Weekly News Recap: August 7, 2020

"Racism within the Canadian Museum for Human Rights is pervasive and systemic." (THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods)

I believe on the longest time frame — and really here I’m thinking of a time frame of a couple of hundred years — I get increasing conviction with every passing year, that Blue Origin, the space company, is the most important work I’m doing. -- Jeff Bezos

FUNDRAISING IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

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SOME GOOD NEWS

• Two NASA Astronauts On A SpaceX Craft Made The First Splashdown In 45 Years (Buzzfeed) Congrats to all! "Two NASA astronauts piloting a SpaceX craft returned to Earth [...] after two months in space, concluding the first human test flight for Elon Musk's aerospace company. The Crew Dragon capsule carrying Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, just before 3 p.m. local time — the first splashdown by American astronauts in 45 [years]."

• How the Shaw Festival kept 500 people employed during COVID — by taking out pandemic insurance three years ago (National Post) ONTARIO STORY This is a crazy story. And a cool one. "About three-and-a-half years ago, Tim Jennings, the executive director and CEO of the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, decided to undertake some risk analysis alongside his CFO. He looked at potential problem areas, and at concerns that might arise throughout the course of an ordinary season of theatre, and came to a shrewd conclusion: The festival should take out an insurance policy against the threat of a pandemic."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

1. Addressing systemic racism and discrimination in our workplace. (Canadian Museum of Human Rights) WINNIPEG STORY This is a hard but necessary read. Essentially a masterclass and case study on systemic racism, sexual harassment, and homophobia. As a Canadian, I am embarrassed. As a professional in the nonprofit space, I am heartened to see this clearly and without reservation placed publicly on the CMHR website. I expect that many of our institutions can take lessons and action from this report.

2. Charities worry about loss of trust, donations in wake of WE deal controversy (Winnipeg Free Press) CANADIAN STORY This is a clear and present issue. "Already concerned about the pandemic's effect on donations, the sector faces a new concern: that controversy around the WE organization and its since-aborted deal with the Liberal government will erode trust in charities and the use of social enterprises many rely on to fund services."

3. GPRC announces new Vice-President, External Relations (Education News) GRANDE PRAIRIE STORY Congrats! "Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) proudly announced Ms. Cherene Griffiths as [...] the new Vice-President, External Relations. Ms. Griffiths [...] held the position of Executive Director for the Office of Government and Community Relations at the University of Alberta for the past two years."

4. The hidden way companies are paying women unfairly (Fast Company) The system is insidious. We need to keep at this. "That women are paid less than male colleagues is a stubborn fact in the U.S. workplace. As of July, women earned 84 cents for every dollar a man earned. It is a discrepancy that has garnered significant attention from scholars, the media, and sex discrimination lawsuits [...]. Recent research [...] shines a light on how female employees–particularly in the tech industries–likewise lose out when it comes to other forms of pay that receive far less attention: equity-based awards."

5. How museums can play a role in the fight against future pandemics (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Completely agree. Science Centres are not just "attractions", they serve as vessels of inspiration, especially for the generation to come. "The doors of The Exploration Place in Prince George are still closed to the public, but its CEO says the COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder that museums play an important role in preparing society for similar challenges in the future."

6. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to lower the birth rate. Here's why that matters (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Uh-oh! "The COVID-19 pandemic will likely lower Canada's already declining birth rate, and that has implications for everything from how competitive it will be for a child to get a spot on a soccer team to how healthy the Canada Pension Plan will be in [2050]."

7. We Can't Return to the Way Things Were Before. For Philanthropy, the Way Forward is Reparations (Inside Philanthropy) "This summer’s powerful uprising for racial justice has breathed new life into the centuries-long call for reparations—and philanthropy should be adding our voices."

