Weekly News Recap: November 25, 2016
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary are having to cope with increased demand and a big slump in donations amid the economic downturn. (CBC)
Books to read
- Want to Improve Your Life and be a Better Person? Read These Books I have not read any of these but I want to read them all, especially "Grit". (11/23/16)
Cool tools
- Facebook is adding donate buttons to charity Live videos "Hearts" are fun but gifts are better. If someone is broadcasting their charitable event via Facebook Live, you will now be able to donate instead of just spreading goodwill. (11/17/16)
News
Engraved bricks face uncertain fate in Olympic Plaza redesign Not yet a stewardship fail. But if they don't do the right thing, it will be. I recommend capturing all the donor names in a single memorial on the site. Announce the change and pick a date for the unveiling. CALGARY STORY (11/23/16)
Toy donations down in Calgary as recession, warm weather dull Christmas spirit In addition to the decrease in donations, 60 per cent more families need help this year. CALGARY STORY (11/23/16)
Holy socks! Church community collects 6,000 pairs for Calgary's homeless That is a lot of socks! CALGARY STORY (11/22/16)
The Fat Project: Calgary man a year into social media weight-loss journey Inspiring! Paul is a friend and the Calgary Public Library is a client. Keep it up dude you're doing great! CALGARY STORY (11/21/16)
Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary sees 40% drop in donations ViTrēo partner, Scott Decksheimer is quoted in this article: "We're seeing them delay hiring, we're seeing some programs get shutdown so organizations are looking at what they need to do to survive...[t]his isn't just a blip, this is something that they're looking at how they can change their business, how they can change what they do." CALGARY STORY (11/22/16)
Sale of Victoria MS Society building upsets longtime users Operating costs are cited as the main reason for the closure and sale. VICTORIA STORY (11/21/16)
Cuts to addictions funding pit prevention against recovery United Way of Calgary and Area is cutting funding to programs like Fresh Start that deal with recovery in favour of funding programs that focus on prevention. CALGARY STORY (11/19/16)
Alberta Craft Council to expand spaces in Edmonton and Calgary How crafty of them. ALBERTA STORY (11/19/16)
Bill Brooks: Bob Edwards Award Gala Honours Bret 'Hitman' Hart Some lovely pics from the recent Calgary Public Library Gala. CALGARY STORY (11/19/16)
Studies and reports
On Generations and Genders in Women’s Philanthropy: Making the Long-term Investment Since 2010, researchers at the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) at Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy have compiled annual reports examining the influence gender and gender roles have on charitable giving in the United States. In the Institute’s latest report, "Women Give 2016", the data presented illustrate that the advances women have made both in the workplace and in the home over the last four decades have contributed to women playing a more active and decisive role in their family’s giving decisions. (11/18/16)
The giving chain: How philanthropy is driving progress in Asian education REPORT: "Philanthropic giving is driving significant progress in Asia’s education sector, as it becomes more professional, more disruptive and better complements the continent’s economic development." (11/17/16)
Gilded Giving: Top-Heavy Philanthropy in an Age of Extreme Inequality This is a really big story. "This report shows that charities are increasingly relying on larger and larger donations from smaller numbers of high-income, high-wealth donors. Meanwhile, they are receiving shrinking amounts of revenue from the vast population of donors at lower and middle-income levels... The report finds that this has significant implications for the practice of fundraising, the role of the independent nonprofit sector, and the health of our larger democratic civil society." (11/16/16)
FUNDING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH A report from the Milken Institute on how to better fund scientific research. Worth a read. (November 2016)
Philanthropy in the era of Trump
Your Filter Bubble is Destroying Democracy We need to find a way to break out of our echo chambers. (11/18/16)
Liberal Nonprofits Ride the Anti-Trump Donation Wave Last week we shared a number of these individual stories that are summarized, in deeper detail, here. (11/18/16)
Philanthropy and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election Sage advice from a U.S. based fundraising consultancy. (11/17/16)
How should charities respond to Brexit and Trump-in? In a 'post-truth' world where experts and the establishment are suspect, just how should we think about and position our organizations for success? A timely U.K. based blog has some thoughts for us. Thanks to Mick Mulloy for sharing this link. (11/16/16)
Life and career hacks
INFOGRAPHIC: These 10 Employee Skills Will Soon Be In Huge Demand Cross-cultural competency, new media literacy, and social intelligence are just three of these skills. (11/22/16)
