23 minute read
Buckle Up For A ough ide
2020 Buckle Up For A ough ide Another ear f urbulence And Change n he Charitable ector
By Andrea McMa nus A s we bid au revoir to 2019 and enter a new decade, global disruption is still omnipresent. We have a justimpeached president south of the border and here in Canada, where I reside, a country struggling mightily with national unity. And that’s just in North America. Some degree of turmoil, unrest and chaos, unfortunately, seems to be the current state of being in most countries on the planet. All of which continues to impact our work.
However, I’m an eternal optimist. In spite of the ubiquitous problems we all hear about every day, I take the view that there are always opportunities we can carve out to the benefit of our work and our sector.
Below are a number of the trends we’ve been hearing about at ViTreo; some are the result of global disruption and political events while others are occurring because of shifting demographic patterns. One of the most significant events to impact our sector, and which must be considered in the work we do, is the fact that millennials are now the largest adult generation in both Canada and the U.S. according to studies by organizations such as Pew Research Centre and the Royal Bank of Canada, RBC Economics Research.
They are not our only audience by any means, but as fundraisers and non-profit organizations, we must take note of how our audience’s needs and behaviours are shifting, or suffer the consequences. Every successful business looks at the big picture and places its focus on how it can benefit from what’s occurring around it. There’s nothing to be gained by focusing on what’s going wrong, but much to be gained from accepting this is what’s occurring and how can we best manage it, and ultimately, succeed.
The over-arching message here is that the charitable sector must continue to evolve.
Donor communication trends Online Society is living much of their lives online; if your organization is not online (social media, video, podcasts), you are not engaging with your supporters and donors.
Mobile Increasingly, life is being lived via a mobile device, communications need to be designed for mobile first.
Social Media Social media platforms like Facebook are the fastest growing advertising platforms; marketing and fundraising campaigns need to be designed for digital platforms first.
Giving Compass had this to say about the non-profit space in 2020: “Nonprofit Networking Platforms - The development of platforms that make it increasingly easy for non-profits to connect and interact will build communities of providers and beneficiaries.” - Giving Compass, A Few Nonprofit Trends Coming In 2020.
Flexible work environments Employees who feel they have some control over their work environment are happier and more productive. Non-profit organizations that pay attention to this fact will be more successful.
According to Business Wire “Employees see major upside to more choice — an overwhelming majority (90 percent) believe more flexible work arrangements and schedules will increase morale. Even more compelling for employers, flexibility and employee retention go hand in hand: Two-thirds of employees (67 percent) would consider leaving their job if their work arrangements became less flexible.” This from Meghan
McCarrick and Meghan Warren, February 12, 2019. This is supported by the survey State of the Nonprofit Workplace 2019 by Bloomerang (a donor management software platform combining the knowledge of world-renowned fundraising professor Adrian Sargeant, communications best practices of author and speaker Tom Ahern and other experts). Survey respondents listed “Flexible Work Schedule” as the #1 workplace quality they sought. (Bloomerang, State Of The Nonprofit Workplace 2019, Kristen Hay, February 5, 2019) The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey, Winning Over The Next Generation Of Leaders, found the same results. “Good work-life balance” and “flexible work environment” made the top three when evaluating job opportunities (Deloitte, The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey Winning Over The Next Generation Of Leaders, 2016).
Have you come across this desire for a more flexible work environment in your non-profit organization? Have you made any changes?
Workplace Qualities Survey respondents ranked a flexible work schedule (including working from home) as the most important workplace quality.
Flexible work schedule1.
Paid continuing education2.
Engaged/supportive supervisor3.
Supportive board4.
Tuition reimbursement5.
Quality facilities/clean work environment6.
Open space work environment7.
On-site childcare8.
Diverse/equitable culture9.
Quality of tools/software10.
(Described by respondents as “very important” or “important”.)
Shifts from legacy foundational giving to living donors This change has already occurred but will continue to affect the work we do.
“The biggest shift in the past 20 years is that the prime movers in philanthropy are no longer legacy foundations, as was true during the second half of the 20th century… Today, the most important players in philanthropy are living donors.” - Inside Philanthropy, What’s Different About The New Philanthropists (if anything), David Callahan, April 26, 2017. Consider Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, and others, and their immense charitable gifts. All of them (the last time I checked) are still with us.
replace jobs. Depending on who you read or listen to, the jury is still out on this. However, some good news from The Fraser Institute’s Collection of Essays 2019 - Technology, Automation and Employment Will this Time be Different? One essay in the collection begins with this:
“A spectre haunts Europe and the United States, and for that matter, the entire world: the spectre of widespread, systematic, irreversible technological unemployment.”
