Asian Philanthropy Forum

Asian Philanthropy News Digest 07/05/2011

* An Online Scandal Underscores Chinese Distrust of State Charities. The Chinese Red Cross is scrutinized and scandals increase the distrust of charities. Perhaps a positive outcome is that public pressure will encourage charities to be more transparent - even government affiliated ones.

* UBS Enlists Chimp Expert Goodall to Teach Wealthy Children. Goodall spoke to children of UBS's private banking clients in Singapore about conservation and philanthropy. The wealth of high-net worth individuals in the Asia Pacific region is increasing and banks are competing for their services with events like these. An interesting quote from the head of Credit Suisse Private Banking in Asia: "Philanthropy habits in APAC are slowly mirroring Western trends. Geographic beneficiaries of Asian philanthropy are shifting and are now often global." 

* Nilekanis Donate Rs. 50 Crore to Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS). Nandan and Rohini Nilekani donated the funds because it was a "convergence of both of our interests in education, urbanization and sustainability."

Asian Philanthropy News Digest 01/28/2011

Taipei Approves Chinese Philanthropists' Charity Visit. Chen Guangbiao, along with 47 Chinese businessmen, will be visiting Taiwan and handing out cash to the needy. While philanthropists support charitable organizations or entities providing services to groups in need, the Chinese businessmen decided he would effectuate his philanthropy by personally handing out cash to each poor person or low income family (US$333 or 10,000 Taiwan dollars each for a total of US$16 million). The gesture is not without its critics. The controversy is mainly focused on respect and discretion to the poor and changes the traditional anonymous, low-key way of giving money. Is this the new trend? Does this have more impact?

The Charity Council in Singapore has released the Charity Governance Report 2011.  The report highlights the state of governance in the charity sector, the capability building initiatives available, as well as profiles good governance practices by charities.  The 2011 report notes that more charities have taken the responsibility to enhance their governance and management capabilities.  The improvement in the checklist scores for all sectors suggests that charities are adopting more of the Code guidelines.  In addition, since 2007, more than 700 charities have tapped on the VWOs-Charities Capability Fund (VCF) for training, consultancy, info-communications technology and shared services grants.

Investing in China's Future One Student at a Time. Calvin Chin, founder of Qifang, is featured on Huffington Post this week. Calvin founded Qifang in 2007 to help students complete their higher education in China. The site connects university students who need money with investors in the form of micro-loans. The international community has embraced the social business but Calvin has received resistance to the model in China because "Chinese investors shy away from new ideas and young companies."

 

State of Philanthropic Advising in Asia

Alliance Magazine has a special feature on the growth of philanthropic advising in their September issue (paid subscription required). As part of that special feature, they contacted people in emerging markets to find out what options were available in their region. Readers can click here to go to this free section. I have tried to sum up their findings below.

Philanthropy Advice in India. Nonprofits are the go-to place now for sources of advice but they provide advice as part of their product portfolio instead of general education and awareness of philanthropy. Others providers include audit firms but they are focused more on CSR since family-run business and philanthropy are blurred. Philanthropic vehicles strategy and structuring advice are offered by Noshir Dadrawala (Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy) and Sanja Agarwal (AccountAid). International banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered and Barclays Wealth are planning to extend their philanthropy services to India. 

The greatest need in India is to raise the profile of philanthropy. Other aspects include education on giving wisely, stronger tax incentives and the establishment of giving circles and philanthropy forums.

Increasing wealth and the number of HNWIs in India and Asia will remain just a statistic unless we find ways and means of strategically engaging them in a philanthropic journey.

Philanthropy Advice in Southeast Asia. There are very few private organizations that have been set up to assist private philanthropies except for some law firms in Singapore. The government is heavily involved and private foundations are strictly regulated. The government helped set up the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Center in Singapore and its affiliate, the Community Foundation of Singapore, which assists donors who seek independent advice.

A respondent said that there are individuals and consultancy services in Hong Kong but no clearing house/directory that provides ease of access in sourcing such services. Financial institutions such as UBS, RBS Coutts, and HSBC market themselves as having the capacity to advise on philanthropy.

Typically the range of service differs between financial institutions with those having dedicated staff in Asia being the most active in delivering these services.’ She says that much advising is done through private banks ‘due to existing relationship with wealthy families and individuals; unique access and position relative to consultancy and non-profit organizations. Trustees, law firms and a few accounting firms have also shown an interest in this type of service.’

