You’ve probably heard your parents say, “if you save up enough money to buy your first car, I’ll match you.” So, what would happen if the same was said for giving? What if what you donated was matched by a charity? TOMS – a company that makes shoes does just that. For every pair of TOMS bought, one pair will be donated to a child in need. You may be asking yourself: now what kind of business model is this? Right…that’s exactly what I thought. Can this really be a business that’s focus isn’t on the bottom line, but instead on helping those less fortunate?   read more »

What would happen if we looked at philanthropy through the lenses of the “Own the Podium” campaign?” This campaign has been the center of much controversy; but as the Olympics culminate tonight, with a gold in Men’s Hockey, I think it’s safe to say much of this campaigns controversy has dissipated. Overall I think all of us are proud of everything our Olympians accomplished, but did the campaign put too much pressure on Canadian athletes? Can we really call this Olympics a failure? How can we as Canadians say we didn’t reach “our” goal? First of all who’s goal is the Canadian Olympic Committee talking about? These Olympians reached a goal that many of us only dream about – they made it to the Olympics. However you look at it, Canada did not only make it to the Olympics, but – today – holds a world record with a count of 14 Gold medals and is third over all. If we approached philanthropy with this all or nothing mentality, wouldn’t we all want to just give up at first sight of trouble? Wave the white flag in defeat like the COC did at the half way point during the Olympics.  read more »

I’ve just finished reading an article in the Calgary Herald and it has spurred much self-contemplation.  The article, highlighting Calgary's second “My World” conference, which was organized by Bruce Johnston, principal at Simon Fraser School. More than 550 students – grades five to nine - from 38 schools across the city attended. Students spent the day learning about 24 different non-governmental organizations and social agencies working to improve access to water, education and economic opportunities in developing countries. While reading this, all I could seem to think of was ‘WOW,what a fabulous idea’ – but why didn’t I have this opportunity as a kid in junior high?   read more »

Guest Blogger: Amy Lewis is currently completing herBachelor of Communications-Public Relations Degree at Mount Royal Universitywith an anticipated graduation Summer 2010. Amy has diverse range communication experience.  Including marketing, media relations and,event planning. For her first internship Amy held the position of marketingcoordinator for WorldSkills Calgary 2009. Amy enjoys exploring the variety of options that Public Relationspresents.

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The more I learn about the philanthropicsector, the more I am beginning to see the similarities between dating andgiving. I bet you’re scratching you’re head thinking this girl has got somecase of the crazies, but before you come to that conclusion hear me out.

What does being the official sponsor of the 2010 Olympic Games mean? Well for one thing it means that rival competition everywhere is going to try and capitalize on the event without paying any sponsorship bucks. Canadian retailer Lululemon is showing that they are not too Zen or too nice to play dirty. Organizers of the 2010 Olympics publicly scolded Lululemon Athletica, after Lulu released their new special edition clothing line called "Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 & 2011 Edition". This new special edition clothing line ruffled many feathers because Lululemon is not an official sponsor of the games. In 2005 Lululemon and long time Canadian athlete supporter Roots lost the bid to be the official outfitter of Canada's Olympic team, to Hudson's BayCo. for the 2006 Games in Italy; subsequently resulting with The Bay having contract rights to outfit the Canadian team from the 2006 Olympics until 2012.  read more »

These days social media is being utilized for a variety of innovative campaigns; whether as a way to attract potential customers, garnering attention or brandrecognition. Einstein Bros. Bagels’ used a Facebook campaign as a way to gain fans(friends) of their product. Be my friend, get a free bagel! Was the motto behindtheir fan page. The bagel give away increased Einstein Bros Facebook fan count from a 4,700 to a336,000-plus. Their Facebook wall was plastered with praise from bagels eaters.   read more »

After the earthquake disaster that struck Haiti last week there has been a surge of giving via text message. When I was first presented with the idea to donate by text message I didn't quite know what to think, so many things ran through my mind - is it safe? How does it work?  read more »

I just read a very interesting article entitled A Helpful Guide to Failure in Philanthropy. By Robert Wood (@lblumenthal) with Johnson Foundation. In this article he talks about failing with style and failure as success. When I first read that I was a little concerned; I mean really, how do you fail with success?  He had successfully captured my attention so I continued to read. As a student, we are prone to trying new things, taking a few risks and building portfolios. Much of what we take on has such steep learning curves and we are bound to have mini blunders along the way, so if I can learn how to turn these blunders into "success" - I'm all ears.

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Guest Blogger: Amy Lewis is currently completing her Bachelor of Communications-Public Relations Degree at Mount Royal University with an anticipated graduation Summer 2010.  Amy has diverse range communication experience.  Including marketing, media relations and, event planning. For her first internship Amy held the position of marketing coordinator for WorldSkills Calgary 2009.  Amy enjoys exploring the variety of options that Public Relations presents.

I guess it would be rude of me to tell you all bout my 2010 resolutions without a brief introduction. I am the current intern here at Dexterity Consulting and am finishing my degree in public relations at Mount Royal University. Originally from PEI, my education, curiosity and sense of adventure have allowed me to live and play in various locations. I am a beach bum at heart, with a keen thirst for traveling who is anxiously awaiting for the next big gust of wind to blow to my next destination.  read more »