And later on states: “Any change to the status quo will make at least some people better off while making at least some people worse off. Market-driven, technology enhanced creative destruction has been the greatest positive-sum force in history, and while some people are indeed made worse off — even in the long run — by technological change, the idea that changing technology will create mass unemployment has been tried, measured, and found wanting.”
A second essay states this: “In particular, many prominent business executives and management consultants have argued that widespread applications of AI will dramatically reduce employment opportunities for future generations. For example, Knoess, Harbour and Scemama (2016) estimate that robotization, digitization, digital self-services, distributed digital advice and sales, and robo-advisors, all applications that will be driven by AI, could result in a 60 to 70 percent reduction in the workforce of service providers from financial services to telecommunications. They note that while these changes will not happen overnight, the pace of change might be faster than many expect. Even more dramatic is Elon Musk’s claim that artificial intelligence will cause massive job disruption and that robots will be able to do everything better than humans (Clifford, 2017a). The controversial CEO of Tesla further argues that it’s a virtual inevitability that, as robots replace more and more jobs, the United States will have to implement a program of cash payments. One can assume that Musk’s argument for cash payments, or guaranteed incomes, applies to other countries as well.”
However, at the end of the essay, the author states his belief that: “That is, the evolution and adoption of AI will primarily change the mix of skills demanded. Indeed, it is more likely to encourage a net increase in the demand for labour rather than a decrease.”
While, the author of the third essay says in his introduction: “Contrary to warnings about a growing unemployment problem, this essay highlights the potential for a growing scarcity of labour in Canada. Specifically, a slowing population growth rate and a declining labour force participation rate due to retiring baby boomers and an aging population will reduce labour force growth rates over the next few decades. Furthermore, historical experience suggests that technological change primarily alters the mix of employment while promoting faster economic growth, which also creates new jobs. Hence, it seems unlikely that technological change will result in a decline in the aggregate demand for labour. Indeed, rather than facing a future unemployment crisis, Canada is more likely to face a prolonged
period of labour scarcity.” Globerman, Steven, contributing editor, 2019. Technology, Automation, and Employment: Will this Time be Different? Fraser Institute. Giving Compass also shared these other trends from the Forbes Nonprofit Council. Although the research was done in the U.S., with the exception of the American 2020 election cycle, the results would be similar in Canada. And all of which we should be taking into consideration in our efforts. AI and the desire for impact giving, sustainability and more personal experiences will all combine with other trends to affect our fundraising world.
Earned Income This will be a growing trend in 2020. Non-profits who have an eye to sustainability will want to leverage this additional source of revenue to be nimble in meeting their clients’ needs.
Private Sector Interaction Recently, the Business Roundtable issued a statement focused on a corporation’s role beyond shareholder value.
A Greater Focus On Mission And Priorities From a historical perspective, the 2020 election cycle will likely see a record volume of competing interests (good and bad) vying for attention, mindshare and resources.
Artificial Intelligence Virtual assistance and artificial intelligence will make giving easier than ever before. We will simply tell Alexa or Siri to make a contribution and it will be done.
The Growing ‘Attention Economy’ Competition takes many forms, and part of the informational revolution we’re in is that we — and the content and business connections we offer — are competing against the attention spans of our audiences.
Innovative Sustainability Non-profit organizations like hospitals and charities will need to ensure they remain innovative in competing for funding.
Easier, More Personalized Giving Non-profits will need to develop easy ways for donors to give back in a very personal way. (Giving Compass, A Few Nonprofit Trends Coming In 2020, October 28 2019)
If you’re interested in hearing more about what’s disrupting our world and what to expect, tune into the BrainTrust Philanthropy Podcast episode Global Disruption in Philanthropy - What to Expect in 2020 with Vincent Duckworth hosting and guests Mike Geiger, president and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP); Paula Attfield, president of Stephen Thomas; Roger Ali, president and CEO of Niagara Health Foundation; and Scott Decksheimer, president and CEO of ViTreo Group. This episode covers: Why we need to invest in leadership development - Inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA). Donors have ideas too!
