Weekly News Recap: August 28, 2020
Weekly News Recap: August 28, 2020
Eric and Kathy Newell will fund a new gallery, the Newell Family Gallery, showcasing the Arctic with a donation of $500,000 to Edmonton's Telus World of Science. The new gallery is scheduled to open in 2022. IMAGE SUPPLIED
Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers. -- Voltaire
FUNDRAISING IN THE TIME OF COVID-19
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+ Here is ViTreo's most recent blog post: HIGHER EDUCATION - ATTRACT, ENGAGE AND ACTIVATE ALUMNI DURING THIS GLOBAL CRISES AND IN THE FUTURE Do The Fundamentals Of Alumni Engagement Need To Change?
+ And a freshly updated (as at August 28, 2020) set of resources: Fundraising In The Time Of COVID-19
SOME GOOD NEWS
- Alberta installs Canada's 1st Muslim lieutenant-governor (CBC) ALBERTA STORY Well said Your Honour. "'We have much to be proud of, but our striving for justice equity does not end here. We must continue to work together to make this province the best it can be, to ensure that all Albertans are able to achieve their full potential and feel a sense of belonging and province,' Lakhani said. 'Let us commit to uphold the values of a province that carries everyone forward.'"
- This 73-year-old documented 150 days of dinner outfits during the pandemic (CBC) CALGARY STORY Love this! "For many, the COVID-19 pandemic and having to mostly stay at home has meant wearing lots of comfy clothes. But not for 73-year-old Calgarian Patricia Cavill, who recently hit her 150th day in a row of getting all dressed up to dine … at home. On March 25, she began a series of posts on Facebook she dubbed 'Dressing for Dinner' where she pledged to wear a different outfit every day until the pandemic was over.
TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK
- New Report: $11.9B in COVID-19 Philanthropy Tops Giving for Other Past Disasters (PR Newswire) "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities worldwide was swift, hard and devastating especially on the most vulnerable people. Amid tragedies and hardship, how did the world's largest grantmakers and donors respond? A new report by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) and Candid found an unprecedented amount of philanthropic disaster giving led by a group of donors that stepped up to meet immediate critical needs and services arising from the pandemic in the U.S. and abroad."
- Arctic gallery: Former oil executive donates $500,000 to Telus World of Science (Edmonton Journal) EDMONTON STORY As someone who has worked with Eric, I am not the least bit surprised. Thank you Eric and Kathy for this wonderful gift. "The Newell donation to the science centre’s Aurora Project will also support the science centre’s co-creation of programming with Alberta’s Indigenous communities, promoting an understanding of traditional knowledge and land-based teachings."
- Ritchot Makes Large Donation To STARS (Steinback Online) MANITOBA STORY Cool idea having the RM make a gift. More please. "The Council for the Rural Municipality of Ritchot has decided to make a large donation to STARS air ambulance. Mayor Chris Ewen says the request came from RM of Ste. Anne Councillor Sarah Normandeau, who is taking part in STARS' Rescue On The Island next month [...]. 'Normally council is, I don't want to say tight with their money, but they like to reserve their funds,' admits Ewen."
- Mead animal science gets $17.3M (Western Producer) LLOYDMINSTER STORY Woot. ViTreo is proud of our work together on Lakeland's campaign. Congrats to all. "A venerable building at Lakeland College’s Vermilion, Alta., campus will get a complete upgrade and expansion in the coming year using $17.3 million provided by the Alberta government."
- Calgary Humane Society breaks ground on $12.5M renovation (CBC) CALGARY STORY Woot! ViTreo is proud to have worked with the Calgary Humane Society on this project. "The Calgary Humane Society will soon be housing its animals in a larger, fully renovated facility. The society has broken ground on a $12.5 million facility enhancement project, and has raised nearly two-thirds of the budget."
- Arts Club Theatre Company raising the curtain and welcoming Vancouver audiences back this fall (CBC) VANCOUVER STORY Finally, we are getting back to the theatre. Nice work Arts Club! "Western Canada's largest theatre company has announced it will stage new shows in Vancouver starting next month. The Arts Club was forced to cancel 26 productions when the pandemic hit B.C. in the spring. Now, the plan is to usher limited audiences of 50 into two of the company's venues this fall to watch one-act, one-actor performances scheduled to begin in September."
