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Weekly News Recap: May 26, 2017

Vincent Duckworth

Angelique Jenney, the new research chair for Wood's Homes, provided by the University of Calgary. /POSTMEDIA

Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come. -Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Manchester

  • Wayne Rooney makes huge donation to victims of Manchester terror attack (The Telegraph) Second footballer to make a gift to this tragedy. Thank you Wayne. "Wayne Rooney has donated £100,000 through his foundation to help families affected by the Manchester terror attack. The Manchester United captain said his 'heart goes out to all those affected' and urged others to donate what they can to help." 5/25/17

News

  • Resolve Campaign celebrates opening of Prelude apartments by Shane Homes (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY "A new apartment building by Shane Homes will provide 23 formerly homeless Calgarians a safe and permanent place to live. Through its multi-family arm Nuovo by Shane Homes, the builder has completed construction on Prelude in Radisson Heights for the Resolve Campaign. Here, residents will [receive] client support through the Alex Community Health Centre, with HomeSpace Society operating as property developer, manager and owner." 5/19/17
  • 'Possibilities are endless' for Wood's Homes new research chair (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY Woot! Nice work Wood's Homes. Nice work UofC. "Wood’s Homes is introducing its community-based research chair for children’s mental health — a position in the making for 12 years. Angelique Jenney will take up the post for Wood’s Homes, a non-profit focusing on children’s mental health, in partnership with the University of Calgary [...]. Jenney said Wood’s Homes will be implementing a program for women who have undergone trauma with children under the age of four to provide early intervention. One of Jenney’s goals while research chair is to destigmatize mental health and make information more accessible." 5/18/17

Philanthropic personalities

  • Andrew Forrest gives away large part of his fortune in $400m donation (The Guardian) What an amazing and terrific act of love. "The mining magnate Andrew Forrest has unveiled one of Australia’s largest philanthropic donations to fund a variety of social and scientific causes. Forrest and his wife Nicola confirmed they would give away $400m in a donation described by [Australian Prime Minister] Malcolm Turnbull on Monday morning as a 'game-changer in the Australian philanthropic community' [...]. Turnbull said $75m would go towards coordinating world cancer institutes, $50m for building stronger communities, $75m for higher education and research, $75m towards 'giving every child their best chance', $50m towards creating equality of opportunity, and $75m towards removing modern slavery from human history." 5/21/17

Philanthropic controversy

  • Do sponsorship protests damage relations with sponsors and philanthropists? (Museums Association) This is an interesting conversation at the UK-based Museums Association. For me, the answer is a resounding yes. And, further, they should. If our culture and heritage is for sale at any price, is it really worth anything? I fully support accepting sponsorships and gifts with sponsors and donors who share the values of the organization they are supporting. I don't support this activity when the opposite is true and I would protest as well. 5/24/17
  • Why Saudi Arabia’s Women Entrepreneurs Fund Donation Is So Controversial (Bustle) This 'gift' does appear to be rife with irony. The fact that Saudi Arabia does not have a great record for women's rights is just one example of why. "The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will donate to the Women Entrepreneurs Fund, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announced Sunday. Together, the two nations will donate $100 million to the cause initially proposed by Ivanka Trump. Kim said that the fund, which the World Bank is managing, is aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs around the world, and called its establishment 'a stunning achievement.'" 5/21/17
  • CEOs at top charities earn top dollar (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Despite the leading headline, this story goes on to quote, "[the] salaries appear to be proportionate to the size of these organizations, according to the head of an agency that analyzes the value-for-money impact of Canadian non-profits. 'These are large charities with large operating budgets and large staff requiring management,' said Kate Bahen, managing director of Charity Intelligence." Also interesting is that this article deliberately did not include the salaries of the CEOs of the biggest provincially funded charities; namely, the hospitals and universities. Could that be that their storyline loses steam when we talk about health and education? I continue to find it distressing that some Canadians feel that our largest, most complex, and most important institutions should be led by leaders who, if not working for free, should be working for very little. BTW, a sincere thank you to Kate Bahen and Charity Intelligence for standing up for the sector in this way. 5/21/17

Research and reports

Trends and shifts

  • The EFC launches the Institutional Philanthropy Spectrum (European Foundation Centre) Interesting. I love their spectrum concept. "The European Foundation Centre (EFC) has launched the Institutional Philanthropy Spectrum (IPS). Its aim is to better understand and document the characteristics, practices, role and relevance of institutional philanthropy in society. You’re a practitioner ‒ a foundation, a corporate funder, a grantmaker, an adviser, a researcher on philanthropy ‒ so get involved!" May 2017

