Give2Asia Giving Forum

Support the Children Foundation in Action

We wanted to share with everyone photos that we received from Support the Children Foundation in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In these pictures, you can see the children and communities that are benefiting from SCF, a grantee of the Johnson & Johnson APCC. From these images, we created a photo essay to illustrate the great work produced by SCF.

Support the Children Foundation works to fight against HIV/AIDS through the training of educators in 7 groups, which includes the mass media, religious leaders, local governors, core leaders, teachers, house wives and youth.

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.

Transformational Social Entrepreneurs

By Betsy Merzenich, Give2Asia

Across the globe, social entrepreneurship is on the rise. In Asia and elsewhere, entrepreneurial individuals are directing their efforts at complex social issues, finding new solutions to meet difficult problems. These social entrepreneurs are characterized by an ability to identify new opportunities and a willingness to bear the inherent risks. Just as entrepreneurs transform business, social entrepreneurs have the potential to revolutionize society by seizing opportunities, inventing new approaches, improving systems, and transforming the status quo. Given the exciting and promising nature of the work of social entrepreneurs, we are interested in bringing visibility to their efforts, and have done so a number of times on this blog. This week we are profiling a collection of social entrepreneurs whose successful innovations are positively impacting millions of people throughout Asia.

Life-Saving Heart Surgeries for Impoverished Children Make an Immediate Impact

By Nishita Bakshi, Give2Asia

Through our grantmaking we fund important development work in Asia in the various fields of education, health, livelihood creation, and culture preservation. I find that the most critical or urgent and personally rewarding grants are life-saving surgeries for children that our donors have made possible. Here are some of our projects that have given a new lease on life to sick children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

 

Children’s Hope, China

Children’s Hope is dedicated to improving the living condition of orphans and disabled children and helping children with special needs. A grant from Give2Asia on the recommendation of the PKS Family Fund to Children’s Hope provided financial assistance and discounted medical care to 100 children from impoverished families requiring surgery for congenital heart diseases. The children ranged in age from a few months old to15 years with the majority of the children younger than 10 years.

 

Liu Da’s story is typical of the children that have benefitted from the assistance offered by Children’s Hope. Liu Da lives in the Henan Province, close to the Yellow River. His is a farming family, but because of the frequent flooding of the Yellow River, the harvest has been poor for many years.

Corporations Support Evolving Tsunami Needs

  For survivors of the tsunami, the disaster did not end once the waters receded, exposing the death of their loved ones and the loss of their homes. Entire communities were destroyed, and many families faced legal battles and permanent health problems. Give2Asia donors were quick to respond with aid, and 30 months later, many long-term projects are nearing completion. The ripple effects of the tsunami continue to impact survivors, and Give2Asia is working with corporate clients such as The Avon Foundation, the AIG Disaster Relief Fund and the Marvell Charitable Fund to meet their evolving needs.   

The economic toll on the region was massive and many people are struggling to find employment and make ends meet. Access to health care is still limited, and in Sri Lanka civil conflict is making development and reconstruction even more difficult. Long-term projects are rebuilding infrastructure, offering education, and promoting peace and prosperity across the region.