- Edmonton's Stanley A. Milner Library to open to the public Sept. 17, seven months after initially planned (Edmonton Journal) EDMONTON STORY Congrats to all! "The $84.5-million library was initially supposed to open Feb. 14, but faced a delay with the work about eight to 10 weeks behind schedule. The look of the revamped library on the south end of Sir Winston Churchill Square faced significant flak on social media last summer with many residents comparing it to a tank or a shipping container."
- COVID-19 strains youth-focused charities across Alberta (Calgary Herald) ALBERTA STORY "Charities across Alberta are reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only are their fundraising efforts down by up to 50 per cent in some cases, but they’re seeing a sharp increase in demand for their services. Case in point: Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids (BB4CK), which helps support thousands of kids across Calgary by providing lunches and caring for kids who would otherwise be hungry. In Feb. 2020, pre-COVID-19 shutdown, the organization was providing food for almost 5,000 kids daily. By the end of June, programming was supporting more than 6,300 kids, a number anticipated to continue through the fall."
- Canadian oil giants emphasize climate change and diversity as they compete for investment (CBC) ALBERTA STORY This is excellent! "For executives at Husky Energy's headquarters in Calgary, there is a new wrinkle in how their pay is calculated: climate change. This is the first year the company is linking greenhouse gas emissions to compensation as part of a new plan that also includes a goal to reduce carbon emissions by 25 per cent over the next five years and set a similar gender-diversity target for management. The measures come at a time when oil and gas companies around the world are competing for limited investment dollars, and those investors are increasingly focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues."
- Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people, asks for a second chance at charity (Vox) It actually is harder than you might think to give away money. "The founder of Oracle says he wants to be judged on his results at the Larry Ellison Foundation. But he must also reckon with the fact that for all his success in the world of making money, he has not succeeded in the world of giving it away. He has basked in positive publicity for promises to donate millions and then retracted offers with little explanation; sunk hundreds of millions into moonshot projects like life-extension research before suddenly pulling funding; and made public promises about charitable giving that he appears nowhere close to fulfilling. Nothing has quite worked out."
SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS
- Number and salaries of full-time teaching staff at Canadian universities (partial), 2019/2020 (Statistics Canada) CANADIAN STORY If you want or need access to salary data for teaching staff at Canadian universities, this is the definitive location to find it. A quick look tells me that the gender pay gap remains universally strong at our universities. This needs to change.
- This is Why People Aren’t Reading Your Articles (Mind Cafe) The advice is excellent. Four things to do and if you do them, your writing will definitely be more...attention-retaining.
- The 10-minute Full-Body Workout You Can Do Anywhere (Fitness) Looks perfect. Perfectly hard that is. (But all good things are...right?)
- How to Improve Liver Function (Health) As I get older, and as a diabetic, I think about my liver...regularly. You should too.
- Stakeholders interview: the 10 crucial questions (UX Collective) For anyone who does any type of assessment or discovery, this is a must read.
- The Value of Co-creating With clients (UX Collective) This is really really awesome. I need to do more of this with our clients.
- The 10 Most Useful Mental Models (Data Driven Investor) Excellent and easy to understand (but deep) models. You're welcome!
TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK
- The Pokemon Company Makes a Multi-Million Dollar Donation to Charities (GameRant) Finally a little payback for turning the planet into a series of "gyms". All kidding aside, this is a great gift. "The Pokémon Company revealed its plans to donate $5 million to several nonprofit organizations earlier this year following its successful Pokémon GO Fest 2020 event."
- Michigan gets $1.2M donation from IKEA for coronavirus relief (Michigan Live) The cheque is being sent in a flat pack ;-) Nice work IKEA. Thank you! "The Swedish furniture giant, IKEA, has donated $1.2 million to Michigan’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Initiative, which is being used to provide resources to vulnerable residents."
- Rose-Hulman announces $10 million gift from alumnus (Tribune Star) "Niles Noblitt, current Rose-Hulman board of trustees chairman, and his wife, Nancy, donated $10 million to the institute to support new student programming focused on developing leaders in the STEM fields."
LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES
- The Therapeutic Power of Gardening (New Yorker)
- 5 Habits of Truly Cool Couples (P.S. I Love You)
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