Wednesday, January 25 was national Wear It Pink Day, a day when we celebrate the lives and health of those who have been challenged by breast or gynecologic cancers, and the day that we launched this year’s Shoppers Drug Mart Weekend To End Women’s Cancers.

This year’s event in Toronto is going to be extra-special. It’ll be our 10th anniversary – we’ve tagged it 10 Years Strong. And through the 9 years leading up to this year’s Weekend, which will take place September 8 and 9, 42,348 participants have raised a staggering $123.4 million for critical research, clinical enhancements and survivorship programs at The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

So, the city of Toronto was draped in pink on Wednesday. At the Shoppers Drug Mart location at 3366 Yonge Street, our Weekend Warrior, Chad Cieslik, was walking 60 kms on a treadmill to illustrate the duration of our robust two-day event (there is a 30 km, one-day option, too). And, of course, he was wearing pink. Companies across the GTA got into the spirit, with team captains mobilizing their colleagues for Wear It Pink Day. At The Princess Margaret, Dr. Bob Bell, President & CEO of the University Health Network, joined me in making a short speech and then, with Dr. Mary Gospodarowicz, Medical Director of the Cancer Program at PMH, and Justine Jackson, Sr. VP and Chief Financial Officer of UHN, we cut up a huge pink WEWC cake for staff as well as patients, their family and friends (and wowzer, was it good!). Staff at The Princess Margaret and our sister hospitals, Toronto General, Toronto Western and Toronto Rehab, were invited to wear pink (or teal for gynecologic cancers) and received a ballot for each item of pink or teal they were wearing. Our amazing Barb Tisano, who we know and love for her stellar work at PMH reception, must have earned 14 or 15 ballots – sweater, tights, slippers, bracelets, bunny ears – she had it all! Several participants had their ballot drawn and won prizes, including an LED TV, a DVD player, a digital photo frame and a one-year membership to the Toronto Zoo. The hospitals are still buzzing over Wear It Pink Day! And for those that registered to participate in our 10 Years Strong Shoppers Drug Mart Weekend To End Women’s Cancers, one name was drawn for a Blackberry Curve!

But as impressive as all of those activities were (and they were impressive!), what really awed me were two other things. At dawn, the CN Tower was illuminated in pink for the remainder of the day, while at dusk, Toronto City Hall was lit in pink as skaters flitted across the ice at Nathan Phillips Square. Both iconic structures were stunning in pink, and reminded residents of our special Wear It Pink Day and its significance to The Shoppers Drug Mart Weekend To End Women’s Cancers and the work being at The Princess Margaret to conquer women’s cancers in our lifetime.

The staff at the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation were treated to a visit today from three delightful young students and their principal from St. Clare Catholic School.  Claudia Femia, Maya Mulahmetovic, and Simone Mulahmetovic helped organize a penny drive at their school which they called Cents for Cancer, and they were excited to present us with $725.12….not all pennies, but over 45,000 of them!  The girls needed a trolley to get the thousands of coins up to our office.

Maria Fantauzzi, principal at St. Clare, told us that thinking of ways to ‘give back’ to the community is an important aspect to school life for her students, and she’s very proud of their efforts.

My staff and I love visits from our donors—young donors, old donors, and everything in between.  It gives us a wonderful opportunity to say thank you face to face, get our picture taken with some very special people, and to hear about the many personal stories that have motivated people to give and to fundraise for The Princess Margaret.

But there is really something extra special about meeting young children who are proud of their fundraising efforts and who are learning at a young age the special joy that comes from giving.  We want to thank the parents and teachers of the students at St. Clare for taking the time to teach these important values and for being great role models for their children.

We’re so grateful that others in our community are as motivated as we are to CONQUER CANCER IN OUR LIFETIME.

