Weekly News Recap: September 20, 2019

Weekly News Recap: September 20, 2019

Rendering of the Calgary Cancer Centre (screenshot from the New Calgary Cancer Centre YouTube video/AHSChannel)

Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right. -- Henry Ford

This week's highlights

  • Remembering 9/11 #HurtHeart
  • A huge think piece on climate change #Time
  • A hypersonic sled and two toddlers hug it out #BreakingTheInternet
  • Two can't miss events #EmmylouHarris #ChrisHatfield
  • A new CEO at UofA Hospital Foundation and a new board chair at Red Deer College #Appointments
  • Saying goodbye to Kathleen Richardson and to T. Boone Pickens #Giants
  • Keys to city for Bianca #SheTheNorth
  • Video: New Calgary Cancer Centre #Stunning
  • Professional mistakes made by Vincent #AKAMoi
  • A chatbot for fake news, better interview questions, and learnings from one of my favourite gymnasts #Hacks
  • Sunice founder feted and GQ inaugurates an award for Greta #AmazingHumans
  • An entire section, again, on Epstein #DoubleUgh
  • Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers #ShadyDealings
  • Slow payers, really bad telemarketers, and Jerry Falwell Jr.'s woes #Controversy
  • Going to a movie with VSCO girl in a hyperloop #OKTheseDontActuallyGoTogether
  • Welcome Ms. Monopoly, elephants (and other circus animals) love Denmark, kind of uncaught lies, and weather forecasts that are actually...right #NoWay!
  • Three $1 million+ gifts from Canadian companies #GoAuto #dentalcorp #SpartanControls
  • JK Rowling honours her mother. Again #MassiveMuggleGift
  • And so much more...

September 11

  • The City on the 107th Floor Inside Windows on the World, New York’s most spectacular restaurant. (Grub Street) As a former restaurant worker and as someone who is a self-described foodie, this article was particularly poignant. "At two o’clock in the morning on September 11, 2001, Moises Rivas was still awake in his home in Queens, playing his guitar and singing to his wife, Elizabeth. A songwriter and musician, Rivas supported his family by working as a cook at Windows on the World. The alarm went off at 5:00 a.m., and Rivas turned it off. But by 6:30, the twenty-nine-year-old from Ecuador was up and rushing. He said he had to 'fly,' to get to work in the cafeteria serving breakfast on the 106th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center." Thanks to my amazing wife Christine, who because she shares my love of restaurants and food, shared this with me and now...with you. 9/10/19

  • The Falling Man (Esquire) *Warning: The photographs in this article may be disturbing. In spite of this, this is an incredibly moving article and it speaks to the power, importance and courage of news photographers. "In the picture, he departs from this earth like an arrow. Although he has not chosen his fate, he appears to have, in his last instants of life, embraced it. If he were not falling, he might very well be flying. He appears relaxed, hurtling through the air. He appears comfortable in the grip of unimaginable motion. He does not appear intimidated by gravity's divine suction or by what awaits him. " 9/9/19*

Planet Earth

  • 2050 THE FIGHT FOR EARTH (Time) A powerful and interactive set of essays, reports, and thoughts about what our planet might be like in 30 years. "THIRTY YEARS AGO, TIME named the endangered Earth Planet of the Year. It’s taken that long for the world to wake up to the reality. Man-made climate change has thrown us headfirst into a true crisis that touches every part of the globe, and we can’t waste any time making systemic changes to the global economy, geopolitics, and culture if we want life on Earth to survive. Thirty years from now, we’ll look back at 2019 as another inflection point—whether good or bad is up to us." September 2019

Don't blink

Breaking the Internet

Hot Tickets

News

  • Tanika Charles Named First NMC Polaris Artist Resident (FYI MusicNews) CANADIAN STORY Boom! I love this. "Edmonton native and Toronto-based R&B singer and songwriter Tanika Charles is the winner of the newly established Lixar and the National Music Centre present the Polaris Artist Residency." 9/17/19

  • National Music Centre Achieves Recognized Museum Designation for Studio Bell (NMC Amplify) CALGARY STORY Congratulations to everyone involved but especially to Andrew Mosker who convinced us all that this was important and possible. "The National Music Centre (NMC) is proud to announce that it is the latest institution in Alberta to receive the Recognized Museum designation from the Alberta Museums Association (AMA) for its award-winning facility, Studio Bell." 9/16/19

