Weekly News Recap: November 1, 2019

Weekly News Recap: November 1, 2019

Kain, seen here in 2002, called her time as artistic director 'the most challenging, and the most rewarding' of her career. (Aaron Harris/The Canadian Press)

If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.— Russian Proverb

This week's highlights

  • The first black woman astronaut #WhatAHuman
  • How Salesforce closed the pay gap between men and women #ImportantAndVulnerable
  • Covenant House's Krista Thompson talks about stewardship and the ethics of fundraising #EndOfEthicsMonth
  • Encana is leaving Calgary, GPRC announces a new president, and Karin Kain announces her retirement from the National Ballet #Changes
  • Alberta sets an austerity budget #LosersAndWinners
  • Margaret Atwood gets a rare honour from Queen Elizabeth #Companion
  • Focus, how to keep a bear out of your picnic basket, and how to talk to any generation #Hacks
  • Spotify has saved the music industry #NowWhat
  • Elon Musk donates 1 million trees #Treelon
  • Ruth Bader Ginsberg donates her $1 million prize #WeHeartRBG
  • Judges without law degrees #Whaaat
  • A frank conversation about philanthropy #JuniperIsAwesome
  • Amazon gives $1 million to Wikipedia and why we still need English majors #TrendsAndShifts
  • St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver gets $2 million #ThanksBMO
  • Facebook makes a $1 billion gift to housing #Fantastic
  • $30 million to the Slaight Family Seniors Initiative #Wowzers
  • And so much more...

Inspiration

  • The Woman And The Starship (The Mission) A brief bio of the first black woman in space, Dr. Mae Jemison. 10/18/19

  • How Salesforce Closed the Pay Gap Between Men and Women (Wired) An important and vulnerable piece. "When the results came back a few months later, they were tough to swallow. Salesforce did have a pay gap; glaring differences were scattered throughout every division, department, and geographical region. The virus, in other words, was everywhere." 10/15/19

AFP Global

  • Krista Thompson and Andre Coronado: Stewardship and the Cost of Fundraising (AFP Global) CANADIAN CONTENT This is a great little video. Well done Krista and Andre! 10/23/19

  • Event Recap: AFP LEAD 2019 and AFP IDEA: Women’s Impact Summit (AFP Global) Congrats to all. "[The] Association of Fundraising Professionals had a momentous (and educational!) weekend in Phoenix, Ariz. [AFP] LEAD took the stage to host emerging fundraisers and AFP chapter leaders for special pre-conference content. Hundreds more attendees joined those emerging fundraisers and AFP chapter leaders on [...] as AFP LEAD officially kicked off, bringing key speakers forward to host impactful, emotional and beneficial sessions, focusing on growth and wellness, gearing attendees up to take their next steps as leaders within the sector." 10/10/19

To pod

  • IT DOESN'T HURT TO ASK! (Cathy Mann & Associates) Cathy is sharing another batch of shift disturbing conversations. Hurry. Subscribe. October 2019

  • The Discovery Pod (The Discovery Pod) Doug Nelson's podcast. His latest episode: The Culture Of Relationship Building With Mike Meldrum. Mike is on our podcast later this month as well. October 2019

News

  • Encana aims to move Calgary HQ to the U.S., changing name to Ovintiv (CBC) CALGARY STORY Not great news :-( "Encana Corp., one of Canada's oldest and largest energy companies, is moving its corporate headquarters from Calgary to the United States. The company, which is also changing its name to Ovintiv Inc., said [...] that having a U.S. address will expose it to increasingly larger pools of investment in U.S. index funds and passively managed accounts, as well as better align it with its U.S. peers." 10/31/19

  • GPRC announces new CEO and president (Daily Herald Tribune) GRANDE PRAIRIE STORY Congrats! "GPRC’s board of governors announced Robert Murray as the replacement in a [recent] release. Murray is currently the managing director of the government practice group at Dentons Canada LLP, the world’s largest law firm." 10/29/19

  • Fate of Downtown district energy initiative in flux: City may be out $3 million (Edmonton Journal) EDMONTON STORY "Edmonton’s Downtown district energy initiative — a key tool to reduce the city’s emission levels — could be on the chopping block. And it could cost Edmonton more than $3 million, at the same time hampering the Francis Winspear Centre for Music’s expansion plans." 10/28/19

  • U of A creates new academic centre: Canadian Centre for Welding and Joining (The Gateway) EDMONTON STORY Nice work everyone! This is a great addition to the UofA. "The University of Alberta has a new academic centre, the Canadian Centre for Welding and Joining, which it hopes will allow for new research and development in the areas of welding and materials engineering." 10/28/19