In an early (7am) morning meeting with senior staff of Princess Margaret, the idea of “Safe vs. Disruptive” thinking and strategies came forward from Dr. Mary G. We discussed this with some energy and enthusiasm. It is a profound insight for us. In a cancer hospital, patient care is always focused on “Safe” but research and new protocols might be thought of in “Disruptive” terms. Patients obviously want “Safe” treatment but often patients benefit from “Disruptive” research, science and thinking. The same applies in the Foundation as we think about raising the Financial Capital to support the Human Capital who embrace both “Safe” and “Disruptive”. We live in an ever more complex world with an explosion of date…….information and video on the internet is doubling every two years now. We live in the world of “Big Data”. Increasingly, we need “Big Ideas” to deal with big problems. That’s why understanding and embracing both “Safe” and “Disruptive” thinking is so important for us at Princess Margaret. Thanks to Dr. Mary G. for this outstanding insight. Mary is an incredible leader and a “Passion Capitalist” extraordinaire!

Special to Globe and Mail Update
Published Monday, Oct. 31, 2011 2:00AM EDT

 It might surprise you that the not-for-profit sector is larger and more important to Canada than the oil and gas sector. It might also surprise you that the not-for-profit sector is in the midst of a major identity crisis.

This crisis starts with the sector’s name. After all, what other sector of the economy refers to itself by what it’s not? Grocery stores don’t call themselves “not furniture stores.” It creates an expectation that we should not be profitable. This negative naming has created a severe disadvantage for us compared with the other sectors in how money is raised, how it gets spent and who gets to “profit” from success. A better name is the “social profit sector.”

If profit is a measure of value created, then the reality is that most charities are immensely “profitable” from both a net revenue and impact perspective. We need to raise more money than we spend in order to fund our missions and our causes. We deliver profit – value – to society through an extraordinary array of institutions, programs and services. So our net profit – analogous to the profit of a private company – is in delivering social value.

But current guidelines from the Canada Revenue Agency suggest a 20-per-cent to 35-per-cent target fundraising cost ratio. Imagine the government telling a bank or software company what its expense targets should be annually. But this is what happens in our “not-for-profit” sector. At best, this stifles a charity’s current operations and its potential for greater impact in the future. At risk is fundraising innovation, prudent risk taking, launching social enterprises, creating new initiatives, enhancing service, creating brand equity – the very things lauded in the other sectors. At worst, it focuses public and policy attention on a difficult performance metric and creates a very short-term view of “investment” and “return.”

The real value of a charity is in the value we create for society on a daily basis: feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless and, in the case of the Princess Margaret Hospital, searching for better treatments and conquering cancer in our lifetime. In order to deliver our social profit, we need to invest in our people, programs, places and, yes, even fundraising.

Our lotteries are the largest private source of funding for cancer research in Canada. Since their launch in 1996, more than $225-million has been raised, and 100 per cent is devoted to cancer research. This investment has propelled the Princess Margaret to be ranked third in the world in research performance as measured by citations in high-impact journals. This is our impact, and society is the beneficiary. This is our social profit.

So it’s time to rename the “not-for-profit” sector to what it really is: the social profit sector. Rethinking charities as social profit organizations will recognize our impact and the beneficiaries of our collective good work. It will allow for new ways of thinking about profit – financial and social – that combine the best of the other sectors for the benefit of all Canadians.

Rather than focusing on fundraising or overhead costs as the metric of choice, social profit organizations will need to develop a new set of high-performance measures that incorporates fiscal balance and social impact. After all, shouldn’t demonstrating impact and social value be the name of the game? A renaming will finally unleash a new way of thinking and working in the world of philanthropy that is so crucial to our long-term success.

The social profit sector is charity for the 21st century and a name that can make everyone involved proud.

Paul Alofs is president and CEO of the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation in Toronto.

A group of young fundraisers from the Deacon, York and Drinkwater families came in today to drop off a donation.  The kids sold off their old toys and asked adults for donations and dropped off a donation of over $100 today!  We appreciate every donor and every donation.  Starting kids young to think about “doing good” and supporting worthy causes is a wonderful tribute to the fine parents of these fantastic kids.  Thanks and THUMBS UP!