  • Businesswoman, champion of the arts Kathleen Richardson dies (CBC) WINNIPEG STORY The Richardson Family are one of Canada's most philanthropic families. Ms. Richardson exemplified this spirt of giving. We will not see her like again. RIP Ms. Richardson. "Winnipeg's arts community is remembering a passionate patron whose quiet generosity benefited cultural organizations across Canada. Kathleen Margaret Richardson, 91, daughter of James and Muriel Richardson, [has died]. 'Throughout her life, Miss Richardson remained a quiet philanthropist, contributing to numerous worthwhile causes through the Kathleen M. Richardson Foundation,' states a news release from James Richardson and Sons, the Winnipeg-based corporation that owns companies in several industries including agriculture." 9/16/19

  • Particle-accelerator contracts speed growth of Nelson engineering company (CBC) NELSON STORY What a cool world we live in. A particle-accelerator is being built in a City of just over 10,000 people. Cool. "A company in Nelson, B.C., is proving that from microscopic things, big things grow. Dehnel-Particle Accelerator Components and Engineering, or D-Pace, has just won two contracts worth more than $1 million to build ion source facilities, complex accelerator machines that create charged particles for medical and technological applications. They are rarely built outside major urban centres, yet two will be designed, built and tested by D-Pace at Selkirk College, then shipped to customers in Japan and North America." 9/16/19

  • Bianca Andreescu accepts key to Mississauga as hometown celebrates U.S. Open champion (CBC) MISSISSAUGA STORY Woot! "Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu was honoured in an event dubbed as the #SheTheNorth rally [...] to celebrate her U.S. Open singles title [...]. The 19-year-old Andreescu was presented a key to the city by Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, who also unveiled an 'Andreescu Way' street sign. The permanent location of the street has yet to be determined." 9/15/19

  • 'We're tremendously excited': New rec centre opens in Hazelton years after old one condemned (CBC) HAZELTON STORY I love rec centres -- in Canada, they are the community hub. Congrats to Hazelton and to the entire volunteer team that made this happen. "The village of Hazelton was without a recreation centre or an ice rink for four years, after the old one was condemned. [A] new $20 million recreation centre opened its doors to the public in the northern Interior community. It includes an NHL-sized ice rink, multi-purpose gym, a fitness centre, a walking area and meeting facilities." 9/15/19

  • TravelBrands And CP Raise Half a Million for Sick Kids (Travel Pulse) CANADIAN STORY Thanks TravelBrands and thanks CP! "[TravelBrands] hosted its sixth annual golf tournament to raise awareness and funds for the SickKids Foundation. TravelBrands successfully raised $278,000 for the SickKids Cardiac Operating Room. CP, a rail-based transportation company, agreed to match TravelBrands’ donation up to $275,000, creating a total of $553,000 for SickKids." 9/15/19

  • Brooks: Sport Calgary honours retiring executive director and CEO (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY ViTreo is proud to be working with Sport Calgary and we offer our sincere congratulations and thanks to Mr. Sigler for his vision and his service. "Scores of guests gathered at The Glencoe Club [...] to attend the Sport Calgary-hosted reception thanking Murray Sigler for his outstanding contributions and to welcome Catriona Le May Doan as its new president and CEO." 9/14/19

  • U of L officially opens Science Commons building with “Big Bang” celebration (Lethbridge News Now) LETHBRIDGE STORY Love it. A Science Commons. How great is that! "The University of Lethbridge’s new state-of-the-art science centre is now open. A packed atrium with hundreds of students, staff, and dignitaries watched the ceremony, which, in addition to a wide spectrum of speeches, included video presentations, a student march that showed off different elements, and combusting balloons for the big bang finale." 9/13/19

  • Billie Eilish’s Planned Parenthood Donation Is Her Way Of Taking A Stand Against Georgia Lawmakers (Bustle) Amazing voice. Amazing talent. Amazing person. "The artist known for her hit song 'Bad Guy' just did something so very good: Billie Eilish will donate part of her upcoming festival fee to Planned Parenthood. On Instagram [...] Eilish announced her plans to donate a portion of her paycheck from her upcoming performance at the Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta, Georgia to the organization. Eilish wrote in her Instagram Story, 'ATLANTA. One of my favorite places in the world, to be in, and play shows!! But I do not love the state’s lawmaker’s decision to take away women’s rights.'" 9/13/19