  • U of A donates land it didn't know it owned to Fort Assiniboine legion (CBC) FORT ASSINIBOINE STORY Cool story. It was given to the UofA in an estate in the 1920s. "The University of Alberta is transferring an apartment-sized plot of land it was unaware it owned to the Royal Canadian Legion in Fort Assiniboine, Alta." 10/28/19

  • Chemist receives UAlberta Martha Cook Piper Research Prize (University of Alberta) EDMONTON STORY Congrats to Dr. Lundgren. As one of the those who were privileged to work with Martha Piper, I am so happy to see this award at work in the world. "Chemist Rylan Lundgren has been awarded with the University of Alberta’s Martha Cook Piper Research Prize. The annual award recognizes early-career researchers for their innovative research programs and is named for former vice-president Martha Cook Piper’s significant contribution to the research community at the University of Alberta in the 1990s." 10/25/19

  • Karen Kain, dancer-turned-artistic director, to retire from National Ballet (CBC) CANADIAN STORY What a legacy! Canada's National Ballet is one of the top ten classical ballet companies in the world. Not least because of Ms. Kain's artistic leadership. "Ballet superstar Karen Kain will retire as artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada in January 2021. The ballet's board of directors said [...] Kain will step down from the post but remain with the company as artistic director emeritus. The announcement comes nearly 15 years after Kain assumed the creative reins in 2005, and 50 years after she joined the company as a dancer in 1969." 10/25/19

  • 'A bit emotional,' Margaret Atwood receives rare honour from Queen Elizabeth (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Lovely. Well deserved. "The Queen of Canada has presented the queen of CanLit with a rare royal honour. Queen Elizabeth has named Margaret Atwood a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for her services to literature." 10/25/19

  • Winners and losers in Alberta budget 2019 (Global News) ALBERTA STORY "Alberta’s United Conservative government tabled its first budget [...]. Here is a look at who might be pleased and who won’t be [...]." 10/24/19

  • Canada’s best charities 2020: Top 100 (Macleans) CANADIAN STORY Congrats to all. "Canada is one of the best places to live in the world, but there are many social, economic, environmental and health issues that demand our resources and attention. Alleviating poverty, stopping the climate crisis and finding cures for deadly diseases don’t just require spending more money, but spending it wisely. These are Canada’s 100 best charities." 10/24/19

  • National Ballet Of Canada Raises Over $104 Million With Soaring Campaign (DanceLand) CANADIAN STORY Impressive! "David Macdonald, Chair of the Soaring Campaign, announced that The National Ballet of Canada’s transformational campaign not only realized its potential but exceeded financial expectations, raising over $104 million." 10/31/19

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

  1. How The ‘Any-Value’ Mindset Destroys Your Productivity (Personal Growth Lab) Not everything is of equal value. 5/27/19

  2. Success Comes from Daily Disciplines Compounded Over Time (quotabl) Can you keep the grizzly bear out of your picnic basket? Me neither. 5/18/19

  3. 9 Ways Thinking Like a Philosopher Will Make You Wiser (Liberationist) We can all use a little more philosophy in our lives. 3/4/19

  4. Top 10 Ways To Simplify Your Life !!! (The Startup) Nice. Some fresh ones in here. I regularly do many of these but I find that #2 is one of my favourites. On many levels. 3/4/19

  5. Not My Generation! How to Communicate with Sensitivity (AFP Global) Best tip: "Don't focus on age." Great stuff from our professional association. 3/4/19

  6. Employee Expectations Are Changing. Employers Need to Pay Attention. (Leadership) *"The answer to better office culture isn’t technology—it’s leadership training." Could not agree more. 3/3/19

  7. Finding Yourself is Great, Losing Yourself is Better (Post Graduate Survival Guide) Brilliant: more art, more friendship. 8/20/18

Uncommon knowledge

  • Student tracking, secret scores: How college admissions offices rank prospects before they apply (Washington Post) "Colleges are collecting more data about prospective students than ever before — part of an effort, administrators say, to make better predictions about which students are the most likely to apply, accept an offer and enroll. Records reviewed by The Post show that at least 44 public and private universities in the United States work with outside consulting companies to collect and analyze data on prospective students, by tracking their Web activity or formulating predictive scores to measure each student’s likelihood of enrolling." 10/31/19

  • Spotify Saved the Music Industry. Now What? (Fortune) "Since the year of [Taylor] Swift’s Spotify defection, the global recorded music industry has seen overall sales grow every year—from $14.3 billion in 2014 to $18.1 billion in 2018. That’s predominantly thanks to paid streaming, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, or IFPI. Today, paid and ad-supported streaming together represent almost half of all global recorded music revenue." 10/21/19

  • Made in America (Washington Post) "How four dishes with roots in other lands tell a story of immigration and transformation." 10/11/19