Uncommon knowledge

Life and career hacks

  • 33 Traits of the Most Inspiring Leaders (The Mission) YAI (Yet another infographic). But, I think, a good one. According to the research, you only need one distinguishing strength to stand out as an inspiration to other. As Larry Kim asks in this post, "What is your distinguishing strength?" 5/22/17
  • 10 things you must stop doing if you want to be successful (The Mission) As I started reading this post, I expected 'more of the same'. All of the points in this post go beyond the usual suspects but it was #5 that really got my attention. In my drive to become ‘more efficient,’ I feel like I have devalued the importance of straight up hard work. Great post. Turned my head and many don't. 5/16/17
  • A Guide to the Perfect Portrait (Photography Talk) In a world that needs a headshot photo for everything, this is a great skill to get better at. 4/28/17

Large gifts

  • Smith gives CNIB $1.125M donation (The Whig.com) KINGSTON STORY "Kingston philanthropist Brit Smith has gifted the Canadian National Institute for the Blind $1.125 million. Some of the money will be used to renovate and redevelop the Kingston office at 826 Princess St., making it more accessible and inclusive while providing a new teaching and technology hub that everyone with sight loss can attend for skills development." 5/25/17
  • Shed Arts Center Receives $75 Million Donation from Michael Bloomberg (Broadway World) Mr. Bloomberg, you are a gem. "According to the New York Times, the new arts center known as the Shed that is being built in Hudson Yards has received $75 million from Michael Bloomberg. He had previously made a $15 million contribution in 2012, which until now was undisclosed, and he added $60 million to that on Wednesday." 5/24/17
  • VGH wing renamed in honour of Leon Judah Blackmore after $18M donation (CBC) VANCOUVER STORY "Vancouver General Hospital's Centennial Pavilion will be renamed after the late Vancouver developer Leon Judah Blackmore, following a $18.4 million donation to the VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation from the foundation he started. VGH and UBC say the money will be put toward a cardiology diagnostic centre, men's health, a hybrid operating room and a sleep disorders program." 5/24/17
  • UNC secures $18M donation for entrepreneurship minor (Herald Sun) "UNC-Chapel Hill has received an $18 million gift that allows its College of Arts & Sciences to expand its undergraduate minor in entrepreneurship by offering more internships and hiring more faculty [...]. Coming from the Shufords, a family of Hickory natives, the donation 'is a game-changer' for the college, said Kevin Guskiewicz, its dean." 5/23/17
  • Elon University announces $5 million gift (News & Observer) "Elon University has announced a $5 million donation that will build a new learning center on campus. The gift is from Robert and Dilek Koenigsberger of Greenwich, Conn [...]. The new center consolidates academic advising, tutoring and disability services offices at the library at Elon. It will be named the Koenigsberger Learning Center at Belk Library." Elon University is an American private, non-sectarian, coeducational liberal arts university in Elon, North Carolina. 5/23/17
  • State Farm Donates $3M to Illinois State University's New Cybersecurity Program (ChicagoInno) "The Bloomington-based insurance giant donated $3 million to Illinois State University to support the central Illinois school's new cybersecurity major, launching this fall. The donation will go toward an endowed chair position for the cybersecurity major in ISU's School of Information Technology [...]." 5/22/17
  • New medical centre proposed for Otorohanga (Stuff.co.nz) "Thanks to a $1 million donation, Otorohanga will get a new medical centre. Sheep and beef farmers John and Sarah Oliver made the charitable donation towards the project, which it is estimated will cost $2 to $2.2 million." From Wikipedia: "Otorohanga is a north King Country town at the southern end of the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand." Just a tip: this description of what is very likely a lovely place could use some work. 5/21/17
  • $5 million donation will benefit sick children in the Gem state (ABC) Service clubs still exist and they still make significant financial contributions to their communities. Nice work Idaho Elks. "Along with the announcement of the big donation came the revelation of the name for the new building on the Boise campus: The Idaho Elks Children's Pavilion." 5/20/17
  • $25 million donation to St. Lawrence University (Times Union) It is very rare, in my experience, to see such a large amount be given as an unrestricted gift. "St. Lawrence University announced [...] it has received an unrestricted $25 million gift -- the largest in the school's 161-year history. Sarah E. Johnson Class of 1982, and her parents, Charles and Ann Johnson, members of the Laurentian circle of leaders, made the contribution. Charles and Ann Johnson are directly connected to St. Lawrence as parents and grandparents. Sarah serves as a trustee and co-chair of the university's upcoming comprehensive fundraising campaign." St. Lawrence University is a private, four-year liberal arts college in the village of Canton in Saint Lawrence County, New York. 5/20/17
  • School of Social Work receives $7 million donation, changes name (University Press)"FAU’s social work school has been renamed the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work after a recent donation. Longtime benefactors of FAU, the Sandlers, donated $7 million to the school [...]." Florida Atlantic University is a public university located in Boca Raton, Florida. 5/18/17
  • Donation helps Fort McMurray schools expand student leadership program (Fort McMurray Today) FORT MCMURRAY STORY This is a great program. "A donation of more than $700,000 to Fort McMurray’s public and Catholic school districts will help the two school systems expand a program they say encourages leadership skills and responsibility within students. In January, the Vancouver-based Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation of Canada announced it would give money they fundraised to each school board, supporting development of their 'Leader in Me' program." 5/19/17

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