  • ‘Challenging’ road ahead for RDC without some continuity in leadership, says ousted board chair (Red Deer Advocate) RED DEER STORY Mr. Flewwelling, thank you for your amazing service to Red Deer and to all of Alberta. "Having two new leaders at Red Deer College, while the institution is transitioning to a university, will inevitably cause challenges and delays, predicts ousted board chair Morris Flewwelling." 9/13/19

  • Wikipedia Gets $2.5m Donation to Boost Cybersecurity (InfoSecurity Group) It is good to see Craigslist founder using his billions for good. (And he really is.) "The Wikimedia Foundation has received a $2.5m donation to boost its cybersecurity efforts following a major DDoS attack that left Wikipedia unavailable across much of the world [recently]. The non-profit relies on charitable donations and volunteers to keep the online encyclopedia and other 'free knowledge' projects running. So it was relieved at the major cash injection, which came from Craigslist founder-turned-philanthropist Craig Newmark." 9/12/19

  • Art Gallery of Greater Victoria receives $500,000 donation from BMO (Monday Magazine) VICTORIA STORY Woot! Thanks BMO! "The total of private and corporate donations to The NEXT Gallery project now exceeds $9 million. The entire budget for the project is $30 million with more announcements anticipated in the coming months." 9/12/19

  • T. Boone Pickens remembered fondly by Calgary friends (Calgary Herald) A few years ago, I had the privilege of chairing the committee that awarded Mr. Pickens with his AFP International Outstanding Philanthropist Award. We will not see his like again -- you were indeed larger than life. RIP Mr. Pickens. "Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, who died [recently] at the age of 91, had a soft spot in his heart for Calgary and maintained connections here until the end of his life. The larger-than-life businessman [...] spent several years in Calgary in the late 1950s and 1960s. Even after he left and his career and celebrity status skyrocketed, he stayed in touch with some of his old Calgary friends." 9/12/19

  • Rockyview General Hospital named third best hospital in Canada (CTV News) CALGARY STORY ViTreo is proud to be working with the Calgary Health Trust on a naming project. As part of that work, I have had a chance to visit behind the scenes at each of Calgary's four major hospitals. Congrats to all for truly being some of the world's best. "A ranking of the best hospitals in Canada has great news for the City of Calgary. The list, published in Newsweek earlier this year, placed the Rockyview General Hospital in the third spot, under the Toronto General and North York General Hospitals. Calgary's Foothills Medical Centre and Peter Lougheed Centre also made the list, in the 10th and 14th spots respectively." 9/12/19

  • UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES DR. JODI L. ABBOTT AS NEW CEO (University of Alberta Hospital Foundation) EDMONTON STORY Congrats to Dr. Abbott and to the UofA Hospital Foundation. A great move for both. "The Board of Trustees for the University Hospital Foundation announced [...] that Dr. Jodi L. Abbott has been selected as the Foundation’s new President and CEO. Dr. Abbott is joining the Foundation after nine years as President and CEO of NorQuest College." 9/11/19

  • Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan launches campaign to replace CT simulators (Global News) SASKATCHEWAN STORY "There are only two computed tomography (CT) simulators in the province and they need replacing, according to the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan [...]. The foundation launched a $3-million fundraising campaign [...] to replace its current CT simulators, which are at the end of their life cycle, with two 4D CT simulators." 9/11/19

  • Updated: RDC has new board chair (Red Deer Advocate) RED DEER STORY Congrats to Mr. Pelletier and to Red Deer College. "Developer Guy Pelletier has been named chairman of the college’s board of governors, replacing former mayor Morris Flewwelling." 9/11/19

  • Drumheller, Alberta is home to the world's largest dinosaur replica, and you can climb in! (CBC) DRUMHELLER STORY I love "the Drum". "If there's one thing Albertans do even better than huge trucks and grain elevators, it's making massive monuments for little places. Follow Tamarra Canu on her summer Albertan road trip as she travels her province to find out what these big things meant to the small towns that call them home." 9/10/19

  • Check out this 20-month time-lapse of Calgary's new Cancer Centre (VIDEO) (Calgary Urbanized) CALGARY STORY ViTreo is proud to be working with the Alberta Cancer Foundation on the Calgary Cancer Centre project. Such an important project for all Albertans. "There’s just something so satisfying about seeing a massive construction project fast-forwarded. One of Calgary’s largest projects, the $1.4 billion Calgary Cancer Centre, may still have more three years to go before finally being finished, but the progress that has been made over the past 20 or so months has been a feat in and of itself." 9/9/19