Dr. Rob Buckman passed away October 9^th and I miss him already as do so many.  Rob was a spectacular human being and a true Passion Capitalist.  Rob was one of the most courageous and gifted clinician/scientists I have ever worked with.  He was a cancer doc extraordinaire working at Princess Margaret and cross-appointed to M.D. Anderson in Texas.  His specialty was breast cancer and low-dose chemotherapy research but he also had an enormous impact on the culture of the medical community.  Rob was educated at Cambridge University and followed his early passion for comedy by hooking up with John Cleese and being involved as a performer and writer of the Secret Policeman’s Ball fundraiser in 1979.  He was a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4 in the 70s and 80s, and a writer for medical related shows and comedies.  Rob had the courage to teach, write, and speak regularly about medical humour and about how to break bad news to patients.  His personal creed was that of a humanist who viewed medicine and life as a combination of compassion, wisdom and humour.  His award-winning course for medical students on how to communicate with patients, and in particular, how to discuss difficult or bad news with them, is legendary.  Rob worked with John Cleese of Monty Python fame and an early friend on many instructional videos.  Rob was one of the funniest people you could meet and yet one of the most caring.  He certainly had the courage to challenge traditional methods of communicating between cancer patients and their doctors.  Rob was loved and not just admired by his patients and students alike.  His creed was that of a humanist, his culture was based in compassion and he had the courage to find humour in some of the darkest places in human existence.  My fondest memory of Rob was watching him climb off his specially powered three-wheel bicycle after conquering a long ride up Hamilton Mountain during the Ride to Conquer Cancer.  He said, adjusting his too large for his head bike helmet, “I need a cold beer, a hot bath and maybe a bigger hill next year young Alofs!”  Rob Buckman was an extraordinarily gifted person and in my view, a courageous Passion Capitalist.  We miss you Rob!

I first met Heather Reisman when she was considering moving into the book retailing business in the early 90s.  A mutual friend, named Tom Ehrlich, introduced us  and we had lunch together.  Heather is an enormously successful and talented business leader and so is her husband, Gerry Schwartz.  Individually and collectively, they are a force of nature in business, the arts, and philanthropy.  Heather went on to found Indigo Books and built some of the world’s best book superstores.  She is not your typical CEO as she refers to herself and her title as “Chief Book Lover”.  While the book retailing business is very challenging, Heather has used her passion for books to build a very successful company.  In accepting an award from the Alberta School of Business in September 2011, Heather was quoted as saying, “Retail today is the place to be for people who are insanely passionate about connecting consumers with great products and who want to exercise their creative abilities.”  Heather Reisman is a Passion Capitalist who understands the importance of being “insanely passionate” about her vocation and avocation. 

Another person who is “insanely passionate” about life and about walking is the 98 year-old Kitty Cohen.  Kitty is an iconic figure in the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers which has raised well over $100 million for The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.  While Kitty does not complete the full 60 kilometers of the walk any more, she does cover at least half that distance and seems to be everywhere on this monumental fundraising walk.  Kitty is best known for walking the Walk, but also for dancing a jig in the last kilometer before the finish line.  Kitty trains year round and is not shy about asking everyone she meets for a donation to women’s cancer research.  Over 4,000 women and men participate every year in the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers in Toronto and thousands more participate across Canada.  September 2012 is the 10^th year celebration of the Walk and Kitty is an Honorary Chair and “insanely passionate” about her participation in the extraordinary event.  At 99, Kitty will continue to bring her energy and intensity to sustaining this important fundraising event.  Kitty is a force of nature!

Whether succeeding in building one of the world’s great book store chains or in leading a 60 kilometer fundraising walk for women’s cancer research, the idea of being “insanely passionate” about what you are doing creates a starting point for “the Passion Capitalist”.

We’re so lucky here at the Foundation to have great friends like Marco Guglietti and Jim DeGasperis.  Marco and Jim came by yesterday with a cheque for $55,000.  This gift, the proceeds from the 5th annual Most Wanted fashion show, now brings the total raised by this event to $235,000. This is a great event they run each year at the Eagle’s Nest Golf Club in Maple.  It’s a fabulous evening featuring some of the best of Toronto’s fashion personalities and an incredible group of international designer brands from The Room at the Bay’s Queen Street flagship store.

