Asian Philanthropy Forum

Asian Philanthropy News Digest 03/19/2011

* $2M to support women and children in Vietnam. Atlantic Philanthropies, a US private foundation, is providing $2 million grant for improving health for ethnic minority women and children in Vietnam's provinces of Dien Bien, Dak Lak and Yen Bai. The work will be carried out by the Vietnam Centre for Community Health Research and Development. The project includes training health workers on beahviour changes in care and treatment for mothers and children, and help 1,600 women gain more knowledge on mothering and care skills for children.

* Alumnus donates $2m to IIT Kharagpur. Prabhakant Sinha, a cofounder of ZS Associates in Chicago, has donated $2 million to his alma mater for a bioenergy centre of excellence. 

* Massive disasters spur Kiwis' generosity. A good overview of the different ways of giving in New Zealand and some of the favorable tax consequences.  New Zealand has one charity for every 172 people.

* China Charity Federation raises 6 billion yuan ($912m) in 2010. This is an increase of 29.3% from the 4.64 billion yuan collected in 2009. CCF was founded in 1994 with 273 member units in China.

Disaster Stats That Ruined My Day

One of the things I dread about the fall season is that it is also disaster season. Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes - they all seem to take place during fall or early spring.

The good news is that the European Commission's disaster policy consortium MICRODIS, organized an Asian Symposium on Disaster Impact and Assessment in Asia conference. Disaster relief workers representing 13 countries met in Hue City, Vietnam on August 25th to discuss ways to improve disaster impact and relief operations in the region.

The bad new is that philanthropy can't seem to get its act together and coordinate a response platform for donors and NGOs in the region. Those in the field are always scrambling for information to provide donors. There is no one stop source to get a listing of how much corporations or foundations have contributed. More important, there is not a place filled with useful data that encourages private philanthropy to fund disaster prevention programs. I think it is time we thought about an Asia Disaster Network for donors.

Below are some quick stats:

* In 2009, Asia accounted for six of the top ten disasters in the world.

* Seven out of ten most earthquake-vulnerable countries in terms of human exposure are in Asia: China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.

* From 2000 to 2009, Asia accounted for 85 percent of all disaster-related fatalities.

* Four of the ten most recent and deadliest quake occurred in Indonesia.

227,898 people died when a 9.1 earthquake shook Sumatra, Indonesia, on 26 December 2004. A subsequent tsunami spread the impact of the earthquake to 14 Asian and East African countries and 1.7 million people.

Three months later another quake, measuring 8.6, killed 1,000 people on 28 March 2005 in Northern Sumatra. 

5,749 people died in a 6.3 earthquake on 27 May 2006 in Java. It was Indonesia's third major disaster in less than two years.

1,117 people died on 30 September 2009 in Southern Sumatra after a 7.5 earthquake exposed the area's lack of resilient structures.

* Two of the ten most recent and deadliest quake occurred in China.

87,587 people died or went missing after an earthquake measuring 7.9 struck Eastern Sichuan on 12 May 2008. Five million were left homeless and 374,177 were injured. 

2,698 people died or went missing on 13 April 2010 after a 6.9 earthquake hit Qinghai. The biggest quake in world history happened in Shaanxi, where 830,000 people died after an 8.0 earthquake on 1 January 1556.

Photo courtesy of Flickr, Creative Commons, DFID - UK Department for International Development

Asian Philanthropy News Digest 09/03/2010

Shanghai residents more willing to donate to charity. A MasterCard International survey found that nearly 60 percent of Shanghai residents plan to donate to charity over the next six months, the highest rate across China. Beijing and Guangzhou followed Shanghai. Nearly half of those who plan to make a donation expect to give 1 to 2 percent of their annual income. Chinese males were more generous than females. Older and married people appear to be more generous.

Endowment envy: Investing to donate? The idea of gift planning and deciding to name a charity in one's estate plan is a major subject in U.S. nonprofit fundraising conversations. A unique field has been built around this special professional niche in fundraising. Imagine my surprise to read an article in the Australia's Sunday Times about the subject of bequests and endowment fund gifts! It's great to see that gift planning is catching on elsewhere!