First Peoples of Canada

  • Amazing Race Canada an opportunity for conversation, says Indigenous winner (Folio) CANADIAN STORY These humans are amazing. They were, even before the race. "After using their appearance on the CTV reality show to confront stereotypes and raise awareness of complex issues facing Indigenous people, the two-spirit couple said they are now focused on building a new cultural healing centre for Kehewin Cree Nation." 9/16/19

Books to read

  • Beverley McLachlin bio provides insights into remarkable life and career (Canadian Lawyer) CANADIAN STORY As a graduate of my alma mater, I could not be prouder. An amazing human. An amazing Justice. "Beverley McLachlin: the Legacy of a Supreme Court Chief Justice opens by describing the first female and longest-service chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada as 'arguably one of the most effective judges the court has had in terms of the advancement of the rule of law and human rights, clarity of writing, leadership and the promotion of collegiality.'" 9/16/19

Seven life and career hacks -- one for each day of the week

  1. Top Ten Mistakes I Have Made as a Fundraiser (AFP Global) Our little blog post got picked up by AFP Global. Very nice of them to do that. Hope you enjoy. "People like mistakes. Or at least hearing about others' mistakes. Vincent Duckworth takes the plunge and shares his top ten list of mistakes he's made in fundraising. Find some solidarity and hopefully some wisdom and inspiration." 9/18/19

  2. How Charities Can Benefit from DAFs (AFP Global) Great primer on how to better work with DAFs. "With 460,000 Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) accounts in the country, most nonprofit organizations understand that DAFs are here to stay. Many have taken steps to embrace them and determine how to receive grants from their current and potential donors who have DAF accounts. Five years ago, many charities viewed them as possible threats to their fundraising efforts, but most have now received numerous and significant grants from DAFs." 9/16/19

  3. CBC's chat bot helps you spot 'fake news' — and avoid spreading it (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT Nice tool. "Disinformation frequently spreads on Facebook so that's why we've created a chat bot tool through Messenger, to help you spot disinformation and decide what news sources you can trust throughout the campaign [...]. If you opt in, the chat bot will guide you through five weeks of learning about deepfakes, altered photos and articles that may look like they're from news sites — but aren't." 9/16/19

  4. 40 Favorite Interview Questions from Some of the Sharpest Folks We Know (First Round Review) #9 is a really smart question and #19 should be asked in almost every interview. "When you’re scaling quickly, moving at warp speed, and sitting on several hiring panels, interviewing can seem like a task you just need to get through. But it’s worth pausing to remember that the decision to hire someone is an expensive and far-reaching one. And since you’re forced to make it after spending (at most) a few hours together, maximizing what you can learn about candidates in those precious few minutes becomes all the more crucial." Thanks to my lovely wife, Christine Fraser, for sharing this article. September 2019

  5. To Better Organize Your Life You Need To Organize Your Mindset (The Startup) Do you struggle with Executive Function? Are you asking yourself "What does he mean by Executive Function?" This hack is for you. 4/15/19

  6. Viral Gymnast Katelyn Ohashi on Learning to Show Emotion (elemental+) I love gymnastics. Some of my favourite athletes are gymnasts. Katelyn Ohashi is near the top. Why? Because of her joy and because she is at home in her body. Becuase of both, she did not fit the mold of the U.S. Olympic Team. Which is too bad for them. But not for Katelyn. If you have not seen her floor routine, you are in for a treat (Oh, btw, its been viewed 59 million times). 3/5/19

  7. 7 Principles That Influence Our Behaviour (UX Planet) I am always intrigued by the marketing tools and tactics that influence buying behaviour. I do so like selling. 11/22/18

Opinion

  • A Reprise of “Can Philanthropy Supplant Government?”—What Else Is New? (NonProfit Quarterly) What can I say. Sit back. Enjoy. "The defense of wealth and the wisdom of the financial elite rings hollow. Government programs may have inefficiencies and scandals, but so does private business. Both are features of human endeavor. The successes of one person and the travails of another are often less a matter of personal qualities than of chance, privilege and inherited advantage. Allowing societal answers to be reached through a series of individual choices is likely to lead to dead ends and further harm." 9/17/19

