THE GIVERS

Charitable bequests on the rise in Japan. Data disclosed by the National Tax Agency show that charitable bequests are on the rise in Japan with US$440 million donated in 2018, compared to US$58 million in 2010. CAPS’ Doing Good Index 2020 highlights how Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines stand out as the few economies in Asia that offer tax incentives for giving upon death in the form of charitable bequests. According to a survey by the Japan Succession Donation Association, 22.9% of respondents, ages 50-70, said they have considered making a charitable bequest upon death. However, challenges remain as only 1.2% of respondents said they have taken steps to make a bequest by writing a will or through other means.

Asian families shift priorities to community Covid relief. This article highlights how some family offices in Asia are switching their priorities for their impact investments towards supporting local communities impacted by the pandemic. Covid-19 has compelled some family offices to ‘double down’ on their funding efforts, as well as spurred greater collaboration between like-minded family offices. This includes new efforts to support social enterprises, such as the Community Resilience Fund in Hong Kong that provides liquidity support for social enterprises and helps them adapt and continue to support their local community. The Fund was initiated in March 2020 under the auspices of Hong Kong family office RS Group and Social Ventures Hong Kong (SVHK), and it is jointly operated by the Sustainable Finance Initiative.

THE BUSINESSES

This year’s “99 Giving Day” breaks record for China internet charity platform by Tencent. Since its establishment in 2015, “99 Giving Day” is considered the most popular annual charity festival in China, jointly initiated by Tencent Charity Foundation and thousands of other charity organizations, enterprises, celebrities, and media. With the theme of “Together We Can,” this year’s event raised a total donation of ¥3.044 billion (nearly US$500 million). More than 5,780 donors, 500 institutions, and 10,000 enterprises participated in the campaign, which broke the record for online giving in China. This year’s event also featured new tools to address transparency and challenges amidst Covid-19, such as charity consumption coupons and blockchain technology, amongst other new initiatives. Also, Tencent Charity Foundation announced that this year it would invest ¥399.9 million (nearly US$60 million) in matching donations.

Alibaba Group launches fourth annual Philanthropy Week with a series of initiatives designed to make giving easier and more transparent. The event featured close to 100 online and offline philanthropic activities, from ensuring nutritious meals reach impoverished children in China to promoting environmental awareness through recycling programs. To increase transparency and encourage donors to give confidently, all contributions are fully trackable with Alibaba’s “Charities on the Chain” solution, which was developed with Ant Group’s blockchain team so that users can see exactly where their donations are going and how they are being used. 

Ayala chief: Malls should provide more services to tenants. CEO of Ayala Corp Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said that mall operators need to adapt during Covid-19 and provide more services to help their tenants whose businesses have been adversely affected by the pandemic. Ayala notes that these added services could come in the form of logistics support or more storage space for their tenants’ stocks as online shopping grows in popularity. For example, last month Ayala Malls launched its online Neighborhood Assistant service, which allows customers to shop via the website of their nearest Ayala Mall. SM Prime Holdings, the country’s biggest mall operator, also stated that it was investing PHP 100 million (approximately US$2 million) on expanding its e-commerce presence.

UOB’s private equity arm achieves impact milestone. UOB Venture Management has issued its disclosure statement on the Operating Principles for Impact Management, making it the first Southeast Asian signatory of the Impact Principles (initiated by the World Bank Group), according to the bank. The firm has also recently obtained verification from Ernst & Young for its Asia Impact Investment Fund’s alignment with the principles. Launched in 2015 together with Credit Suisse, the US$55 million fund invests in high-growth companies from the education, healthcare, and agriculture sectors in Southeast Asia and China, which help to improve financial inclusion, affordable housing, sanitation, clean energy, and water for the region’s low-income communities.

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Red Cross, and local social enterprise team up to create clean and green care kits for migrant workers and low-income families. More than 300 Marina Bay Sands staff from over 40 departments packed 10,000 care kits in partnership with social enterprise Clean the World Asia and the Singapore Red Cross. Each kit contains essential items such as soap bars and soap bags, hand sanitizer, shampoo, hair conditioner, and surgical face masks. The soap bars are made from discarded soap from Marina Bay Sands’ premises and processed with the help of Clean the World Asia’s soap recycling facilities. The kits will be distributed to beneficiaries of the Singapore Red Cross, including the migrant worker community and low-income families.