Philanthropic personalities

  • Elon Musk casually tweeted that he'd donate $1 million to a tree-planting cause. Jack Dorsey, Tobi Lutke, and YouTube are following suit. (Business Insider) Love this. "Musk promised to donate 1 million trees to #TeamTrees, a campaign started by the YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, otherwise known as 'MrBeast.' The tech executive caught wind of the campaign [...] replying to Donaldson's tweet calling the campaign 'cool' and inquiring 'where are the trees being planted' and 'what kind of trees.' Upon explanation, Musk responded [...] in the thread: 'Ok, sounds legit, will donate 1M trees.'" 10/31/19

  • High River Philanthropists Up For A Western Legacy Award (High River Online) HIGH RIVER STORY Nice. Congrats! "A couple in the Foothills is being recognized by the Calgary Stampede for the time and financial support they've given back to the community. John and May Lockhart live in High River and are one of three finalists nominated for a Stampede Western Legacy Award in the Sustained Contribution by an Individual category along with Bruce Roy and Mackenzi Mitchell." 10/29/19

  • Omidyar Network CEO opens up about VC-influenced philanthropy (TechCrunch) "In 2004, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife, Pam, set aside some of the wealth they acquired after the online marketplace went public and created Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm 'dedicated to harnessing the power of markets,' according to an official overview. Since then, the firm — which operates a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and an LLC — has committed $839 million in nonprofit grants and $735 million in for-profit investments. Today, 60 employees in Mumbai, London, Washington D.C. and Redwood City look for opportunities to invest and contribute across four main areas: Reimagining Capitalism, Beneficial Technology, Discovering Emergent Issues, and Expanding Human Capability." 10/28/19

  • BILL GATES COULD OVERTAKE JEFF BEZOS AS WORLD'S RICHEST PERSON—HIS PHILANTHROPY MEANS HE LIKELY WON'T HOLD THE TITLE FOR LONG (Newsweek) "Microsoft founder Bill Gates is on course to overtake Amazon entrepreneur Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person thanks to recent fluctuations in the stock market, but if he continues to give his wealth away at a similar rate then its a title he's unlikely to hold for long." 10/25/19

  • Ginsburg donating $1M prize to charity (Fox News) As if we could not love her more. Nice move RBG. "Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just won $1 million for her work in philosophy and culture, and she’s planning to pay it forward. The 86-year-old justice was named as the recipient of the Berggruen Prize, honoring her pioneering efforts in gender equality and support for the rule of law. The institute said she will be donating the money to charity." 10/23/19

  • Donor Control, Conflict of Interest and Tainted Money: Key Ethical Concerns for Fundraisers (AFP Global) "[Long-standing] issues such as donor control of gifts, conflict of interest and 'tainted' money remain top ethical concerns for many fundraisers, but workplace issues, including sexual harassment and working with top executive staff, are important as well." 10/23/19

  • Jeff Bezos’s Master Plan (The Atlantic) "Today, Bezos controls nearly 40 percent of all e-commerce in the United States. More product searches are conducted on Amazon than on Google, which has allowed Bezos to build an advertising business as valuable as the entirety of IBM. One estimate has Amazon Web Services controlling almost half of the cloud-computing industry—institutions as varied as General Electric, Unilever, and even the CIA rely on its servers. Forty-two percent of paper book sales and a third of the market for streaming video are controlled by the company; Twitch, its video platform popular among gamers, attracts 15 million users a day. Add The Washington Post to this portfolio and Bezos is, at a minimum, a rival to the likes of Disney’s Bob Iger or the suits at AT&T, and arguably the most powerful man in American culture." October 2019

Philanthropic controversy

  • When Medical Debt Collectors Decide Who Gets Arrested (ProPublica) "Welcome to Coffeyville, Kansas, where the judge has no law degree, debt collectors get a cut of the bail, and Americans are watching their lives — and liberty — disappear in the pursuit of medical debt collection." 10/16/19

  • A New Conversation About Philanthropy (Fundraising Leadership) CANADIAN CONTENT A thoughtful and well-written piece by my friend, the brilliant Juniper Locilento. Nice work Juniper! "[Philanthropy] has gotten some bad press lately. Writers like Anand Giridharadas, Edgar Villanueva, and Rob Reich have argued there’s a hypocrisy to making your fortune in ways that harm others and then being celebrated for giving (some of) it away. They’re not wrong. How many know that Carnegie and Rockefeller were ruthless industrialists but now are mostly remembered as benevolent patrons of libraries, universities and concert halls? And sure, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan have promised to direct 99% of their Facebook stock to curing every disease, ever. But should that give Facebook license to mine our data and undermine our democracy?" 10/4/19

Trends and shifts

  • Here's why the top YouTubers from all corners of the platform are talking about planting 20 million trees for #TeamTrees (Insider) This is cool. "As the YouTuber MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, was approaching 20 million subscribers, one of his fans suggested he plant 20 million trees to commemorate his impressive audience growth." 10/27/19