  • GIVING THE CHARITABLE SECTOR THE TOOLS IT NEEDS TO THRIVE: SENATORS MERCER AND OMIDVAR (Senate of Canada) CANADIAN STORY Senator Mercer and Senator Omidvar, thank you both so much! "The economic impact of the charitable sector cannot be understated. Charities and non-profits contribute more than $150 billion to our national economy each year, representing 8 % of our GDP. Despite these figures, Canada’s charitable sector is facing multiple challenges. Demand for the essential services these organizations provide is expected to rise dramatically over the next decade, and revenues are unlikely to keep up. According to Imagine Canada, sector organizations will require an additional $25 billion in revenue by 2026 to avoid what it calls a ‘social deficit’ [...]. Our report, Catalyst for Change: A Roadmap to a Stronger Charitable Sector, identifies some of the regulatory changes charities in Canada need in order to thrive and provides a vision for how the federal government must support their work." 9/10/19

  • Foundations, it’s time to stop using grant applications to distribute funding (Nonprofit AF) You can always count on Vu Le to say what most of us are thinking. Great piece Vu! "After much thinking and talking to other nonprofit folks, especially people of color, I’m going to argue that the grant application practice is harmful to nonprofits and the people we serve, and we need to use a different method to allocate funding, one that is grounded in equity (another topic our sector talks a lot about yet implement very poorly)." 9/9/19

Philanthropic personalities

  • Sun 20 Questions: Jeremy Bryant, co-founder of Mealshare (Edmonton Sun) EDMONTON STORY Mealshare is such an incredible idea. "Jeremy Bryant is a recipient of a 2019 University of Alberta Alumni Horizon Award. A former accountant, he keeps a running tally of an important statistic: at-risk youth fed through Mealshare, the non-profit social enterprise he co-founded in 2013. The concept is simple: Mealshare’s restaurant partners place a logo beside certain menu items, then make a donation to Mealshare when those items are ordered. Those donations become meals for hungry younsters here and abroad, with the goal to provide 3.5 million meals by the end of 2019." 9/15/19

  • 'Nothing short of remarkable': Top 7 Over 70 winners announced (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY ViTreo was privielged to work with Sylvia and her charity, Sewing Seeds. Congrats to all on this list. "Humble beginnings led to grand successes for 83-year-old Sylvia Rempel. Teenaged Rempel arrived in Canada from Germany as a non-English speaking immigrant and decades later is helping other newcomers find economic independence through sewing skills training. A self-taught seamstress, she started a small business named Sunice shortly after coming to Canada. It eventually blossomed into a $30-million outerwear conglomerate that was the official outfitter for the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary." 9/12/19

  • Greta Thunberg Wins Major GQ 'Men of the Year' Award (Plant Based News) She is and remains my favourite climate hero. I am an unabashed fanboy. "The prolific teenage environmentalist will receive the Game Changer Of The Year Award - which GQ has created especially for her." 8/14/19

EpsteinGate

  • Neri Oxman apologises to students over $125,000 donation from Jeffrey Epstein (dezeen) "Designer Neri Oxman has apologised to her students at MIT Media Lab for accepting funds from the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The American-Israeli professor confirmed that her Mediated Matter Group received $125,000 from Epstein following a meeting in 2015. The financier was found dead in his prison cell in New York City last month, where he was awaiting trial for child sex-trafficking." 9/16/19

  • Unpacking the Epstein Scandal: Why Core Ethical Principles Matter (AFP Global) Thank you AFP. Fundraisers ARE NOT immune. "Statement of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP): The controversy surrounding the philanthropy of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has underscored the need for all charities, regardless of size, to have fundamental ethics policies and procedures in place. These include policies for accepting gifts and procedures for review of major donations, as well as pro-active conversations with board and staff about ethical fundraising." 9/13/19

  • Harvard and MIT leaders acknowledge deeper ties to Jeffrey Epstein than previously known (Washington Post) "Presidents of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology acknowledged in separate announcements this week that their connections to financier Jeffrey Epstein went deeper than previously revealed, further entangling the elite institutions with a donor who was a convicted sex offender." 9/13/19

  • Harvard says Epstein's $9M donations came before his 2008 guilty plea on sex charges (USA Today) Ugh. Bad gifts are bad gifts. No matter when they arrive. "Harvard received nearly $9 million in donations from financier Jeffrey Epstein before his 2008 guilty plea to sex charges, but the university rejected a proposed gift after the conviction, according to Harvard President Lawrence Bacow. In a message to the Harvard community Thursday, Bacow said $186,000 in still unspent funds from the earlier donations will be given to organizations that support victims of human trafficking and sexual assault." 9/13/19