Philanthropy thriving at Shinhan Bank Foundation. Shinhan Bank was South Korea's first bank to file a Corporate Social Responsibility report in 2006. This article provides examples of how the bank pursue's its diverse forms of philanthropic work - including the engagement of employees in workplace campaigns.

Business for a Cause. Vietnamese-American David Duong was appointed to serve on the board of Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF). David was born in Saigon and emigrated to the US in 1976. He made his fortune as CEO of California Waste Solutions. VEF was founded in 2007 by former President Bill Clinton as an independent organization, funded by the US government. VEF grants scholarships to young Vietnamese scientists and students to study in the US.

 

What is the OneVietnam Network?

On the Picked Radish blog, XuanThu Pham posted an article describing how OneVietnam Network works and how users can use it to learn about pressing issues in the Vietnamese American and Vietnamese community. The unique space creates a community for those that care and take action.

Monday 7/19 marked the day of OneVietnam Network’s launch to the public. By signing up for your free account at www.onevietnam.org will instantly connect you to its community. It continues to attract interest and engagement from its community members, Vietnamese individuals, and others passionate about Vietnam all over the world. As a consultant for OneVietnam Network, I am excited to see how powerful it already is. With its recent round of funding from the Ford Foundation – it will no doubt be in a trajectory of growth and good things to come. 

OneVietnam is not just a Web 2.0 social community platform. It’s a place where you can learn about pressing issues that go far beyond the topics of food or the historic war. The focus is more on the “today” and “what is urgent and needs our attention” to develop a stronger future. What is agent orange and is it still a problem today? What can be done to help eliminate the deplorable act of human trafficking of women and children? How can I make a difference in someone’s life today? These are questions that can be answered, discussed, and debated as you explore the resources provided by OneVietnam. 

While there is a star-cast of board members that have guided and advised them, the founding team is at the heart of creating the vision and making OneVietnam a reality. From countless brainstorming jam sessions, to development and execution of the community – no amount of funding or availability of top notch advisors can force an idea to happen. These talented and dedicated members of the founding team saw an opportunity and seized it.

OneVietnam Network Prepares For Beta Launch

As an advisor to OneVietnam Network, I am pleased announce that our beta launch is on June 17th!

Vietnamese communities worldwide will soon have a unique platform for communication and connection with OneVietnam.org. Founded by 1st and 2nd generation Vietnamese-Americans, OneVietnam is an online network that acts as a nexus between individuals, communities, and philanthropic groups serving Vietnamese communities worldwide. Its interface uses the latest in Web 2.0 technology for easy accessibility and instant connections to causes most relevant to its members. Starting June 17, those interested in reconnecting to and strengthening the community can log onto OneVietnam.org for an invitation to preview OneVietnam’s beta site.

OneVietnam came into being when a group of recent UC Berkeley and Harvard graduates perceived a growing disconnect between Vietnamese communities worldwide. Since the post 1960s Vietnamese diasporas, Vietnamese have spread out across over thirty countries around the globe. With generation gaps widening and geographic barriers present, cultural identification languishes and philanthropic organizations lose what should be a strong support system. 

Using social media and Web 2.0, this group of college graduates developed OneVietnam with community, philanthropy, and online innovation in mind. Rather than creating another social network, the founders focused their network on cultivating ties between Vietnamese communities and providing an outlet for later Vietnamese future makers to get their voices heard. OneVietnam has already managed to get the conversation flowing between individuals worldwide through its Facebook Page with 6,000 supporters and Vietnam Talking Points blog with over 200 original articles.

Corporate Philanthropy on the Rise in Vietnam

LIN Center for Community Development released the report, Corporate Philanthropy in Ho Chi Minh City: An Update on the Status of Giving in Vietnam, in December of 2009. 

I finally had the opportunity to review the report. The findings do not surprise me but it does point out some rising trends in Vietnam. Unfortunately, corporate philanthropy and CSR are relatively new concepts in the region so those that are responsible for implementing strategies, formally or informally, find that they are doing so on an ad hoc basis. 

