Give2Asia Giving Forum

Asia-based Community Foundations Expanding Their Reach

By Dien Yuen, Give2Asia

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.

 

The 2008 Community Foundation Global Status Report published by WINGS (Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support) tracks the growth of community foundations globally.  In reviewing the Global Status Report, I noticed several similarities of the community foundations in Asia. For example, outside organizations such as the Ford Foundation and Synergos Institute were instrumental in helping establish many of these community foundation.  Individuals and corporations do not always fully understand the value of an intermediary to promote, encourage and bring together philanthropic initiatives. In other words, they preferred to give directly to the beneficiary. Furthermore, most of these community foundations are relatively new, with the oldest one registered in 1991. Consequently, their grantmaking is relatively small but several do have endowments.  

India

The first community foundation in India, the Bombay Community Public Trust, which was established in 1991 with the assistance of the Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy based in Mumbai.  There are currently six formally established community foundations in India.  Corporate donors are the largest source of income.

Johnson & Johnson's Focus on Global Health

At age three, Prateek was left outside an orphanage severly malnourished and HIV positive. Suffering from pneumonia and tuberculosis, he had not been bathed in weeks, and did not have the strength to move his limbs, cry, or chew properly. Abandoned by his family, he found a home and the medical care he needed at the Johnson & Johnson supported Naz Care Home in Delhi, India.   

With a population of over one billion, India is one of the largest and most populated countries in the world, and a prime breeding ground for the AIDS epidemic. At least five million people in India are currently living with HIV/AIDS. According to the United Nations Development Program, women account for approximately 39% of infections, and the number continues to rise. Despite the numbers of those affected, there remains a great deal of ignorance about AIDS, and the disease is a socially taboo topic. As a result, the victims of AIDS are often abandoned by their communities. Women and children with HIV/AIDS are turned out of their homes and have no place to go and no access to the drugs that could prolong their lives.