7 World: the truth about multitasking "In multitasking, you end up leaving a whole pile of things partly done, and that's very unsatisfying," says sports psychologist and Olympic athlete coach Peter Jensen. I completely agree. I used to think that multi-tasking made me more efficient. Instead, it made me feel mostly unsatisfied and often frazzled CALGARY STORY (2/10/16)

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Philanthropic personalities

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• Ellen Makes Largest Donation in Show History to Detroit Public School Nice gift Ellen! Ellen DeGeneres made a $500,000 (with the help of Lowes) gift to the Spain Elementary School in Detroit. (2/11/16)

• Four Calgarians among Order of Canada appointees Congratulations to Don Taylor, Jim Dinning, Mary Rozsa de Coquet, and Kim Sturgess. Well deserved all. CALGARY STORY (2/10/16)

• Bequests Put Conservative Billionaire Richard Scaife Atop List of America’s 50 Biggest Donors When the Mellon banking and oil heir died at age 82 in 2014, he left $758.9 million to two private foundations, a museum, and an environmental group. Wow!. Just wow! (2/9/16)

• This Finance Billionaire Is Laser-Focused on Higher Education in His Philanthropy Mario J. Gabelli is a second generation child of Italian immigrant parents. Classic story, "My parents did not have a formal education... but in this country, I had the opportunity to progress through a great education." Mr. Gabelli is worth $1.46 billion and he has given away tens of millions to education. (2/5/16)

• Retiring Bow Valley VP taught school how to succeed Our friend and fellow fundraising colleague, Val Hoey, retired from Bow Valley College this week. Val, you have and remain a leader and an inspiration in our field. CALGARY STORY (2/1/16)

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Opinion and inspiration

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• The Modern Marriage Between Tech Philanthropy and Nonprofits: “It’s Complicated” Lots of opinions here. I would be interested to hear feedback in our comments section on this one. (2/10/16)

• What Can Philanthropy Do To Revitalize a Bruised Economy in a Rust Belt City? Ten funders, $100 million. Focus: Restore city as an economic leader and create jobs. The New Economy Initiative. Lots to learn here. (2/10/16)

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Events and announcements

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• Discuss: New Conversations Series This is an initiative of the Institute for Community Prosperity at Mount Royal University. Our very own Andrea McManus is speaking on this on February 26. Topic is Strange Bedfellows: Imperatives for Deep Collaboration Why our biggest challenges require new ways of working. CALGARY STORY (2/10/16)

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Philanthropic controversy

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• Congress Renews Scrutiny of Biggest College Endowments If your endowment is over a $1 billion and you are in the U.S., you are likely on this list. In the U.S., university and college endowments are tax exempt and they are not subject to minimum spending requirements. Some folks in Congress think they should be. What do you think? (2/9/16)

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Research, studies, and stats

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• How Canada leads the way in charity data I love this post. Yes, we (Canada) should be bragging about this. Kudos to you too CRA (Canada Revenue Agency). Thank you to Andrea for sharing this link. CANADIAN STORY (2/9/16)

• The Surprising Link Between Employee and Donor Retention This is something many have know for some time. Now, it is validated with research by Amy Eisenstein, ACFRE, Dr. Rita Kottasz and Dr. Adrian Sargeant. Thank you to Andrea for sharing this link. (2/9/16)

• Why Corporate Philanthropy is so Important "Some executives criticize corporate giving because it uses company resources that could be used to benefit management or shareholders directly." Academic research from Harvard debunks this. (2/5/16)

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Large Gifts

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• DTU gets 150 million donation for new research centre This is a gift to the Danish Technical University from the Villum Foundation to support research into the replacement of fossil fuels. This gift, in Danish kroner, is equivalent to $22.5 million U.S.. This is the largest gift made by this Danish Foundation. (2/12/16)

• CN Railway announces $5M donation to Syrian welcome fund at Calgary event Way to step up CN Railway! CANADIAN STORY (2/11/16)

• NOVA Chemicals commits $2 million to major community projects Nice support for Red Deer College and the upcoming Canada Winter Games. ALBERTA STORY (2/10/16)