Fundraisers as strategists From all of this change and disruption is the critical message that we, the non-profit world and those that work within it, must evolve. And we must continue to evolve quickly. The world we live in is rapidly changing and we must change with it. Fundraising methods that worked in the past are no longer relevant and if it is relevant today, it may not be tomorrow… almost literally. We will be no longer relevant if we don’t pivot along with the rest of the world. Understanding customer needs are the hallmark of a good business model. We must understand our customers — our donors — and develop strategies and tactics that work for them. This is where our success and continued ability to do good reside.
nd ea McMan s is Chair, Board of Directors, Partner, ViTreo Group. Andrea is known for her passionate belief in philanthropy and the value of the non-profit sector in Canadian society.
Life A Giving
avid Asper reflects on the Grey Cup, his varied professional and philanthropic careers, and passing the torch to the next generation
By rac y owa rd D avid Asper opens the phone interview announcing he’s watching a helicopter rescue off Camelback Mountain, which he’s seeing from the window of his Phoenix vacation home. The 61-year-old lawyer, businessperson and philanthropist reveals he had his own rescue off it several years back, after severing his quad tendon. While Asper was able to ride off the mountain inside a helicopter, today’s rescue method might faze the most diehard thrill-seeker.
“They strap you to a harness, hook you up to a cable and fly you off the mountain like Bruce Willis in an action movie,” Asper explains, laughing. “I’m just watching them lower the bucket right now — some poor sod is about to go for the ride of their life.”
Although safely on terra firma, Asper is also flying high. Less than a month before this conversation, his beloved Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to win the 2019 Grey Cup, ending a drought of 29 years. David, the eldest child of the late Israel “Izzy” Asper, founder of the former media conglomerate CanWest Global Communications Corp., and Ruth Miriam “Babs” Asper, has deep life-long
he sper Family. ( tanding) ebecca, Max, aniel and (seated) uth and avid.
ties to the team. Raised in Winnipeg, along with siblings Gail, 59, and Leonard, 55, David was born three days before the team won the Cup in 1958, and grew up going to games with his father and uncle.
Asper has contributed to the not-forprofit team in a multitude of ways. He did legal work for the club from the late 1980s to the early ’90s, was chair in 2000-2001, and helped save it from bankruptcy in 2002. Perhaps the most visible contribution is IG Field, the Bombers’ stadium — opened in 2013 — which Asper played an instrumental role in getting built. He was inducted into the Blue Bombers Hall of Fame in 2017, and the training facility of the University of Manitoba Bisons, who also play at the stadium, is named after him. The latter honour recognizes a bursary program he created for the university’s football athletes. The meaning of this Grey Cup to Asper is clear when he speaks about the 2001 championship game, when the Bombers, a 14-and-4 winning team, lost to the Calgary Stampeders. “It’s maybe the most bitter thing that happened in my life,” he says.
In contrast, the 2019 championship saw Asper on the field in Calgary hoisting the trophy with his wife, Ruth, and their three adult kids, Daniel, Rebecca and Max.
“I wanted to almost shut out everything and preserve the memory in my brain. I just wanted to watch these young players, their coaches and all the families celebrate, as well as the staff who had been there for so long.”
But Asper’s dedication to the team is just one example of how he’s given back throughout his life.
“While it’s got to be calibrated according to means, you get to a level of the social contract where if you’ve benefitted from all the good things society provides you, you have an obligation to give back,” says Asper. “That’s a fairly basic concept that’s pretty rooted in our family.”
He remembers both his grandmothers volunteering regularly, and that his mother would take him along when he was a kid on her shifts at the local canteen. Asper also recounts volunteering with his family Courtesy a vi d s p er
during winter carnivals for a neighbourhood community centre. Although when asked what he recalls about that now, he jokes “free hot chocolate,” it’s clear the experiences left their mark. Izzy, his father, also preached the importance of community commitment and walked the talk — volunteering while practising law, serving as the leader of Manitoba’s Liberal party in the early 1970s, and then donating generously as a businessperson.
Looking to modernize In 1983, Izzy and Babs created the Asper Foundation, which is focused on contributing to major initiatives supporting Jewish causes, as well as arts, education, community development and human rights in Winnipeg, nationally and internationally. In 2018 alone, in both charitable programs and gifts, the foundation contributed more than six million dollars.
Its crown jewel is the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. A passion project for Izzy, it opened in 2014, 11 years after his death at age 71. The national museum is unique in that it’s the only one solely devoted to human rights. Gail Asper, a lawyer and the president of the foundation, spearheaded the project after Izzy’s death. But David, as foundation chair since 2012, helped stickhandle some of the issues in its development, which included controversy over its focus and cost.