  • President of MIT admits approving Jeffrey Epstein donation (The Guardian) A cautionary tale to all those who sign thank you letters. "The president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has said he approved a donation – and signed a thank-you note – to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein four years after the disgraced financier was convicted for soliciting prostitution from a minor." 9/12/19

Philanthropic controversy

  • Former Citadel artistic director Bob Baker kicked out of actors union (Edmonton Sun) EDMONTON STORY "Bob Baker, for 17 years the artistic director at the Citadel Theatre, has been expelled from Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. After an investigation by the disciplinary committee of the association, which represents some 6,000 artists in the performing arts, Baker was stripped of his membership on June 23, 2019. In a notice posted on the Actors’ Equity website, the organization noted the committee was responding to a complaint related to a safe and respectful workplace." 9/17/19

  • U.K. charity reports donations spike despite backlash over international spending (CTV News) As quoted in the article, this tweet says it all,"[people] withdrawing #RNLI donations over their 'audacity' to use 2% of funds to support causes abroad are really the worst of society." And the spike in donations show many agree. 9/16/19

  • Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, files for bankruptcy as part of settlement (CBC) "Purdue Pharma, the company that made billions selling the prescription painkiller OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy in White Plains, N.Y., days after reaching a tentative settlement with many of the state and local governments suing it over the toll of opioids. The filing was anticipated before and after the tentative deal, which could be worth up to $12 billion US over time, was struck." 9/15/19

  • UW-Madison says Foxconn slow in fulfilling $100M pledge (Daily News) "The University of Wisconsin says it has received just $700,000 of the $100 million that Foxconn Technology Group pledged to fund engineering and innovation research on the school's flagship campus [...]. University of Wisconsin-Madison spokesman John Lucas said there has been 'no significant progress in discussions' on the investment that was touted at the time as the largest research partnership in the university's history." 9/14/19

  • Papa John's donation to Simmons College breaks down after Schnatter gift (WDRB.com) "Papa John’s International and Simmons College of Kentucky each say the other is responsible for the breakdown of an agreement by the pizza company to give the historically black college in Louisville $20,000 for scholarships." 9/13/19

  • New York Uncovers $1 Billion in Sackler Family Wire Transfers (New York Times) "The New York attorney general’s office said [...] that it had tracked about $1 billion in wire transfers by the Sackler family, including through Swiss bank accounts, suggesting that the family tried to shield wealth as it faced a raft of litigation over its role in the opioid crisis." 9/13/19

  • Lutheran Church officials admit misleading investors about funds' financial troubles (CBC) ALBERTA STORY "Five people involved with the operations of two now-insolvent Lutheran Church-Canada investment funds have been ordered to pay $500,000 to investors after admitting to withholding crucial financial information [...]. For decades, members of the Lutheran Church, many of them seniors, were encouraged to invest in the funds. The money was used to help build churches, schools and retirement communities. The funds ran into financial troubles after investing in a development called Prince of Peace in the mid-1990s, according to the agreement." 9/13/19

  • Swedish YouTuber with anti-Semitic history cancels $50,000 donation to ADL (Columbus Jewish News) "Swedish YouTube sensation PewDiePie backtracked on his promise [...] to donate $50,000 to the Anti-Defamation League, calling his initial pledge a 'mistake' and not genuine." 9/13/19

  • YOU DONATED TO KIDS WITH CANCER. THIS VEGAS TELEMARKETER CASHED IN. (The Centre for Public Integrity) "Since 2006, Zeitlin’s telemarketing companies have raised at least $121.3 million for nonprofits, according to a Public Integrity review of hundreds of state disclosures. More recently, political committees that contract with his companies have raised more than $31.8 million, according to financial disclosures filed with federal regulators. Of the combined $153.1 million, Zeitlin’s companies were paid about $133.1 million, Public Integrity’s analysis shows." 9/12/19

  • ‘Someone’s Gotta Tell the Freakin’ Truth’: Jerry Falwell’s Aides Break Their Silence (Politico) "At Liberty University, all anyone can talk about is Jerry Falwell Jr. Just not in public. 'When he does stupid stuff, people will mention it to others they consider confidants and not keep it totally secret,' a trusted adviser to Falwell, the school’s president and chancellor, told me. 'But they won’t rat him out.'" 9/9/19