How To Read A Self-Help Book In 90 Minutes Want to get through that trove of self-help books? This process can help. (11/21/16)
These 5 Brilliant TED Talks Will Teach You How to Be a Great Leader Ever wondered which TED Talks to listen to first? If you are interested in leadership, these are fantastic. (11/20/16)
The Difference Between Streets, Boulevards, Avenues, and Other Roads In the age of GPS and Google maps, stepping back for a minute and reflecting on this knowledge can be...refreshing. (11/20/16)
Coders Think They Can Burst Your Filter Bubble with Tech And now, thankfully, a few tools on how to escape the echo chamber. (11/19/16)
From Cold Emails That Work To Finding Your Purpose: This Week's Top Leadership Stories Want to find a mentor? Always wanted to meet your hero? Some great suggestions on how to do just that. (11/18/16)
Use This Five-Part Checklist To Tell If You're Overcommunicating Good list. Useful tips. "There’s some evidence to suggest there’s an upper limit to the number of emails an employee can reasonably handle in a day. Some estimate that after more than 50 emails, most people struggle to keep up." (11/18/16)
22 Easy Ways You Can Improve Your LinkedIn Profile I admit it. I have not done enough to improve my LinkedIn profile. These tips look look like they will help me. I hope they will help you too. (11/17/16)
The Non-Technical Guide to Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence "According to AI experts, everything from our jobs, to the wars we wage, to the food we eat, to the beer we drink, to the software we write will be affected [by artificial intelligence and machine learning]" (11/15/16)
My 11 most important design principles Good principles. Number 5 is my favourite. (2/10/16)
Large gifts
Million dollar donation to help WTAMU athletes Bob and Mary Stewart are West Texas A & M University alumni and they have donated $1 million to WT's athletic department. Up to 400 scholarships will be available annually. (11/21/16)
Tree ordinance to follow $1M trees donation Lovely. A gift from an anonymous tree lover. TreesLouisville will receive a $1 million matching grant, allowing the nonprofit group formed last year to enter a new phase in its effort to help rebuild the city's depleted tree canopy. The gift came from an anonymous donor. (11/21/16)
Hotel 81 tycoon donates S$2m to set up bursary for NUS students Mr Choo Chong Ngen, the founder and executive chairman of budget hotel chain Hotel 81, has donated S$2 million ($1.4 million U.S.) to the National University of Singapore (NUS) to set up a bursary for financially needy students. (11/21/16)
Philanthropy center opens; airport gifted $1M I have not seen an airport authority receive a donation before. The First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania celebrated its 100th anniversary by opening its new philanthropy center and giving away over $1 million in grants on Sunday. The Williamsport Municipal Airport Authority was the recipient of the Once in a Century $1 million grant to help complete the necessary funding to build a new $16 million terminal. (11/21/16)
Helmsley gives Salk Institute $25M to demystify chronic inflammation This is the second large gift given by the Helmsley Charitable Trust to the Salk Institute in La Jolla. The first gift of $42 million was made three years ago to research genetics. The namesake of the foundation, Leona Helmsley, was known as the “Queen of Mean” because she reportedly was cruel to some of her employees and seemed to have little respect for the public. She also had a reputation for greed; she was prosecuted for tax evasion and served prison time. During her trial, one of her housekeepers claimed that Helmsley had said, “Only the little people pay taxes.” (11/20/16)
City to receive $100 million donation to improve parks, libraries The William Penn Foundation will donate $100 million in an effort to upgrade Philadelphia's parks, recreation centers, libraries and trails. (11/20/16)
Vanderbilt Baseball: Former pitcher David Price makes $2.5 million donation toward baseball facility The former Vanderbilt pitcher has donated $2.5 million to complete the Commodores’ new $12 million baseball facility project. (11/18/16)
Firefighters give million dollar donation to burn treatment centre The burn treatment centre in Foothills Hospital is now a million dollars richer, thanks to Calgary firefighters. CALGARY STORY (11/17/16)
Yiddish Book Center gets $5M donation The Yiddish Book Center in Amherst has received a $5 million check from David and Sylvia Steiner of West Orange N.J., putting the nonprofit closer to its $50 million fundraising goal. (11/17/16)
Portland Retirement Center Gets $4 Million Donation The Cedars in Portland has received a $4 million donation from a Waterville couple to build a first-of-its-kind “household” model of senior homes in Maine. (11/17/16)
LeBron James donating $2.5M to Muhammad Ali exhibit at Smithsonian This more than warms my heart. I love Muhammad Ali. (11/17/16)
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