Weekly News Recap: July 13, 2018

Nora Yeates, chief executive officer of the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan, is excited about raising funds for cancer care for Saskatchewan patients. BRANDON HARDER / REGINA LEADER-POST

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one. -- George R.R. Martin from "A Dance with Dragons"

Lists of lists

Survey participation request

  • The Philanthropy Centre is requesting participation in a worldwide survey (Philanthropy Centre) Dr. Adrian Sargeant is working to develop a measure of philanthropic orientation - i.e. how philanthropically oriented an organization might be - and to measure the impact that this might have on fundraising performance. If you have 16 minutes, please consider participating. 7/12/18

News

  • Fundraiser introduces heritage sport to the hip (CBC) REGINA STORY "Regina embraces lawn bowling, and raises money for cystic fibrosis." Lawn Bowling is ViTreo's official corporate sport :-) 7/11/18

  • Stampede spirit boosts attendance but Calgary economy still in recovery mode (CBC) CALGARY STORY "Calgary's economy is looking good as Stampede spirit grips Canada's oil and gas headquarters city — but not quite as good as it was a few years ago. The annual outdoor event set an attendance record for its parade day last Friday and cumulative attendance through Tuesday is second only to the overall record set in 2012 when the Stampede celebrated its 100th anniversary. Similarly, sponsorship rights to the 36 chuckwagons invited to race at the Stampede raised $3.2 million last March in an auction. That was much higher than the $2.4 million in 2017, but well behind 2012's record high of just over $4 million." 7/11/18

  • Vancouver commits to securing spaces for arts and culture (CBC) VANCOUVER STORY "Securing space for arts and culture in Vancouver may soon become easier, after city council approved recommendations to support the growth of places for creative workers to live and work." 7/11/18

  • Yeates excited about new Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan, to launch in fall (Regina Leader Post) SASKATCHEWAN STORY "Like an expectant mother, Nora Yeates is excited to nurture the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan from infancy to a strong, independent resource for cancer patients in the province. The idea for the foundation was conceived by the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency." Congrats to all. ViTreo is proud to have played a significant role in the birth of this important cancer foundation. Thanks to Scott Decksheimer for sharing this story. 7/11/18

  • 'People just kept on coming': Record-breaking first day at Calgary Stampede (CBC) CALGARY STORY "2018 was a record year for first-day attendance at the Calgary Stampede grounds, with 122,403 people streaming through the gates on Friday. That's up 7,168 from last year, which was the previous record." (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press) 7/7/18

  • Katimavik is back opening minds and teaching reconciliation, Calgary volunteer says (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Yay! "Pierre Trudeau introduced it in the late 1970s, Stephen Harper axed it six years ago and now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has brought it back. The popular youth volunteer program Katimavik is running on a national level once again and this time with a focus on reconciliation." 7/5/18

  • Notley says Stampede shows Calgary on the comeback trail (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY "Premier Rachel Notley says Calgary can celebrate a rebounding economy as the city heads into its annual Stampede party." 7/4/18

  • UBC appoints new Vice-President Development and Alumni Engagement (UBYSSEY) VANCOUVER STORY "UBC has appointed Heather McCaw as its new Vice-President Development and Alumni Engagement (DAE). Her five-year term will begin in Fall 2018." 7/4/18

Podcasts to pod

  • The 101 Best Podcasts for 2018 (The Mission) I regularly listen to a few on this list: Criminal (brilliant, creepy), 99% invisible (one of the very best, design in everyday life, you will learn something every single listen), Design Matters with Debbie Millman (if you care about knowing more about your design heroes, listen to this), The Art of Manliness (but I like it too), This American Life (a must listen, if only to relax with Ira Glass). Christine, my lovely wife and partner also loves This American Life and she regularly listens to How I Built This with Guy Raz (interviews with founders on how companies like LinkedIn and Uber got their start). The one on this list I have not listened to but I am adding to my mix is Pitchwerks (marketing, sales). 7/5/18

Life and career hacks

Uncommon knowledge

  • Nine Things I Learned When I Became a Honeymoon Planner for Billionaires (Bloomberg) Oh my! "Lining up a dream postnuptial vacation can be just as high-stakes as planning the big day itself. (Remember Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s widely publicized indecision: Was it Africa or Canada?) It can be especially complicated, it turns out, if you are a billionaire." 7/2/18

Philanthropic personalities

  • Behind the $35 Million Gift to Launch a Charter School in a Struggling City (Inside Philanthropy) "The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation recently pledged $35 million to build and launch a charter school in Flint, Michigan. The K-8 school will eventually be located on the grounds of the Flint Cultural Center and enroll up to 650 students, who will have access to the institution's offerings, including the art and music museums, the public library and the planetarium." 7/8/18

Philanthropic controversy

  • Silicon Valley’s cautionary tale shows what can go wrong when charities get obsessed with growth (Associated Press) "An obsession with growth. A failure to intervene when an executive allegedly bullies and sexually harasses staff. High employee turnover and burnout. This is not the plot of one of those movies dramatizing Wall Street greed. It’s actually a sampling of the reported dysfunction at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation – one of the country’s largest charities – now coming to light." 7/9/18

  • 'This is a horror story': $100M U of S global food institute plagued by conflict (CBC) SASKATOON STORY "The University of Saskatchewan's $100-million Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) is operating under a cloud of suspicion, fear and open conflict, according to a series of interviews and internal documents obtained by CBC News." 7/6/18

  • It's One of the Biggest Failures Yet in K-12 Philanthropy. What Are the Lessons? (Inside Philanthropy) "Public education is a legendary graveyard for ambitious philanthropic plans [...]. Now, we can add to this list the Gates-backed Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching initiative, which aimed to improve student achievement through greater access to effective teachers. This effort cost participating schools $575 million between 2009 and 2016, with Gates contributing $212 million of that. Yet according to a 500-plus page study released in late June by the RAND Corporation, the initiative failed to improve student graduation rates, the effectiveness of teachers, or retention of the most effective teachers." 7/5/18

Trends and shifts

  • Can a Venture Philanthropy Model Disrupt Dementia Research? (Inside Philanthropy) "Diseases of dementia, including Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia, are among medicine's toughest challenges [...]. One novel response to the problem of dementia has been the formation of the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), a public-private fund created in 2015 in a collaboration between the U.K.'s Department of Health, nonprofit charity Alzheimer's Research U.K. (ARUK), and seven big pharma companies [...]. DDF says it has so far raised $350 million. Until recently, its biggest funder was Bill Gates, who kicked in $50 million. " 7/5/18

Large gifts

  • Berlin’s Museum of Islamic Art Receives $10 Million Donation From Saudi Prince (BlouinArtInfo) "Berlin’s Museum of Islamic Art, which is housed in the southern wing of the Pergamon Museum, has received a donation of $10 million by Alwaleed Bin Talal, the billionaire investor, philanthropist, and member of the Saudi royal family, in support of its exhibitions and educational programming." 7/9/18

  • BCRF Receives Historic $12.7 Million Donation from Blizzard Entertainment (BCRF) "The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) today announced that it will receive an unprecedented $12.7 million donation from Blizzard Entertainment. The donation was tied to worldwide sales of a limited-edition "Pink Mercy" hero skin for Blizzard’s internationally acclaimed best-selling game Overwatch®, along with a special T-shirt created to support the cause." 7/9/18

  • Binance Donates $1 Million to Japanese Flood Victims (News BTC) "Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is showing its humanitarian side by donating $1 million to the victims in West Japan that were affected by the heavy rains on 7 July 2018. News outlets in the country have reported a death toll surpassing 70 people, with over 40 still missing." 7/8/18

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