THE INNOVATORS

MaGIC and Lazada Malaysia team up to promote social enterprise products. The Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) has partnered with e-commerce platform Lazada Malaysia to onboard and promote the products and services of social enterprises registered with MaGIC. As part of the #buyforimapct campaign, Lazada will subsidize the online startup costs for social enterprises selected by MaGIC and promote their products and services. Since early August 2020, Malaysians have been able to purchase products made by social enterprises on Lazada via its #buyforimpact page. Throughout September, the campaign will run weekly features of social enterprises championing various causes. Additionally, the campaign will run Demo Days for aspiring social enterprises to showcase their budding businesses to funding agencies and potential investors.

Japan and India team up to help emerging nations go digital. Japan and India will work with technology companies to build platforms that help emerging nations put government services online. The initiative will take inspiration from New Delhi’s online system, which allowed for quick distribution of Covid-19 assistance. Japan’s trade ministry will enlist domestic businesses for the project, and Indian engineers will grant licenses that permit Japanese companies to land contracts for digital platforms from other countries. Japan’s government, which lags in digitizing its systems, also plans to use the knowledge gained from the partnership to advance its own digitization efforts.

We’d also like to hear from you. How is your organization responding to Covid-19? Email us your stories at research@caps.org. 

Catching the world unaware, Covid-19 has sent the global economy and the lives of billions into a tailspin. In the wake of this pandemic, the public, private, and social sectors must come together to work towards a stronger and more equitable Asia as we build our way out of this crisis. At a time when foreign funding is declining across the region, “Asia for Asia” philanthropy must fill the gap—and the Doing Good Index shows how.

CAPS’ Co-Founder and Chief Executive Ruth Shapiro and Director of Research Mehvesh Mumtaz Ahmed present the key findings of the index and showcase how governments, philanthropists, companies and the social sector can work together for mutual benefit. This discussion was moderated by Ronnie C. Chan, Co-Founder and Chairman of CAPS and Chairman of Asia Society Hong Kong Center.

THE NONPROFITS

Foreign funding for Bangladesh NGOs drops sharply. Foreign funding disbursed through a government regulatory body has declined sharply in the last fiscal year due to Covid-19. According to the NGO Affairs Bureau, the commitment for grants decreased by almost 17% to Tk 75.59 billion (approximately US$900 million) in FY 2019-2020 from Tk 91.18 billion (approximately US$1 billion) in the previous fiscal year. Kam Morshed, a senior director at BRAC, noted that foreign funding has been on a downward trajectory in recent years as the country grows economically stronger. However, as this trend is accelerated by Covid-19, Morshed underscores the need for more government funding for NGOs and coordination among NGOs to ensure optimum use of resources for social service delivery. CAPS’ Doing Good Index 2020, released in June 2020, had also highlighted a trend of declining foreign funding across Asia. We believe Covid-19 is likely accelerating this trend and widening the resource gap for social service organizations.

Study on Singapore’s charities finds diversity of charity boards has impact on performance. A recent study of 204 charities in Singapore by Conjunct Consulting found that greater diversity of board members shows better financial performance. It says greater ethnic, gender, and expertise diversity guides charities towards a sustainable future. For example, a more diverse board can help charities broaden their networks to fill gaps in expertise and fundraising. According to the study, women comprised a third of the boards studied, yet ethnic diversity was still lacking: over 80% of board members are Chinese and only 3% are Malay. Conjunct Consulting has developed a board diversity calculator tool to help charities assess how they fare on gender, ethnic, and expertise diversity.

Safe home initiative supports Pakistan communities hit hard by Covid-19. The Asia Foundation launched a community-centered initiative ‘Safe Home Initiative for Women and Children,’ together with local nonprofit the Children’s Global Network Pakistan. The initiative addresses the pandemic’s public health and social welfare implications for affected communities in rural areas. For example, the initiative distributes recyclable sanitary pads and refers at-risk women to agencies that offer services for victims of domestic violence. This article highlights the initiative’s key milestones since early July.

THE BUSINESSES

Coronavirus has accelerated growing awareness of need for fairer capitalism, as businesses step up to help. This South China Morning Post op-ed illustrates how businesses that had created bridges to their communities before the crisis were better prepared to aid Covid-19 relief efforts. The article highlights examples such as the Ayala Group in the Philippines, whose contributions to Covid-19 relief efforts have totaled around US$181 million thus far. The Ayala Group set out to protect what it calls its ecosystem, which includes employees, informal workers, small businesses, and the urban poor. This article argues that businesses in Asia who were able to respond the most efficiently had deepened community engagement, worked intensively with government and civil society, and forgone short-term profits.