• Slaight Family Foundation announces $11M donation Children and Youth Initiative to 11 Canadian national charities supporting the healthy development of children across Canada Wow! This is an incredible gift, see related story below. The list of charities is a veritable who's who of Canadian youth charities. CANADIAN STORY (2/10/16)

• Morgan State University announces largest individual donation in its history Lovely $5 million gift from former UPS Executive. (2/10/16)

• Australian National Botanic Gardens gets $1.5m private donation for conservatory So far, gardens are big for donations this year. I like gardens. (2/10/16)

• Million-dollar donation to help former foster care teens find safe housing Thoughtful gift from the Slaight Family directed at an important youth issue in Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Toronto. CANADIAN STORY (2/10/16)

• West Hartford's Kingswood Oxford School Receives $3.5M Donation I tell ya, a bequest can really change your life. (2/9/16)

• National Gallery of Victoria unveils $1.4 million Parisian haute couture donation The other Victoria. This gift-in-kind is truly beautiful. Will be a stop for me if I ever get to Australia. (2/9/16)

• $61 Million Donation to Rochester Area Community Foundation Another nice win for a community foundation. Thank you Sands Family. (2/9/16)

• Bates College Receives $19M Donation This is a gift from seven families to establish three endowed professorships in digital and computational studies and three additional professorships in neuroscience, economics, and chemistry. $10 million of this gift is from the chair of the board of trustees. Nice board gift! (2/8/16)

• Weber State gets $5M donation for building renovation, asking $30M from Legislature Nice gift to support the renovation of the Social Science Building. It is interesting to note that government is also expected to play a significant role in the U.S. for public institutions. (2/8/16)

• $40-million expansion puts Edmonton's Telus World of Science on ice Nice to see this project go forward. The Telus World of Science in Edmonton is a great facility but it is in need of a significant refresh. ALBERTA STORY (2/8/16)

• Hilton Head Island resident pledges $20 million to alma mater "Bob Malesardi's gift will be used to support financial aid programs at Bucknell University, a private university in central Pennsylvania." Malesardi graduated from Buchnell in 1945. (2/7/16)

• Rhino Rescue Facility at Safari Park Gets $1.16M Donation Rhinos need love too. This gift to the San Diego Zoo, is from Ms. Nikita Kahn. The facility will bear here name. (2/6/16)

• Enormous Donation of $2.5 Million to be Dedicated to Students and Faculty Endowment giving still exists, it is just more rare. Nice to see this work. (2/6/16)

• $10 million donation to DePauw University will build new technology center Next time someone asks, 'do people really make big anonymous donations?' you have your answer. (2/6/16)

• Nuns pray donation will continue their mission If you take a vow of poverty what happens to your worldly goods. As it turns out, they can add up over time. These Vancouver based nuns (the sisters of Saint Ann) just made a $3 million gift to Saint Marks, a Catholic Theological college associated with UBC. CANADIAN STORY (2/6/16)

• Annette Bloch makes record donation for D.A.P. facility Annette Bloch is the widow of H&R Block co-founder Richard Bloch. She made a $3 million gift to support the Desert Aids Project in Palm Springs. (2/6/16)

• Jay Z’s Tidal Makes $1.5 Million Donation To Black Lives Matter Movement In Honor Of Trayvon Martin’s Birthday Glad to see this movement is gathering strong philanthropic support. Thanks Jay Z! (2/6/16)

• Billion Dollar Philanthropy Venture Bets Big on Child Welfare, Justice, Education Blue Meridian Partners, a group of ten major grant makers in the United States is committed to making $200 million in investments with four organizations serving children and youth in the U.S. over the next five to ten years. The funds will be directed into three sectors: child welfare, education and the judiciary, along with “other systems that affect children’s lives.” Oh, and one of the principal partners, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, is committed to spending up to $750 million more in these areas. (2/5/16)

• UFC donates $1M to Ruvo center for brain trauma study — VIDEO Good to see. Arguably, the UFC bears some responsibility for the increase in head trauma. (2/5/16)

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