“There was a lot happening on a political level behind the scenes that I played a role with.”
As for the foundation’s current work, Asper shares that they’re still focused on honouring their parents’ legacy while also modernizing and reflecting the current generations’ interests, as well as looking to the future.
“It’s a bit fluid at the moment because we’re in a generational kind of transfer” he explains.
Although still a trustee, this past April Asper retired as chair, passing the reigns over to his brother, Leonard, a lawyer and the former CEO of CanWest.
“When my mother passed away quite suddenly in 2011, we went through a period where we needed to be stable and recalibrate some things. I did my term of service and
now it’s time for somebody else to do it.”
His philosophy of “doing your thing and moving on,” is also a common thread in Asper’s robust philanthropic career away from the foundation. At the Winnipeg Folk festival, for example, he started off as a member of the backstage crew, was then recruited to the board and ultimately served as president in 1991-1992. During his tenure, Asper and the rest of the board were able to implement an entirely new business approach that helped the festival get out of significant financial difficulty — today it’s one of the most successful arts organizations in Manitoba.
That term as president also coincided with the last year he practised law before joining CanWest in 1992. The culmination of his criminal-law career was — as co-counsel on one of Canada’s most notorious wrongful conviction cases — walking David Milgaard out of prison in April of that year.
Asper turned to CanWest This past May, he saw Milgaard again at the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Journalists, held at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. He describes the emotion of sitting onstage with some of the journalists who covered the case, seeing Milgaard now in a good place.
“Watching this good-looking, articulate man talking about the plight of the wrongfully convicted in real time, at the same time as I’m seeing him in prison greens, flashing back to 1986. I almost broke down.”
Although ultimately fulfilling, the Milgaard case was all-consuming for Asper, and it left him feeling both emotionally and professionally spent. Due to the resources he had devoted to the case, he says he had essentially lost the rest of his practice and, now with a family to support, wasn’t interested in rebuilding it from scratch.
He talked with his father about the future of CanWest, and, a couple of months removed from his law practice, found himself on a plane to Australia to participate in the due diligence around the purchase of the Network 10 TV network.
He was then deployed to Regina and oversaw two TV stations in Saskatchewan and later helped CanWest obtain radio and
television licences in the UK, which led to a new TV network in the Republic of Ireland. He spent 17 years at the company as a director, executive vice-president and chair of the National Post. “I was very consumed by that; I was on the road travelling for 17 years basically,” Asper says.
Going back to school In 2006, Asper was admitted to a Masters of Laws program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, a time he relishes. “It was almost like taking a brain to a car wash. To go back to school and have the luxury of reflecting was just an amazing intellectual experience.”
After completing the degree in 2007, he provided the school with $7.5 million to establish the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, which is devoted to constitutional rights’ advocacy, research and education. Asper sees the centre’s work as connected to human rights, a passion of
his father, whose parents had immigrated to Canada to flee programs in the Ukraine. “You can talk and think and learn about human rights, but sometimes you have to fight for them.”
Going back to school confirmed for him that he wanted to teach, and after a number of factors related to the financial crisis, which saw the family selling CanWest in 2010, Asper did just that. He’s taught in various capacities at the law schools of the University of Manitoba, Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and Arizona State University in Phoenix.
Although he loved teaching, Asper says with a chuckle: “I was lured back into business.” Among other ventures, in 2013, he co-founded Amenity Healthcare, a successful consolidator of pharmacies in a n Co n stru c t i o n
Courtesy Akm
ne of the foundation’s many projects, the sper Jewish Community Campus is an outstanding, vibrant, comprehensive complex to serve as the centerpiece of the Jewish community of Winnipeg, rekindling the spirit and pride of earlier days. he sper Foundation committed over $2 million to the $28 million project developing the buildings and grounds of the former Fort sborne Barracks and gricultural College.
rural Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which he sold in 2017.
But when asked how he defines himself, he says above his other professional titles, he’s a lawyer. “I think it sounds corny, but I’m deeply honoured to be a lawyer. My soul is a lawyer.”
So it’s no surprise, of all the honours he’s received, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of community service, which his wife, Ruth, was also awarded, Asper advises he’s most proud of his appointment last year as a member of the Queen’s Counsel.
Although he’s “trying to inch toward retirement,” there’s no rocking chair in sight. He’s chair of the Sensible Capital Corp., which manages a portfolio of privateequity investments, and is the largest private-sector investor in the Manitoba Technology Accelerator program, a not-forprofit business accelerator.
