Weekly News Recap: April 01, 2016

Tom Hickerson, vice-provost (Libraries and Cultural Resources) says the EMI Music Canada Archive donated to the University of Calgary "is one of the most culturally significant collections of the last century to be acquired by a research library." Photo by Riley Brandt, University of Calgary

News

Honorary degree recipients announced for spring convocation University of Alberta will award honourary degrees to 11 influential and inspirational figures. Included in the list are Salah Bachir, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Mark Carney, Roméo Dallaire, Tony Fields, Morris Flewwelling, Ruth Kelly, Stephen Mandel, Jerome Nriagu, Mary Robinson and Indira Samarasekera. Congrats to them all. ALBERTA STORY (3/31/16)
FirstEnergy cancels longstanding Calgary Stampede bash due to economic squeeze This event, called FirstRowdy, traditionally cost FirstEnergy upwards of $400,000. They are still going to commit to giving $100,000 (the charitable component of this event was typically $200,000) to a nonprofit. CALGARY STORY (3/31/16)
KPMG ranks Calgary as most expensive Canadian city for business We really need to start highlighting how much more there is to Calgary than oil and gas. CALGARY STORY (3/30/16)
Canada announces C$2 billion fund to modernise campuses Finally, some good news on this front. The deferred infrastructure on our campuses is staggering. This will help. CANADIAN STORY (3/29/16)

Life and career hacks

Being productive doesn't just mean doing more in less time, author says "Busyness does not always equal productivity." I completely agree. (4/1/16)
You’re hired, but first, some rules. Note: Some NSFW language here but otherwise...awesome article. We try to live this at ViTrēo (not the whisky and loud music necessarily but the rest). (3/21/16)

Opinion

The Art of Saying No as a Philanthropist Tough to hear. Important to say. Can be helpful for the asking organization if it helps hone future requests. Thanks to ViTrēo associate, Larissa Groch, for sharing this article. (3/25/16)

Books to read

A modern take on the role of philanthropy The value and limitations of philanthropy explored in Rhodri Davies's book Public Good by Private Means. (3/29/16)

Studies and stats

The Philanthropic Attitudes of the Ultra-wealthy, According to Their Advisors The full report can also be found at this link. Interesting reading. (3/25/16)/

Trends and shifts

Another Donor Gives Big to Bolster Campus Entrepreneurship This has been a trend for a while but it is clearly picking up steam with with gifts of $8 million and $16.5 million. (3/28/16)
Too many charities, not enough donors according to new report Sound familiar. We have that problem too. Apparently, there are 2000 charities in Australia for breast cancer alone. (3/28/16)

Philanthropic controversy

Professional fundraisers pocket 2/3 of Michigan charitable donations, AG says This is why we need AFP. I have a hard time believing that these fundraisers were AFP members. (3/28/16)
In Interview, Gates CEO Addresses 'Big Philanthropy' Barbs First, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is awesome and what they are doing is life changing. But, let's be clear, they are accountable to virtually nobody. And this interview did little to dispel that fact. (3/28/16)

Large gifts

Target coming to Logan, making $4.1 million donation to USU This gift from Target (yes, that Target, the largest discount retailer in the United States) to Utah State University is primarily targeted for renovations and rebranding of the basketball arena. The new arena will be called Target Court in the Spectrum. (4/1/16)
U.S. Cellular Announces $1.3 Million Nonprofit Donation to Boys & Girls Clubs of America and National 4-H Council This commitment will boost the learning experience for youth and communities by championing K-12 and STEM educational programs. This is the second year U.S. Cellular is funding Boys & Girls Clubs and 4-H Clubs throughout the company’s markets with STEM activities. (3/31/16)
OU President David Boren announces $4 million donation for the College of International Studies Oklahoma University received a $4 million gift from the Farzaneh Family Foundation established by brothers Jalal Farzaneh and Mohammad Farzaneh. The brothers, originally from Iran, are both alumni of OU. (3/31/16)
Universal Music Canada donates archive of music label EMI Music Canada to the University of Calgary This is a fantastic gift by Universal Music Canada to Canadians. Music is part of our cultural heritage. This also would not have happened without the National Music Centre brokering the relationships. Anne Murray, Tom Cochrane, Nickelback, Glass Tiger, Kim Mitchell, Helix and the Rankin Family are just a few of the artists in this archive. Yes, even Nickelback. CALGARY STORY (3/31/16)
New real estate minor at UW thanks to Seattle broker’s donation Windermere founder John Jacobi and his wife, Rosalind, have donated $5.4 million to help fund a real estate minor degree at the University of Washington. (3/30/16)
OSU receives $25 million donation for performing arts Oklahoma State University received a $25 million gift that will help attract world-class talent to the university's planned performing arts center. Alumni Ross and Billie McKnight donated the money toward the endowment that will support programming while the university to come up with a matching $25 million. Nice endowment gift! (3/30/16)
VP Joe Biden announces $125M donation for new Johns Hopkins cancer institute First, whenever and wherever you can get Joe Biden involved in your cause, do that. Second, this is a cause that is close to Joe's heart. His son, Beau Biden, died last May from brain cancer Third, get the billionaire mayor of NYC, Michael Bloomberg and Sidney Kimmel, founder of Jones Apparel Group, to donate most of the funds. (3/30/16)
UCF Creates Entertainment Management Degree with $5 Million Donation The Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida has received a $5 million private donation to establish a Bachelor of Science degree in Entertainment Management. This is an anonymous gift. (3/29/16)
Billionaire Donates $200M To Fix ‘Gross’ Dorms See a problem, fix a problem. Charles Munger, partner to Warren Buffet, made this gift to support a state-of-the-art on campus residence hall at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Done! (3/28/16)
Malabar Gold and Diamonds Donates $2.7 Million for Genetic Research Malabar Gold and Diamonds has made a gift of AED 10 million (USD $2.72 million) to the Al Jalila Foundation to support research in genetic disease and disorders. The Al Jalila Foundation is a global philanthropic organization dedicated to transforming lives through medical education and research. (3/28/16)
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen donates $100 million for Bioscience Research This gift is directed to Stanford University and Tufts University. Paul Allen has donated over $2 billion charitable causes and nonprofit research groups. (3/26/16)
NoVo Foundation to Invest $90 Million in Future of Women of Color This is the largest effort to date by a private foundation to tackle the issues faced by women of colour in the U.S. The NoVo Foundation is led by Warren Buffet's son and daughter-in-law, Peter and Jennifer Buffett. (3/26/16)
Boys and Girls Club of Collier Scores Multi-Million Dollar Donation Susan and Carl Bolch Jr. recently donated $3 million towards this organization based in Collier County, Florida. Carl Bolch is the chairman of RaceTrac Petroleum. (3/26/16)
Thousands of Kansas school kids to benefit from donation to Emporia State University The Kansas Masonic Foundation has made a $4 million gift that will benefit more than 50,000 Kansas kids. The gift is designated to assist with literacy education. (3/25/16)
CSU receives anonymous $20 million donation to name field after Sonny Lubick Lovely way to honour Colorado State University's beloved football coach. (3/25/16)

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