Weekly News Recap: April 08, 2016

April 8, 2016 Vincent Duckworth

Giselle Gervais, winner of the Lakeland College Viterra Scholarship for Excellence. (credit: Lakeland College)

News

Times are Tough. Albertans are Tougher This is the thank you to Albertans from STARS. Awesome. Smart. Authentic. Inspiring. Thank you STARS! ALBERTA STORY (April 2016)
Donor support still strong for Lakeland College Donations increased for the College in 2016. Lakeland College is a client of ViTrēo. ALBERTA STORY (4/4/16)

Reports and studies

2016 BNP PARIBAS INDIVIDUAL PHILANTHROPY INDEX American philanthropists are still the most generous with Europeans a close second. Health is the top cause except in Asia where Environment is the leading cause. Interesting read. (4/6/16)
Past Imperfect: How successful have charities been over thelast few decades As ViTrēo's Mick Mulloy states, "I think this report is essential reading - Are charities actually making a difference?" This report is EU and UK focused but the conclusions are "universal". (4/6/16)

Life and career hacks

Even a genius has to sell himself… the remarkable resume of Leonardo da Vinci A pretty good resume I have to say. Apparently war was common. (4/7/16)
Four Mental Traits Of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs "They use their fears and anxieties as fuel." Sometimes I do that. I need to do that more. (April 2016)
5 Ways Incredibly Productive People Master Their Time Tune out your inner perfectionist. That is one. The other four are great too! (3/29/16)

Opinion

Can Science Win Over Philanthropy? No one knows how much of America's $350 billion in annual private philanthropy is being directed to research associated with Science and Technology. This blog post suggests that it might be 4% ($20 billion) of this total. The post further suggests that this is needs to increase. What are your thoughts? (4/6/16)
Attention, Humble Philanthropists: Your Low Profile Is Hurting Your Cause I agree. Giving anonymously significantly reduces the opportunity for impact and inspiration. (4/1/16)
Why killing the charitable donation tax rule sends a troubling message Is this really as big a deal as they are saying? I am not so sure. CANADIAN STORY (4/1/16)
Why Some Nonprofits Aren’t Ready for a Strategic Plan (Yet) "Do you have a critical mass of key board members who are excited about and in general agreement on the future of the organization?" Start there. Thanks to ViTrēo team member, Mick Mulloy, for sharing this link. (3/24/16)

Philanthropy and culture

The National Gallery celebrates 75 years, thanks to old-fashioned philanthropy The National Gallery in Washington, DC is an international treasure. It lives because of philanthropy. (4/7/16)

Philanthropic personalities

AP Interview: Philanthropist finds joy in helping children Retired banking executive T. Denny Sanford has given much of his $1.4 billion in donations to the health care and research fields. (4/2/16)
America's "Most Important Arts Philanthropist" Makes Her Next Big Move Alice Walton. Yes, that Walton. An update on a prediction made two years ago. (4/1/16)

Large gifts

CBSO receives largest ever gift donation of £500,000 The County of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has received this gift from the Rachel Baker Memorial Charity. (4/8/16)
Updated: School of Drama & Music receives $5-million donation Queen’s School of Drama and Music received a $5-million donation from Aubrey Dan. Mr. Dan is an impresario, businessman and philanthropist. He provided the endowment together with his wife Marla Dan. Their daughter is a graduate of the Queen's drama program.
The department has been renamed The Dan School of Drama and Music in his honour. CANADIAN STORY (4/7/16)
Thomas Jefferson University has received at $20 million donation to expand its neuroscience center This gift, made by Vickie and Jack Farber, will help unite Jefferson's departments of neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry and neuroscience. Vickie Farber lost her father to ALS and her mother to Alzheimer's disease. Thomas Jefferson University is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (4/6/16)
Seton Hall Gets Near-Historic $5M Donation From Alum Patrick M. Murray, chair of the school’s Board of Regents, and his wife, Mary Ann Pfaff Murray, made this gift to establish merit and need-based scholarships for students, to endow a faculty chair in the Stillman School of Business and to fund renovations to athletic facilities. Seton Hall University is located in South Orange, New Jersey. (4/6/16)
Lincoln College Receives $1 Million Donation Former graduate and trustee Wallace Carroll has made a $1 million gift to the College. His gift will be used to support renovations at the historic university hall and was made to honor the memory of longtime president Jack Nutt. Lincoln College is in Lincoln, Illinois. (4/6/16)
RDC Students’ Association makes $500,000 donation Student Associations are typically strong financial supporters of our colleges and universities. Thanks RDCSA! ALBERTA STORY (4/6/16)
FAU attracts $5M donation from family of shoe entrepreneur Florida Atlantic University received this gift from Bobby and Barbara Campbell to fund their athletic program. The Campbell family founded the shoe manufacturer and wholesaler, BBC International. Florida Atlantic University is located in Boca Raton, Florida. (4/5/16)
USC eyes $25 million donation for ophthalmology school Nothing really beats a good pun in a headline. Right? Longtime University of Southern California benefactors Gayle and Edward Roski have opened their wallets once again with a $25 million gift to endow the private university’s ophthalmology school. (4/5/16)
JPMorgan Commits $125 Million to Help Urban Neighborhoods JPMorgan Chase & Co. will commit $125 million over the next five years to help low-income neighborhoods nationwide that have missed out on the benefits of recent urban development. Nice! (4/5/16)

Boston awash in GE philanthropy Woah! Nice welcome basket GE! General Electric, which is moving to Boston after 42 years in Connecticut, announced $50 million in philanthropic commitments to be donated over the next five years to the Boston community. Included: $25 million to Boston Public Schools, $10 million for workforce development and $15 million for increasing training for specialty health care. (4/5/16)
$1.5 million donation funds Macquarie Uni's robot outreach in China Macquarie University will develop a robotics centre for schools in China with a $1.5 million donation from Chinese businessman Colin Lam. Macquarie University is located in Sidney, Australia. (4/3/16)
Law school renamed after $30 million donation The George Mason University School of Law will be renamed in honor of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. George Mason University is located in Fairfax, Virginia. $20 million of this gift was received from an anonymous donor and remaining $10 million is a gift from the Charles Koch Foundation. Yes, that Charles Koch. (4/3/16)
NAC Foundation gets largest single donation Lovely gift to the National Arts Centre from David and Gail O'Brien. Gail O’Brien is a past chair of the NAC Foundation’s board of directors. David O’Brien is a lawyer and the former chairman of the Royal Bank of Canada and of Encana Corp. Their gift is focused on support of the NAC’s new strategic plan with its emphasis on new work and on a new department of indigenous theatre. CANADIAN STORY (4/1/16)
St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital gets $5 million donation St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo, California, received a $5 million donation from `an anonymous philanthropist that will establish a new surgical suite consisting of three operating rooms and a family waiting area. The donation is the largest in the hospital’s 42-year history. (4/1/16)
NYU Gets $30 Million Gift to Benefit College of Nursing This gift, from Howard and Rose-Marie Meyers, aims to help nursing students who are first in family to go to college or putting themselves through school. Mr. Meyers is an alumnus of NYU and a trustee for the university. (4/1/16)

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