Weekly News Recap: March 18, 2016

A rendering of the exterior of Studio Bell which will house the National Music Centre.

Events and activities

The Future of the Not For Profit Sector and Fundraising ViTrēo's Andrea McManus will be presenting at this session. This is a ticketed event. EVENT DATE:Thursday, 31 March 2016 from 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM (MDT) (March 2016)

Philanthropic personalities

Angelina Jolie 2016: Actress Encouraged To Quit Hollywood For Philanthropy Work Instead? [VIDEO] Some say she should quit acting and fully embrace her role as an 'international philanthropist'. I admire what she is trying to do but I do wonder how much of her celebrity is mixed in to this equation. Thoughts? (3/16/16)

Trends and shifts

Can China's New Charity Law Fix a Dismal Donation Rate? More on our ongoing look at charitable giving in China. China's dismal donation rate is attributed primarily to a lack of faith in charities in China. It will be interesting to see if this law changes this perception. (3/17/16)
Speed Museum Turns to a Spreadsheet to Increase Diversity Using a 'board matrix' to help diversify board composition is a great idea. I wish more boards would do this. (3/15/16)
European Museums Are Shifting to American Way of Giving "The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has seen government funding drop to 40 percent of the budget after supplying as much as 70 percent in 2012. The museum’s development office now has 15 people, up from three in 2009." The more things stay the same, the more they change (or is it the other way around?). (3/15/16)
Three Trends for the Next 50 Years Deflation, chemistry, employee-free society. Interesting. "Idea sex." Chemistry is the one that I think will make the biggest impact. What do you think? (3/14/16)

Philanthropic Controversy

Board Chair Takes Helm at Wounded Warrior—but Donors Have the Floor A follow up on a previous story we shared. Cautionary tale with even more bad outcomes. (3/15/16)
Laval University to change campaign poster that looks like Nazi-era symbol ViTrēo's Scott Decksheimer notes, "Even the big universities get it wrong." Laval's fundraising campaign aims to raise $350 million for the school's 350th anniversary. CANADIAN STORY (3/13/16)
Staten Island: City Hall bungled $90M donation for rec center This was to be one of 27 Kroc Centers across the country. These centers all stem from from a $1.5 billion bequest by Joan Kroc, heir to the McDonald’s fortune, to the Salvation Army. One of the requirements of the bequest require millions in local funding — raised by grass-roots groups and/or state and city governments — to confirm a commitment to long-term stability. (3/13/16)
NOTE - PAYWALL: Donor Beware: The New Realities of Philanthropy "The rest of us may wonder why we subsidize their giving." Great article in Wall Street Journal talking about Phil Knight's recent $400 million gift to Stanford. (3/11/16)

Tools and talent

WHAT THE FACEBOOK FOR NONPROFITS WEBSITE LEFT OUT Follow up article to a previous post we did on Facebook's nonprofit website. Good stuff here, perhaps Facebook will take note. (3/14/16)

Opinion

Ten things the charity sector needs to do to restore its reputation This is a follow up story from a previous post about problems with the U.K. charity sector. Good stuff here. Thanks to Mick Mulloy for sharing the link. (3/3/16)
Sorry about All That “Impact Revolution in Philanthropy” Stuff "...why he would continue to say from his bully pulpit at Charity Navigator that donors were increasingly clamoring for information proving impact even when the research (that’s right – the research) in no way supported that..." Amen. Glad to hear that many are going back on their earlier comments about 'impact'. These comments were very damaging and...costly to the nonprofit sector. (3/4/16)

Innovative

Heart and Stroke Foundation brings basic CPR training to your smartphone This is literally a life-saving app. Nice work from the Heart and Stroke Foundation. CANADIAN STORY (3/17/16)
Ingenico installs multi-payment charity donation screens in Paris This is very innovative and cool. Plus, I just love how you say daffodil in French...Jonquille. (3/15/16)

Life and career hacks

7 Surprisingly Simple Rules to Change Your Life I like all of these but #5 speaks to me...personally. (3/16/16)
8 Unintuitive Lessons on Being a Designer "Good design is obvious." Yes, yes it is. (3/14/16)
A better offer letter Brilliant. Truly brilliant. At ViTrēo we aspire to this level of simplicity. (3/11/16)
Remember to Slam the Door Behind You Stop doing things you hate. Burn bridges but make sure they are the right bridges. (3/11/16)
Millennials & Community Give, serve, inspire: The millennial mantra. (March 2016)