The laws are changing to encourage corporate giving and with the increasing presence of multi-national corporations in the region, I can see CSR and corporate philanthropy being more institutionalized in the future. Add to this the rising awareness of philanthropy and groups like LIN that are strengthening the infrastructure of nonprofit groups, and you have an enabling environment for corporate philanthropy and CSR to thrive. The nonprofit sector, corporations, and Vietnam still have a long ways to go in their civil society development and the corporate philanthropy and CSR fields are far from mature.

Some interesting findings from the report:

* Corporate philanthropy is on the rise and that the prospects are good for a continuation of this trend in the future.

* A significant number of corporate giving programs are diffuse and appear to lack a clear focus. Corporate philanthropy is implemented with a top-down approach with decisions being made at the highest levels and implementation ed by marketing, PR or HR departments.

* Ad hoc grantmaking was common. Companies prefer to give cash (grants/sponsorship) and in-kind contributions or products or equipment. Employee volunteer programs and pro bono service is a rising trend, especially among foreign companies.

* Corporations are being publicly recognized for their efforts. In 2008, The Saigon Times weekly and The Saigon Times Daily, included the "support for community development and environmental protection" in their criteria when selecting the annual Top 40 Award for foreign-invested enterprises for excellence in business.

* Suggestions to raise the level of effectiveness of corporate philanthropy include the introduction of support services. These include corporate volunteer placement and management services and a community resource center providing information about community needs, giving strategies and best practices.

It was interesting to note in the report, when asked how much their companies gave in 2008, companies were either unable or unwilling to provide a rough estimate.

A couple of sources said that it was company policy not to share this information. Others explained that their budgets for philanthropy come from multiple sources.

Despite this lack of transparency by some companies, contributions of other companies ranged from US$30,000 to nearly $4 million.

The researchers also asked about the concept of a community foundation. Some corporations said they saw a need and value, especially as a resource and facilitator. Others doubted whether the current policy conditions in Vietnam would allow for such an entity to function properly. There were also concerns about the ability of such an organization to operate independently or produce the level of transparency necessary to operate effectively.

The report provides a general sense of where corporate philanthropy is and what is needed to encourage its growth in Vietnam. Until corporations provide reports on their giving and an entity is able to collect and analyze the data, it is difficult to evaluate the amount and impact of corporate giving in Vietnam. For those managing corporate philanthropy programs in Vietnam, they will need to rely on examples and stories from their colleagues on what to do. 

Kudos to LIN for developing this project!

Download the full report by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Lucas Jans

U.S. - Vietnamese Social Networks

James H. Bao, co-founder of the OneVietnam Network generated a list of US Vietnamese Social Networks on their blog, Vietnam Talking Points. James found five networks and he provides a summary of their work. Please visit their blog to learn more. 

In particular, James writes:

Of the networks I've found, only two came out to be true social network by today's definitions: Viet Circle and Vietmee.com. The rest are better categorizes as community blogs or forums. Of the bunch, Viet Circle offers the most familiar social networking experience. Yet, the site tries to do too much (includes restaurant reviews, event planning), runs an outdated model (think MySpace), and is not actively developed.

The Vietnamese expat community still lacks a true network. With over 3 million people spread across 30 countries, there is a definite need for a network that can bring us together. I have reasons to believe that kind of network will be coming very soon (*wink).

James is talking about the exciting, highly anticipated, OneVietnam Network. The man behind the "network" is Paul Pham.  Paul was part of the team that created the first web-based email service called Hotmail. After the company was acquired by Microsoft Corporation, he went on to work as a server architect for several years, developing the main revenue generating engine for Hotmail called WebCourier.

I can't wait to see the fully functional network because it will be the first of its kind - bringing non-profit groups, volunteers, donors and supporters together on an integrated platform that uses all the tools of social media. This is where the Asian American philanthropy field needs to be headed.  The fact that none of them have a philanthropy background makes it even more impressive. I like the idea of a fresh perspective and a new approach.

