WORKING WITH THE BUSINESS SECTOR
How can grant makers cross the divide between philanthropy and business? Designed for staff of independent and corporate foundations, this guide weighs the case for engaging business, identifies skills for promoting corporate philanthropy, and shares strategies for partnering with and influencing companies.
I am glad to inform you that since last time we spoke/emailed, there has been substantial progress in establishing the research forum on “Information Communication Technology and Society”. The purpose of the forum is to incubate research ideas in relation to ICT and society, an area which is not receiving enough academic attention locally.
Mr Terence Yiu has put together a very interesting paper on the situation in Hong Kong, and I don't want to repeat what he says. But I'll give a very brief history just to put everything in context.
Key findings of the Golin/Harris Study include :-
- Total charitable contributions amount to about 0.2% of GDP in Hong Kong.
- Corporate giving in Hong Kong accounts for about 10% of total giving.
- Guesstimates based on various methods for calculation suggest that corporate giving in Hong Kong currently amounts to at least HK$1.4 billion and probably reaches about HK$2.6 billion.
- Big companies give more. So do companies with large numbers of staff employed locally.
- Small and medium sized enterprises give little in cash terms, but are potentially valuable givers in terms of staff volunteer activity.
- Corporate giving among local companies is growing, especially since 1997 when more people and companies have come to regard Hong Kong as a long-term home.
- Companies are most willing to give to causes linked with education, the environment, poverty/disabled/the aged, children, and with health and medicine.
- Companies are least willing to give to causes linked with heritage, religion, culture and sports.
Singapore bank first to specialize in Asian charitable asset management
A Dutch private bank in Singapore is the first financial institution in Asia to offer philanthropic asset management services for high net worth individuals. MeesPierson wants to link the region's estimated 3,000 to 4,000 individuals and families with assets of at least $1 million to nonprofit organizations that can use the money. "Asia has more millionaires than any other part of the world. It's easier (for them) to make money than to give it away. So, we're helping them with their philanthropic focus," said Terry Alan Farris, head of MeesPierson's Charity Management, Asia. MeesPierson hopes to tap into the growing number of wealthy families looking for social returns on their investments. The bank also offers asset management services to nonprofit institutions such as UNICEF to help them grow their funds and become more transparent. The bank estimates that nonprofit organizations in Asia hold between $15 billion to $20 billion in assets. Kees Stoute, the bank's managing director of Private Banking, Asia, said the call from the public for more transparency in managing charitable funds has been growing. The bank foresees resistance to this from some wealthy Asians concerned about keeping their donations out of the public eye. But Farris is hopeful their attitudes will change, saying "It's a way to bring family members together in a non-threatening way. In Hong Kong, we had a family whose members haven't talked to each other in years," he said. They ended up meeting regularly to discuss their philanthropic efforts. "There is enough money in Asia to fund Asia, but we need to organize it." (TODAYonline (Singapore), April 2, 2004)
Have Expertise, Will Travel
U.S. fund raisers abroad find hot job market, big challenges
By NICOLE LEWIS
Two and a half years ago Terry Alan Farris, a fund raiser at the University of Hawaii´s health-sciences programs, was recruited to head the development efforts at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital.
Although he was daunted by the prospect of uprooting his family, including his wife, who was pregnant with twins, Mr. Farris ultimately decided that the opportunity to work abroad was too exciting to miss. He hasn't had any regrets.
The mix of cultures in his adopted city intrigues Mr. Farris -- and he quickly discovered that he had moved to a land full of fund-raising opportunities. The hospital is on track to raise $2.6-million this year, 10 times the amount raised the year he arrived.
Mr. Farris is part of a wave of Americans whose fund-raising expertise is being sought around the globe as non-profit organizations increasingly seek to raise private funds to bolster their activities and lessen their reliance on government funds. And as more and more countries are creating tax incentives to encourage giving to those organizations, demand for Americans who have experience showing donors tax-savvy ways to give is on the rise.
Although not every overseas fund-raising experience has been as successful as Mr. Farris's, many Americans share his enthusiasm for other shores despite a variety of challenges involving uncooperative boards of trustees and unrealistic expectations of non-profit organizations. (see full article)