Studies, facts, and stats

Blackbaud Study Uncovers the Impact of Political Giving on Charitable Giving Is the pie finite? According to this study, it is not, “The study’s overall assertion is that political giving during the 2012 election did not, in fact, suppress charitable giving. Donors to political campaigns continued their support of charitable causes.” (3/17/16)
Canada's population surpasses 36 million Good to know. Stuff to use. CANADIAN INFO (3/16/16)
PDF: BEYOND FUNDRAISING: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BUILD A CULTURE OF PHILANTHROPY? An important report on the "culture" of philanthropy. (March 2016)
The Philanthropy Outlook 2016 & 2017 Marts & Lundy's annual trends document. Worth a look. (March 2016)
UK SURVEY SHOWS INTERIM MANAGERS MAKE BUSINESSES MORE COMPETITIVE Five reasons why: Flexibility and Scalability, Specialist Expertise, Speed, Outcome Focused, ROI/Value for Money. A service we offer at ViTrēo. Thanks to Mick Mulloy for sharing this link. (3/7/16)

Large Gifts

Wallace Foundation to invest $47 million in redesigning principal preparation These funds are directed to redesign as many as six university training programs each of which will be expected to partner with several school districts. The goal: Better prepare school principals. (3/16/16)
Alberta Food Banks receives its largest donation ever from CIBC Food banks in Alberta are experiencing significant increased in demand due to the economic downturn. This is a fantastic response. Thank you CIBC! ALBERTA STORY (3/16/16)
Nevada Museum of Art receives $1.5M donation The Nevada Museum of Art received a $1.5 million contribution from a local museum trustee and arts advocate, John C. Deane. The contribution makes it possible to maintain the position of senior curator and deputy director. (3/16/16)
Proposed Lismore gallery gets $500,000 donation Nice bequest in Australia. Interesting that this gift is four times what the State of New South Wales is giving. (3/15/16)
Nordea-fonden donation accelerates Amager nature park project in Copenhagen A 55 million kroner ($10.8 million CAD) from the charitable fund Nordea-fonden will help Copenhagen build an urban nature park ten times the size of New York's Central Park. What a fantastic gift to generations of danish and world citizens. Norden fonden is a danish foundation established upon the merger of three major banks. (3/15/16)
UDance student philanthropy raises $1.7 million to battle childhood cancer Dance dance baby! Awesome. The University of Delaware’s students hosted their 10th annual 12-hour dance marathon on Sunday, March 13, with the theme “Pushing Cancer Overboard” and raised a record amount of $1,701,667.81 for the fight against childhood cancer. (3/15/16)
Masonic Children’s Hospital gets $2.5M donation to treat victims of child abuse A $2.5 million gift from the Otto Bremner Trust has been given to the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital to help the hospital better treat the thousands of kids who are abused and neglected every year. Created in 1944, the Otto Bremner Trust assists people in achieving full economic, civic and social participation in and for the betterment of their communities. (3/15/16)
National Bank of Canada donates $1M to construction of Studio Bell in Calgary's East Village Lovely to see National Bank step up along with the rest of Canada's big banks. Nice work National Bank and thank you! CALGARY STORY (3/14/16)
Baudette receives donation to build hockey arena The town of Baudette, Minnesota is building a new arena thanks to an anonymous $5 million donation. (3/14/16)
Miracle On 17th Street? St. Adalbert Gets $3M Gift, Hopes To Stay Open A catholic church in Chicago gets a new lease on life from an anonymous donation. (3/14/16)
Liberty Science Center to create nation's largest planetarium with $5M donation Wowzers! Liberty Science Center is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. This gift is from Jennifer Chalsty, a Short Hills resident and former high school teacher who has served on the board since 2004. The contribution is the largest the interactive learning facility has ever received from an individual. (3/14/16)
Donation leads to quantum leap The construction of underground quantum physics test labs and research into the development of new superconductors will be supported by a $11 million donation from UBC Alumnus Stewart Blusson. Stewart Blusson co-discovered the Ekati Diamond Mine, 300 km north of Yellowknife. CANADIAN STORY (3/13/16)

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