  • Why Amazon’s One Million Dollar Donation To Wikipedia Is a Lesson For Us All (Thrive Global) Amazon's home assistant Alexa used Wikipedia regularly. This gift acknowledges that. Nice work Amazon. "The Wikimedia foundation, a nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and our other free knowledge projects, recently announced that Amazon made a $1 million gift to its endowment fund. This donation makes Amazon one of Wikimedia’s largest corporate contributors. " 10/25/19

  • A tiger by the tail – charities and building movements (nfpSynergy) "I think it is fair to say that movements are very much in vogue with a lot of campaigning charities at the moment. They have been around as long as humans have come together to deliver change but, as charities have increasingly sought to build a two-way relationship with the people who support them, the desire and allure of building a movement has shot up. The remarkable recent success of the Extinction Rebellion (XR) movement is only to going to accelerate that trend." Thanks to Mick Mulloy for sharing this article. 10/23/19

  • The world’s top economists just made the case for why we still need English majors (Washington Post) "Nobel Prize winner Robert Shiller’s new book 'Narrative Economics' opens with him reminiscing about an enlightening history class he took as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. He wrote that what he learned about the Great Depression was far more useful in understanding the period of economic and financial turmoil than anything he learned in his economic courses. The whole premise of Shiller’s book is that stories matter. What people tell each other can have profound implications on markets — and the overall economy." 10/19/19

  • Charities and Political Activities in Canada: One Year Later (AFP Global) CANADIAN CONTENT "Charities are dealing with a new landscape one year after the federal government proposed—and later passed—amendments to the Income Tax Act on October 25, 2018. The amendments enshrined the notion that 'charitable activities include, without limitation, public policy dialogue and development activities carried on in furtherance of a charitable purpose.'" 10/17/19

Large gifts

  • Albion College gifted largest donation in school history (mLIVE) "Benefactors have gifted $8 million to Albion College -- the largest contribution in school history, officials said. Alexander 'Sandy' Cutler and his wife Sarah made the donation to establish the Cutler Center for Student Success and Academic [Achievement]." Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835. 10/29/19

  • St. Paul’s Foundation receives $2-million donation from BMO to support Indigenous health (Globe and Mail) VANCOUVER STORY Nice gift! Thanks BMO. "A $2-million donation to St. Paul’s Foundation from Bank of Montreal will support the health and wellness of Indigenous communities in British Columbia, with a focus on cardiac health." 10/29/19

  • Philanthropist Announces $10 Million Donation to Jefferson Memorial Renovation (NBC) "Businessman and philanthropist David Rubenstein announced a multimillion dollar donation for repairs to the Jefferson Memorial [...]." 10/29/19

  • Cincinnati Children’s lands multimillion-dollar donation (Cincinnati Business Courier) "Cincinnati Children’s Hospital expects to receive one of its largest donations ever [...] – $8.8 million. The Jack Rubinstein Foundation for Developmental Disorders will present a check to CEO Michael Fisher." 10/28/19

  • College naming building for Doug Meijer after $19.5M donation (grbj.com) "A new building downtown will be named for Doug Meijer following a $19.5 million donation. Doug Meijer and the Meijer Foundation together donated the funds toward the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine’s new 211,000-square-foot research building coming to Grand [Rapids]." 10/25/19

  • MSB Receives $12 Million Donation (The Hoya) "The A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation donated $12.2 million to the McDonough School of Business to support scholarships and collaboration with local educational [programs]." The Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business, commonly abbreviated as the MSB, is the business school of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. 10/23/19

  • ‘A big deal’: Facebook matches Google’s $1B pledge to fight housing crisis (San Francisco Chronicle) Fantastic gift! "Facebook says it will invest $1 billion over the next decade to help fund 20,000 new homes in California, becoming the latest big employer to ramp up its financial commitment amid a crippling housing shortage." 10/22/19

  • Slaight family announces historic $30M for The Slaight Family Foundation Seniors Initiative (Alzheimer.ca) Wow! What a gift! "The Slaight Family Foundation today announced that it will donate $15 million to 13 Toronto hospitals and four national organizations in support of The Slaight Family Foundation Seniors Initiative. The gift follows the June 2019 announcement of $15 million to create the Allan Slaight Seniors Fund at the United Way Greater Toronto, bringing the total to a historic $30 million." 10/1/19

  • CSI School of Business officially named for Lucille and Jay Chazanoff; couple lauded for $7.5 M cash gift (silive.com) "The School of Business at the College of Staten Island was renamed for philanthropists Lucille and Jay Chazanoff during a heartfelt dedication and reception [...] attended by some 250 guests on the campus of the Willowbrook institution of higher learning." October 2019

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