There have been a few individuals that have set up consultancy-type services but they have not taken off because "their experience is not substantial or global enough for them to add any value." The Institute for Philanthropy, McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group are starting to work with would-be donors.

When asked what needs were in this area, respondents mentioned the need for more education on strategic philanthropy. Other needs included the need to share information, dedicated staff to source opportunities, and emphasis on regulation, transparency, accountability and due diligence.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Kelly, Asia Grace

Asian Philanthropy News Digest 08/19/2010

Philanthropy thriving in newly rich Singapore. Article featuring the growth of millionaires in Singapore that are involved in philanthropy. Donations to charitable organisations grew from 381 million dollars (279 million US) in 2001 to 687 million dollars (504 million US) last year, according to the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC). Singapore's volunteerism rate has been rising over the past decade. It has risen from 9.3 percent in 2000 to 16.9 percent in 2008. This 16.9 percent, or 590,000 people, gave 45 million hours of their time. 

Online donations look set to grow. SG Gives was set up in February in Singapore and allows donors to select a particular sector or cause. $561,300 was received by the end of May. Another online portal, GIVE.sg, was launched in January with 2,005 donors and 25 charities signing on. Nearly $135,000 has been raised. Online giving has become a cost-effective way to fundraise and donors are beginning to trust online portals. 

I'm an accidental philanthropist: Rohini Nilekani. An interview with the chair of Arghyam Foundation and Pratham Books, Rohini Nilekani talks about her approach to philanthropy: You can find out what other philanthropists are saying, but the kind of work I have been doing is not techno-centric. I am not finding the cheapest water filter or application on the mobile phone that can be bought by the poor. That is one small part of the solution. The real work is in the lack of a public infrastructure and in the face of broken government systems. You have to work on those things alongside the state and NGOs. You have to work on building the capacity of people to become part of the solution.

Asian Philanthropy News Digest - 03/10/10

*  Robert R. Calingo was named Interim Chief Executive of the Asian Pacific Philanthropy Consortium. Bobby was previously the Executive Director of TeamEnergy Foundation Philippines and served on APPC's board since 2005. Bobby will lead APPC while the organization determines their direction.

*  The Arts and Culture Development Office of the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts in Singapore has set up a new portal, give2arts.sg, to promote cultural philanthropy and by enabling on-line donations and volunteerism. There are 78 arts and cultural organizations listed so far.

* Duan Yongping and his wife, Liu Xin raised $30 million for their alma mater, Renmin University of China. The billionaire created his empire in electronic appliances. In 2006, Duan donated $37 million to China's Zhejiang University, where he studied and in 2008, he contributed $3 million to the Sichuan earthquake for disaster relief. In 2006, Duan won the online auction run by eBay Inc for a chance to dine with Warren Buffett with the winning bid of $620,100.

*  The English version of Charitarian is now available. The Chinese language edition has been around for three years in China, cultivating a circulation of over one million. The magazine aims to encourage Chinese enterprises to act responsibly as they globalize and to help foreign companies improve their social responsibility programs in China.

Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Looking for Social Entrepreneurs in Asia

The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is searching for outstanding social entrepreneurs in Asian countries where we do not currently have national competitions.  Schwab Foundation is looking for social entrepreneurs who are innovators implementing practical and sustainable solutions on the ground to address problems in a wide variety of areas, including (but not limited to) health, education, poverty alleviation, the environment, financial inclusion and enterprise development.

In terms of benefits, the winner(s) will join the Schwab Foundation’s community of accomplished social entrepreneurs around the world – a community that shares knowledge and experience while exchanging best practices. The Schwab Foundation seeks to help social entrepreneurs showcase their innovative, market-based social impact initiatives, thus, enhancing opportunities for business growth. Our social entrepreneurs have access to the meetings of the World Economic Forum (our sister organization) and are provided with an unparalleled platform to connect with government, corporate, intellectual and media leaders.

Candidates working in the following countries are encouraged to apply: China, South Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.

To apply or to view the criteria, selection process and benefits, please visit: http://www.schwabfoundseoy.org/asia.  Competition closes on 31 March 2010.

Photo courtesy of oleg.kellerhof

2010 Asia JusticeMakers Competition - Become a JusticeMaker Fellow!

Last year, the International Bridges to Justice hosted the JusticeMakers competition and we were excited to help promote their work.  This year, we are even more excited because the competition is focused on Asia!  The 2010 Asia JusticeMakers Competition is supported by the Lien Institute for Social Innovations and the purpose is to search for and fund grassroots initiatives in Asian communities to promote criminal justice and ensure the legal rights of all men, women, and children. 