Disclosure: I serve as an advisor to OneVietnam Network.

Duy-Loan T. Le, Philanthropist and Business Leader

Talking Points Vietnam (TVP), the blog of OneVietnam Network, has a post on Duy-Loan T. Le, philanthropist and business leader.  Duy-Loan came to the U.S. when she was 12. She taught herself how to read English and within four years, graduated as a valedictorian of her high school.  Duy-Loan then joined Texas Instrument and was eventually elected as a Senior Fellow, a rank equivalent of a Senior Vice President.  She is the only women holding this position in Texas Instrument's nearly 80 years of history.

Duy-Loan has received many awards and recognitions, including the National Technologist of the Year, Times People, Asian American Engineer of the Year, Women of Vision: Leadership, and Top 15 Women in Business.

Duy-Loan serves on the board of the Mona Foundation.  She is a founding member and currently serves on the advisory board of the Sunflower Mission.  Sunflower Mission is a U.S. based non-profit that is committed to improving the lives of the people in Vietnam through educational assistance programs. They have built over 62 classrooms in remote areas of Vietnam, where 90% of the poor live. Through the Sunflower Mission Dao-Le Scholarship Program, over 2,200 scholarships have been awarded since 2004.

Disclosure: I serve as an advisor to the OneVietnam Network.

Asian Philanthropy News Digest 12/17/09

Vietnam Challenge Fund.  The Vietnam Challenge Fund (VCF) launched last month with an initial budget of US$3 million for 2009-2011.  According to the Saigon Times Daily, the fund is designed to challenge the private sector in Vietnam to propose innovative new business models that benefit the poor. The fund "will help absorb some of the business risks associated with innovative projects that aim to increase employment and income for the poor."  In Vietnam, about 90% of the 86 million people live in rural areas.  The fund will help those in rural areas gain access to capital.

An Interview with Jack Ma.  Jack Ma is one of China's most influential leaders in China according to Time Magazine.  He is founder, chairman and CEO of the Alibaba Group, the holding company of the largest business to business e-commerce platform (Alibaba.com) and consumer to consumer auction website in China (Taobao.com). Jack is also a trustee of The Nature Conservancy's China program.  In this article Jack expresses his thoughts about the attitudes of environmentalism in China, his philanthropy, and why he is passionate about the environment: There are many other things that have inspired me.  When I visited the river where I learned to swim as a kid (I almost drowned in there when I was 12 years old), the water was full of garbage. The water use to come up to my chest and now is just barely above my ankle.  It has almost completely dried up. I thought to myself, "Oh my God, what's going on?"

Supporting Disaster Relief Efforts in Asia: All Types of Donors Wanted

- by Dien S Yuen

Southeast Asia has been hit horribly by a series of tragic events.  It is too difficult to convey in words the lives that were lost and the damage done to homes and businesses.  The Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Western Sumatra... these were already countries with high rates of poverty.

As I look at these pictures, I can't help but feel overwhelmed for the victims.  But since I work at Give2Asia and we are fielding emails and calls from donors wanting to help - there is no time to feel sad.  There are many, many generous donors - individuals, corporations, families, friends - that want to help.  Like all disasters, we encourage donors to think about immediate relief and also long term recovery.

There are many groups like the Red Cross that can provide immediate aid such as clean water and food. As the media attention dies down in the next several weeks though, survivors will also need help to rebuild their homes and businesses.  There are some donors that give because their heart aches as they see the destruction and want to take action right away.  By making a gift instantly, they feel as if they alleviated some suffering of an unknown friend.  While the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia may be far away, pain and suffering are universal emotions we all connect with.

There are also some donors that want to be more strategic and wait until the immediate relief is stabilized so they can see what else is needed.  In-between stages of support - assistance to get life back to normal, clearing of roads, cleaning of homes are required along with finding food, shelter and clean water.  Long term recovery also includes helping survivors rebuild their lives and their livelihood.  This may include micro-loans to business owners so they can purchase supplies again.  There is the psycho-social therapy needs for children, seniors and others traumatized by the disaster.