Trends and shifts

  • How the Fall of Purdue Pharma May Affect Arts Philanthropy in the Future (The Observer) It most certainly does. "[It] feels important, going forward, to ask questions about how the fall of the Sacklers might influence the methods by which artistic organizations evaluate the types of donor funding they accept in the future. No museum wants another PR disaster the size of Warren Kanders or the Sacklers their hands, which means that museum employees will likely be burdened with looking deeper into the backgrounds of potential philanthropists before an exchange can be made." 9/16/19

  • Big screens still a main attraction (The Owl) ALBERTA STORY Turns out, movie theatres, at least in Alberta, are not dead yet. "Maybe it’s the big screen and the popcorn or maybe it’s the desire for a shared experience. Whatever the reason, Albertans are still choosing to go to the movies despite all the home and mobile entertainment options." 9/16/19

  • Are we there yet? U.S. company says pressurized tube travel is coming soon (CBC) Sign me up. "A company that has been busy shooting people through the Nevada desert in pressurized steel tubes at break-neck speeds says it is getting ready to introduce the public to what it says is the future of transportation technology." 9/15/19

  • Hasbro introduces Ms. Monopoly to celebrate female entrepreneurs (CBC) Nice move Hasbro. A wee bit late to the party but you are welcome all the same. "The face of the Monopoly franchise has ultimately stayed the same since the game's inception decades ago — until now. Hasbro Inc. is introducing a new version of the classic board game called Ms. Monopoly, where the Monopoly Man, with his mustache, cane and top hat, is replaced by a blazer-wearing, coffee-swilling businesswoman — an 'advocate whose mission is to reinvest in female entrepreneurs.'" 9/12/19

  • “You Can Never See Their Pants for Some Reason” (Slate) *The amount I do not know about teenage girls is so large, I am convinced that I will never catch up. I suspect when I share this article with my daughter, she will look at me as if I am from Mars. "Last school year, there was no such thing as a VSCO girl (pronounced “visco”). Maybe they existed, but they weren’t called VSCO girls yet? In any case, this school year they’re all anyone can talk about, teens and internet trend piece writers alike." 9/12/19

  • AI Is Coming for Your Favorite Menial Tasks (The Atlantic) Interesting, our work is likely going to get harder. "When machines start picking off all the easy work for themselves, many white-collar jobs are going to get a lot harder [...]. What’s less understood is that artificial intelligence will transform higher-skill positions, too—in ways that demand more human judgment rather than less. And that could be a problem." 9/8/19

  • Machine learning and its radical application to severe weather prediction (University of Wisconsin-Madison) But, will they get it right? "In the last decade, artificial intelligence ('AI') applications have exploded across various research sectors, including computer vision, communications and medicine. Now, the rapidly developing technology is making its mark in weather prediction. The fields of atmospheric science and satellite meteorology are ideally suited for the task, offering a rich training ground capable of feeding an AI system’s endless appetite for data." 9/6/19

  • The race to create a perfect lie detector – and the dangers of succeeding (The Guardian) How many 'big lies' a day do you tell? "AI and brain-scanning technology could soon make it possible o reliably detect when people are lying. But do we really want to know?" 9/5/19

  • Five CEOs of Wealthy Foundations Pledge to Do More to Help Charities Pay Overhead (Chronicle of Philanthropy) "In an unusual move, five of America’s wealthiest foundations have joined forces to do more to help grantees pay for rent, decent wages, technology, and other overhead. In making their announcement today, the foundation leaders said they were embarking on a major campaign to encourage all other grant makers to join them to help cover essential operating costs." In case you are wondering, it is the Ford, Hewlett, MacArthur, Open Society, and Packard foundations. All known for being the most influential and deep-thinking foundations on the planet. 9/4/19

  • Denmark buys country’s last remaining circus elephants to let them retire (PBS) Go Denmark! "Denmark is spending 11 million kroner ($1.6 million) to buy the country’s last four circus elephants to give them a proper retirement as the government moves to ban wild animals in circuses." 9/2/19

Large gifts

  • 'Unfathomable': Kids with Cancer Society receive $3-million donation (Edmonton Journal) EDMONTON STORY Boom! Go Go Auto. See what I did there? :-) Over a 100 families like the Goswamis connect with the Kids with Cancer Society each year. Now, thanks to a donation of $3 million over five years from a local automotive company, the charity organization is able to bolster their services for families dealing with the difficult diagnosis." 9/17/19

