Weekly News Recap: June 24, 2016



Rob and Tanya Ennis with their six-year-old triplets David, Liam and Ryan. Liam needed heart surgery after being born. (Supplied)


Thoughtful and important



Studies and stats


  • "Pay-What-It-Takes Philanthropy" in Stanford Social Innovation Review Finally! This conversation is long overdue. The Bridgespan study found that indirect costs at many organizations ranged from 21 percent to 89 percent of the direct costs. Funders are coming around to the fact that they have been chronically underfunding nonprofits and the consequences are insidious and far-reaching. We need to start covering these costs or our most important nonprofits may cease to exist. (6/17/16)

Philanthropic controversy


  • Rasmussen: Examining the donation fee Many U.S. Colleges are instituting 'donation fees' alongside the regular fees to buy season tickets to their football games. For example, at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, the 'donation fee' is $2,500 per ticket. For me, this is clearly not a donation, and more importantly, it seems like a crappy way to treat current and prospective donors. (6/18/16)

Orlando


  • Orlando to Give $7 Million Directly to Shooting Victims This is likely very good for the families but it does appear to be a bit of an indictment of the charitable sector. "Too little of money distributed that way [via charities] following past tragedies made its way to victims and families." (6/20/16)

Endowments


  • Mott Foundation hits $3 billion mark with 90 years of giving This foundation, based in Flint Michigan, was started by one of the founders of General Motors in 1926 with 2,000 GM shares valued at $160 per share ($320,000). Today, total assets of the Foundation are $2.7 billion. If this story is not a poster child for the value of endowments, I don't know what is. (6/19/16)

News


  • Recruiting Volunteers for The City’s Boards, Commissions and Committees Feeling civic minded? The City of Calgary is seeking citizens to sit on a variety of Boards, Commissions, and Committees. Examples include the Heritage Authority, the Public Art Board, the Airport Authority, the Police Commission, and the Saddledome Foundation, to name a few. CALGARY STORY - DEADLINE: June 30

Life and career hacks


  • Why Measurement Improves Performance "If the measures aren’t captured on a highly visible scoreboard and regularly updated, the WIG (Wildly Important Goal) will disappear into the distraction of the whirlwind. Simply put, people disengage when they don’t know the score" Yep. (6/15/16)

Large gifts


  • Canadian Museum of History accepts record $2M donation from Eaton family Yes, the very same family that started the great (now defunct) Canadian department store, Eaton's. This gift is from Frederik Eaton and his family. Frederik is the great grandson of Timothy Eaton. The money will be used to develop a new signature exhibit, the Canadian History Hall. CANADIAN STORY (6/22/16)
  • $54.5M for women and children health research at University of Alberta Boom! In case you were wondering what happens when you give to important foundations like the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation and the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation. $40 million from the Stollery and $14.5 million from the Royal Alex. These grants are transformational. Thank you Stollery, thank you Royal Alex! ALBERTA STORY (6/22/16)
  • Donation from the estate of Erwin Hart to fund professorship programs Erwin Hart was a civil engineering graduate from University of Toronto in 1940 and was the Chief Welding Engineer for the manufacturing company Massey Ferguson Ltd. Mr. Hart made his $20 million bequest to support seven $225,000 research grants to be made to faculty members in the first ten years of their career. Nice boost. Nice gift. CANADIAN STORY (6/21/16)
  • TCM charity clinic gets $1m donation The Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) charity clinic, Sian Chay Medical Institution in Singapore, has received this gift from Kenny Lim. (6/17/16)
  • 11 Bay Area colleges to split $50 million donation The Koret Foundation has donated $50 million to split between 12 Northern California colleges and universities for scholarships and to fund improved technology and research. The Koret Foundation was started with the estates of Joseph and Stephanie Koret, whose Koret of California sportswear line was a leader in ladies’ coordinated fashion. (6/16/16)

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