8. Lily School of Philanthropy research finds community funds raised more than $1 billion for COVID relief across U.S. (Alliance Magazine) "COVID-19 relief funds at local United Ways and community foundations across the United States raised more than $1 billion and distributed at least $589 million to financially vulnerable individuals and nonprofits leading the pandemic response in their communities [...]." RELATED: A $11.6 billion problem: As COVID-19 drains budgets, U.S. cities could face bankruptcy

9. 5 takeaways from MacKenzie Scott’s giving $1.7 billion in support for social justice causes (Fast Company) #1, #4, and gawd...especially #3. More please. RELATED: How wealth inequality is warping the world of philanthropy

10. Hitting the Books: Why women make better astronauts (Engadget) Duh! "Kate Greene knows better than most what it’s like to live on Mars [...]. In the excerpt below, Greene posits what NASA might look like today had the agency not gotten its start as an elite boy’s club."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

1. My 9 All-Time Favorite Productivity Tools (The Ascent) An extra hour a day sounds just great to me. Also, many of these are new to me and they might be to you as well. Note; I am trying out the Brave browser.

2. The 20/20/20 Rule of Productive Mornings (Four Minute Books) Sleep fragmentation is such an obvious but, up until now, opaque idea for me. Already I am avoiding the snooze button.

3. What Can Ants and Bees Teach Us About Containing Disease? (Wired) "Humans have approximately 86 billion neurons in our brains, ants have 250,000 and bees have 1 million. We have at least 86 orders of magnitude more processing capacity than an individual honeybee. So what do they have to teach us? Turns out, in terms of managing a pandemic, quite a lot."

4. Tell Me What You Did Today, And I’ll Tell You Where You’ll Be In 10 Years (Thought Catalog) A pretty bold headline. And, it delivers. "If you want to be a writer, write today. If you want to be in shape, exercise today. If you want to be a cook, cook today. If you want to stop fighting, show peace today. If you want to change, change today."

5. These 3 Practices by Bill Gates Will Change How You Read (The Ascent) Bill Gates reads every book cover to cover. Turns out, he is very intentional with which books he is going to read. So what does he do with "bad" books?

6. The Man Whose Science Fiction Keeps Turning Into Our Shitty Cyberpunk Reality (OneZero) Sorry for the title but it is not wrong. "I just ordered it on Kindle. "There is nothing boring about Tim Maughan’s works of speculative fiction, which concern, for example, the total destruction of the internet as we know it, the insidious possibilities of monetized augmented realities, and the full collapse of global supply networks."

7. Bezos, Musk, & Buffett See The World Differently, Because They See Time Differently (Accelerated Intelligence) How many dimensions deep is your thinking. 1D? Or 4D like all three of these innovators?

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

1. A $5 million donation will allow the Metropolitan Museum of Art to pay all of its interns. (Artsy) Brilliant! And a leadership move. "New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art announced [...] that philanthropist and businesswoman Adrienne Arsht pledged $5 million to support the MetLiveArts series and the museum’s internship program, allowing the Met to become the largest art museum in the United States to pay all of its interns."

2. Smithers man leaves $1 million to children’s hospital (BC Local News) SMITHERS STORY "A Smithers man has left a $1 million donation to the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation. Jim Bolster was born and raised in Smithers but experienced a number of health issues before [passing away] at the age of 51."

3. $2-million gift from Montreal philanthropist Stephen Jarislowsky to explore the impact of new technology on society (McGill) MONTREAL STORY Nice move Mr. Jarislowsky. "As society grapples with myriad technology-related issues, including biases in facial recognition software, algorithms to identify hate speech and misinformation, as well as growing concerns over privacy and data protection, a new Chair in McGill’s Department of Philosophy seeks to bridge the gap between technology and pressing ethical, social and political questions. The Chair will be supported by a $2-million gift from The Jarislowsky Foundation to undertake ground-breaking research and study about technology and its impact on individuals and societies."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

• Turk, Calgary’s famous wild turkey, leaves lasting legacy (Livewire Calgary)

• Yes, #WeHaveAProblem—and Not Just Because of Trudeau (Flare)

• Why You Should Eat The Same Breakfast Everyday (The Startup)

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