  • Spartan Controls $1.015M donation supports students, strengthens Saskatchewan Polytechnic engineering programs (Saskatchewan Polytechnic) SASKATOON STORY Nice gift! "Spartan Controls’ $1.015 million donation to Saskatchewan Polytechnic will support student success. Over the next 10 years, new equipment will be provided to continuously update the Instrumentation Engineering Technology and Power Engineering Technology training labs with leading edge technology." 9/17/19

  • Students at Camosun to benefit from philanthropy of local businessman (Education News Canada) VANCOUVER ISLAND STORY Let's hear it for planned giving! A lovely gift. "The Camosun College Foundation supports Camosun students in improving the lives of people in their community, and a recent donation will make it possible for students to help even more people. Knud Boelt, a Victoria-based businessman who passed away in 2017, has donated $1 million from his estate to the college." 9/17/19

  • ‘A unique opportunity:’ U of S thankful for over $1M donation for Prince Albert dental clinic (Prince Albert Herald) SASKATOON STORY "[The] U of S announced it received a $1,050,000 donation from Toronto-based dentalcorp. The funds are going towards construction and equipment costs for the dental clinic in the city’s campus." 9/16/19

  • Peconic Bay Medical Center Gets Largest Individual Donation Of $10 Million (The Southhampton Press) "[Chairwoman] of the Peconic Bay Medical Center Foundation’s Board of Directors, Emilie Roy Corey, and her husband, Michael, [have] announced a generous $10 million gift toward construction of the hospital’s new critical care tower and other initiatives." The Peconic Bay Medical Center is located in Riverhead, NY. 9/16/19

  • $5 million donation to help build New England College athletic center (Concord Monitor) "New England College has announced a $5 million anonymous pledge to support a new, 45,000-square-foot Athletic Complex on its Henniker campus." 9/16/19

  • Phoenix philanthropist donates $5 million to Creighton, St. Joseph’s (KTAR News) "Creighton University and Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital has received a $5 million dollar donation from a Phoenix-area philanthropist. Doris Norton donated the large amount of money to expand health sciences education in Phoenix." 9/14/19

  • MSOE Opens Cyber-Learning Center Built with $34m Alumnus Donation (InfoSecurity Group) "A Wisconsin university [...] celebrated the grand opening of a new cyber-learning facility funded by a $34m donation from a former student and his wife. Dwight Diercks graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) in 1990 with a degree in computer science and engineering. Now senior vice president of software engineering at California-based technology company NVIDIA, Diercks today serves as a regent of the university, which awarded him an honorary engineering doctorate in 2014." 9/13/19

  • Edinburgh MS Research Center Receives £15.3m Donation from J.K. Rowling (MuggleNet) This story was available from scores of media outlets. It warms my heart that I was able to source it from...MuggleNet. Yes, it exists. "In 2010, J.K. Rowling donated £10m to establish the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic in honor of her mother, Anne Rowling, who passed due to multiple sclerosis (MS) complications [...]. Now, Rowling has donated an additional £15.3m to help bring in new facilities and further research. Along with the donation, Rowling expressed her appreciation and admiration for the clinic." 9/13/19

  • SAS receives multi-million dollar donation (Trintonian) "Trinity received an anonymous $5 million donation [...]. The donating party instructed that all the money go to Student Accessibility Services (SAS)." Trinity University is a private liberal arts university in San Antonio, Texas. 9/12/19

  • $20M Schwab Donation to Create 2-Campus UC Dyslexia Research Center (NBC) "Two campuses of the University of California announced [...] they will create a new joint center for research on dyslexia and other learning differences, funded by a $20 million gift from financier Charles Schwab." 9/12/19

  • Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announces $17.2 million donation for schools in SF, Oakland (ABC) "Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is just one local business leader helping to build a better Bay Area. Six years ago, he took the lead in helping get technology into the classroom. It's been a game-changer. This year, he's done it again by donating more than $17 million to both San Francisco and Oakland schools." 9/12/19

  • JoeAnna's House given $1.5M donation by volunteer-run businesses (Kelowna Now) KELOWNA STORY Nice! I love seeing nonprofit-run businesses being successful enough to support important projects. "Four volunteer-run businesses have announced a $1.5 million donation for JoeAnna’s House in Kelowna. The KGH Foundation-run companies – The Perking Lot, Royal Bistro, Centennial Mercantile and Rutland Thrift Store – began fundraising in October 2017." 9/10/19

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