How it works.  A panel of eight judges will evaluate proposals based on a set of Judging Criteria, looking for those that demonstrate the most innovation, efficacy, practicability and sustainability. 

Benefits of winning proposals.  Eight competitors will be awarded $5,000 fellowships, seven by the judges, and one through a public rating process that will allow people to cast votes on final projects.

2010 JusticeMakers Fellows will be flown to the Singapore Criminal Justice Training Center (SJTC) to receive initial training from the JusticeMaker panel of judges prior to the beginning of their project. In addition, during the implementation of their project, IBJ will provide Fellows with documentary photojournalists to record and raise the profile of their efforts.

Timeline.  The 2010 JusticeMakers Competition is tentatively scheduled to begin in January 2010 and conclude in May 2010.

Stay tuned and we will provide you with more info on how you can get involved or let others know about the competition!

Community foundations in Asia

Community foundations are well known in the U.S. for raising charitable funds from the community and distributing the money back to the area’s non-profit organizations. In the U.S., we have approximately 780 community foundations. Globally, there are 1,441 community foundations in 51 countries.  In Asia, community foundations exist in India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines.

Community foundations exist in various forms but they are basically a charitable entity used to encourage philanthropy and build communities of giving and sharing.  The first community foundation was formed in the U.S. and since then the concept has been exported around the world.  In 2006, The Global Fund for Community Foundations was formed.  It is a joint initiative of the World Bank, Ford Foundation and Mott Foundation as a mechanism to broad the development of community foundations.  The Fund is a project of WINGS and it is hosted by the European Foundation Centre in Brussels.  Since their launch, the Fund has made grants amounting to almost US $1.5 million to 83 organizations in 33 countries.

Jet Li on cover of TIME Asia again

Chinese movie star Jet Li reappears on the cover of TIME's latest edition in Asia. He was also invited by Former U.S. President Bill Clinton to attend the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008.

TIME magazine writes, "It is difficult to name any other A-list celebrity, not even Bono, who has made such a total commitment. There are plenty who touch down in Africa between albums or movies, but none has actually walked off the job as Li has done, at the top of his game."

Jet Li said, in the past few years, he has learned from his Buddhist masters that people can reach their ultimate happiness only if they substantially lower their material desires.

Clinton, Jet Li, and Philanthropy Events in Asia

Upcoming events

As part of the international movement Global Entrepreneurship Week, one of the upcoming events for the Singapore chapter will see the NUS Business School’s Center for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy and the NUS Business School Alumni Association brings us a forum on social entrepreneurship.  The event takes place on November 20, 2008 in Singapore.

The Clinton Global Initiatice Asia Meeting will be held in Hong Kong on December 2 - 3, 2008.  It will be the first CGI meeting held outside the U.S.  This new membership opportunity will engage business, government, civil society, and philanthropic leaders across Asia.  It is a chance for Asia's most influential leaders to come together and take action to solve the region's most pressing issues.  The meeting will focus on three primary areas of discussion: education, energy & climate change, and public health.

Past events

Jet Li spoke at the China Global Philanthropy Forum, jointly hosted by the Boao Forum for Asia and the Red Cross Sociey of China Jet Li One Foundation.  Philanthropy Through Global Partnerships was the main theme at the November 1, 2008, Beijing event.  Mr. Li shared his own story with the participants and called on every individual to do something for philanthropy, the "cumulative effect of many small efforts being to make an enormous difference."  He is interested in "creating a 21st century philanthropic business model centered on professionalism, transparancey, impact and sustainability."  Besides donating money, Mr. Li stressed that government should continuously improve laws and regulations to guarantee a sound legal environment; enterprises, besides donating money, can also provide intellectual and information resources for philanthropic organizations; and every world citizen has the duty to put something back into society in a spirit of gratitude and love, for the sake of humanity.  In addition, Mr. Li added that "globalization requires the integration of philanthropic information, and One Foundation is willing to exert all necessary effort on this task."

In the third annual New Ventures India Investor Forum in Mumbai, sustainable entrepreneurs connected with investors to network, build partnerships and find opportunities for growth. Participants in the two-day forum found that sustainable businesses can still flourish, even in today’s uncertain economic times.  New Ventures India helps sustainable business entrepreneurs overcome business challenges and spark economic development–as well as environmental improvement–in India.

Photo courtesy of China.org.cn