The Guglietti family continues to build on their impressive record of generosity to The Princess Margaret. Most Wanted is but one of their many efforts in honour of the late Concetta Guglietti; their beloved mother, wife, aunt, sister, and grandmother. In addition to an incredible $1 million donation to gynecological cancer treatment and prevention by the Giovanni and Concetta Guglietti Family Foundation, the family participates annually in the 5K Your Way Walk/Run to Conquer Cancer, The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, a spinning event called Spin180, and their newest event is a one day Yoga-thon called Stretch the Soul, happening this weekend. 

We are extremely grateful to the Gugliettis, as well as their extended family and friends, for their continued and stellar support to conquering cancer in our lifetime.

We are just looking ahead to the July long weekend.  I think back 8 years ago and I recall showing up on the day after the July long weekend as a volunteer at Princess Margaret.  Walking into the Murray Street entrance of the 900,000 square foot building that houses one of the world’s top 5 cancer centres on that fateful morning is remarkably clear in my memory.  As a volunteer, I met with Heather Hardie, our amazing leader of all the volunteers and picked up my maroon-coloured vest.  During the month of July I had a chance to work as a volunteer in nearly every clinic and other part of the hospital and research organization.  One of my most memorable moments was working at the reception desk with our incredible receptionist, Barb Tiano.  Because it was still part of the “SARS” scare, we each donned a full surgical mask and plastic visor as we greeted patients and visitors.  People like Barb play such an important role to the “caring culture” of Princess Margaret.  I met so many patients and docs and volunteers and nurses and other staff during that month I worked as a volunteer.  Although it was 8 years ago, the time I spent during the month of July 2003 is still incredibly important to me in my job as CEO of The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.  Although I am a full-time (more than full-time!) member of the team, I still hold on to and reflect on how important the volunteers are to all aspects of PMH and the Foundation.  Volunteers are part of the DNA of Princess Margaret and one of the key reasons we are able to perform at a level that we are recognized as one of the top 5 cancer centres in the world.   It’s been a great 8 years and I am so fortunate to work with extraordinary people for a cause that I think is more important than any other to me.  Thanks Heather and Barb and all who “trained me” back in July 2003!

Last night was one of those very special nights when I am so thankful and proud to be working with such amazing people. I’m not just talking about the doctors, researchers, nurses and support staff at The Princess Margaret who are truly incredible – as they really are – I’m talking about the wonderful, thoughtful and inspiring donors who choose to partner with The Princess Margaret in the battle to conquer cancer in our lifetime.

Last night was so exceptional as we celebrated Wallace and Margaret McCain, who have committed to giving $5 million to our personalized pancreatic medicine and rapid diagnosis program at The Princess Margaret.

Lending their support were Drs. Bob Bell, Chris Paige, Malcolm Moore and Tony Fell who are very committed to this program. A special thanks also to Neville and Lorraine Kirchmann and Libby Znaimer for recognizing the McCain’s generosity.

To provide some background on this, the pancreatic research program at PMH is recognized as a national and international leader. We see around 200 new patients annually and have established programs in cancer genetics, surgical therapy and drug development. And while we are leaders in this field, Dr. Moore and his staff have a vision to do much more in the area of pancreatic cancer, things that needed a significant boost of investment to have impact.

With the generous donation from Wallace and Margaret McCain, the Wallace McCain Centre for pancreatic cancer has been born – increasing the speed of diagnosis for patients and providing care to approximately 60% more patients, a year. Pancreatic cancer often takes a long time to diagnose because of its complexity and because of the reality that most patients don’t experience symptoms until the more final stages of cancer. We see much too often, that by the time patients have arrived at PMH, the patient is too ill for treatments to turn things around. We have experience in rapid diagnosis for breast cancer and now, with funding to start up a rapid diagnostic centre for pancreatic cancer, we can work towards earlier diagnosis, allowing for complications to be minimized and treatments to have an effect. We can also advance our research abilities, providing better and more effective treatments for people with pancreatic cancer.

Amazing things are happening at The Princess Margaret and it’s because of people like Wallace and Margaret. A huge thank you to you for your generosity, and for partnering with us to make a serious difference in people who have pancreatic cancer. You are not only touching individual lives but families too as many patients are moms, dads, children and siblings. You are touching thousands with your gift.