Committed to charity work Despite having been both a high-profile criminal lawyer and high-flying business executive, Asper made the recent selfdiscovery that he’s an introvert. “I spent almost my entire life in a public role and I have to gird for that every single day.” He explains that while acting out the extrovert ideal gave him lots of happy experiences, going against his essential nature led to depression and anxiety. With the help of some self-development books and creating space for himself, he says he feels much better now.
Asper remains committed to community work and charity. In 2018 he began a term as chair of the Winnipeg Police Board, and has since been appointed chair of the Manitoba Police Commission. He and Ruth provided the lead gifts to establish a research centre at the Pan Am Clinic Foundation as well as to create an early learning centre at the Rady Jewish Community Centre, both in Winnipeg. However, the donation Asper seems most animated discussing is a 2018 gift the couple made, along with their kids, to the Canadian Olympic Foundation supporting the next generation of Olympians — it’s the largest individual gift to date in Canadian Olympic sport.
The gift is so meaningful he says because
athletics are a passion for Ruth, who’s education background is in kinesiology, and also due to the fact that the whole family collaborated on it.
Guiding his kids, aged 25 to 29, in both their career goals and individual philanthropic objectives and interests is the thing he says currently lights him up the most.
“Ruth and I have really started to think about transitioning our good work and our knowledge and our philanthropic charitable capacity to the next generation. It sounds kind of mundane, but it’s maybe the most important thing we’re going to do.”
David Asper on Foundation Governance
David Asper, lawyer, businessperson and philanthropist, has served on multiple boards in leadership and trustee positions, and is regularly asked to consult on governance issues. Here are some of his thoughts on the topic. Governance, strategy and accountability are key. People are often drawn to foundations because of a passion for the cause. But being on a board shouldn’t, in my opinion, be seen as a life’s work. You can have a lifetime commitment to a cause, but occupying a board seat shouldn’t necessarily be how you do it.
Some guidelines I’ve found helpful: Have a clear strategy and ❯
communicate it to all stakeholders Continuously monitor progress ❯
against the strategy to be sure it’s the right strategy Don’t be afraid to adjust mid❯
stream — keep the desired outcome in focus! Adhere to current principles of ❯
good corporate governance, and don’t be afraid of changes that might be needed to get there Make your contribution, give it ❯
your heart and soul, do what you can, and then let others have the same opportunity
By David Asp er T he editor of this magazine invited me to offer a few words about the influence my parents had on the life ’ve had in philanthropy and community service. e also suggested that the photo to accompany this piece include the Grey Cup, which was won in 2019 by the innipeg Blue Bombers. aving not touched that Cup since we last won it in 1990, ’m very happy to hold it and never let go!
As a community based, not for profit organization, the success of the Blue Bombers relies very heavily on community support and ’ve had a long volunteer association with the team. t’s a great example of how getting involved should be about long-term success rather than immediate gratification. ven though ’m retired now from formal duties with the club, have immense pride in the success it had this past year and love the fact that my successors are enjoying a terrific celebration!
his example, and others ’ve been involved with over the years, is derivative of something we were taught as a core value of our family. My parents were the son and daughter of immigrants to Canada who fled oppression. hey wanted to be sure that we, as the third generation, never forgot the tremendous benefits of living in Canada, no matter what we might complain about on the issues of the day. guess it’s a form of noblesse oblige, but think it’s a deeper than that.
My father might frame it in legal termsthat in return for all we enjoy in a free and democratic society, we have a duty to give something back. n my irreverent days ’d retort with something like “we do give back by paying taxes”. his didn’t go over very well!
Giving back, with time, money or both was not just about the social contract. t was also about giving meaning to your life. My parents used to challenge themselves, and then us, with a profound question: when its over, will anyone say that you mattered? id you do something with your life that made a difference in any way?
hen doing the interview for the magazine, racy oward asked me about managing charitable and community service time alongside career and family, and was honest that often it isn’t in balance. hat’s largely because if you’re trying to answer the question, “do matter?” you can get a bit driven, and perhaps somewhat insane even trying to define what that means. e’ve now got three grown children and are challenged with what to say to them. hey know what their grandparents wanted of the family and how uth and , and my brother and sister, have lived their lives so far. ’m pretty sure they’ve got the message, and now, as inch toward mortality, wonder whether the answer to the question ‘did matter’ is as much about getting the next generation to matter, as it is about anything ’ve done during my lifetime.