Hyundai India announced phase two of CSR initiatives amid Covid-19 crisis. Hyundai Motor India announced its Hyundai Cares 2.0 CSR initiative, which will run till December 2020. Under the broad goal of helping communities overcome the implications of the pandemic, Hyundai India’s philanthropic efforts will focus on three key activities: Health, Education and a Clean India. Efforts will include handing out masks, distributing tablets pre-loaded with academic curriculum for lower income children, as well as a sanitization drive to disinfect public spaces in 292 districts/tehsils across India.

TerraCycle Global Foundation tackles plastic pollution crisis in world’s waterways. According to the Ocean Conservancy, over half of the plastic that ends up in our oceans comes from five countries—China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. In recognition of this growing issue, the TerraCycle Global Foundation—the philanthropic arm of TerraCycle—launched a new initiative in Thailand together with The PepsiCo Foundation and Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. The TerraCycle Foundation installed river plastic capture traps designed to increase the amount of debris and plastics collected from Thai waterways, thereby intercepting this waste before it reaches the ocean. The Foundation will recycle waste collected by its own initiative as well as that collected by other organizations participating in the Thai government’s marine debris management program.

THE INNOVATORS

Covid-19 has brought much-needed collaboration to India’s development sector. In their op-ed, Deepali Khanna of the Rockefeller Foundation and Sudha Srinivasan of The/Nudge Centre for Social Innovation argue that corporates, governments, civil society, and individual innovators have come together to address the pandemic in India in an unprecedented way. They highlight how companies and nonprofits alike assisted the government in immediate relief efforts, while the innovation ecosystem bolstered support like never before as governments extended an open call for innovative ideas to mitigate the outbreak. They argue that this departure from business as usual ushered in a new respect and recognition for each other’s role, and this collective action has demonstrated how the development sector can also expand to include all ecosystem actors.

We’d also like to hear from you. How is your organization responding to Covid-19? Email us your stories at research@caps.org.

THE GIVERS

Charitable funds boost donation in a tough year for giving. Straits Times highlights how more wealthy people in Singapore are setting up charitable funds that give at least six-figure sums to charities. According to this article, there were 143 donor-advised funds set up with the Community Foundation of Singapore during the financial year ending in March 2020. Despite many donors tightening their belts during Covid-19, these charitable funds disbursed SG$20.2 million (approximately US$15 million) during that year.

THE NONPROFITS

Hong Kong organizations hoping charity begins at home as economic crunch sees donations dry up. The impact of last year’s civil unrest and Covid-19 has left many Hong Kong charities on the brink of collapse. South China Morning Post spotlights Hong Kong foundations that are stepping in to meet the demand for funding. One example includes Jennifer Chen, CEO of Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation, who is leading a campaign called “Bridge the Gap”. The initiative calls on residents to donate all or part of their HK$10,000 (approximately US$1,300) government relief payout to NGOs in need. The Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation, Fu Tak Iam Foundation, and The Hong Kong Club Foundation will match these public donations up to specified amounts for at least 25 local organizations in need.

A call to digitize Bangladesh’s NGO Affairs Bureau. In this op-ed, associates of The Legal Circle in Bangladesh argue that the government should take immediate measures to digitize the registration process for NGOs. CAPS’ Doing Good Index 2020 found that Bangladesh has one of the longest and most complex registration procedures in Asia. According to this article, there is a severe backlog of registrations, in part due to the influx of NGOs responding to the Rohingya refugee crisis. This backlog is expected to get worse with the Covid-19 pandemic. Digitizing the registration process, they argue, is not only aligned with the government’s vision of a ‘Digital Bangladesh’, but it will also allow NGOs to set up more efficiently and help the country re-build after the crisis.

THE BUSINESSES

Capital markets lawyers sharpen impact investing skills. Financial Times highlights how pro bono work in Asia is evolving to embrace new areas of legal expertise, even as Covid-19 restrictions limit traditional pro bono work. This article argues that a longer-term shift towards impact investing—as well as an urgent need for funding in the NGO sector—provides lawyers with an opportunity to contribute their legal expertise in capital markets. The article cites the example of lawyers working pro bono on Impact Investment Exchange’s Women’s Livelihood Bond deal. Since deals in the impact investing space tend to raise smaller sums, legal services priced at market rates would mean very high fees relative to the deal size. Pro bono legal services offer an opportunity to help get this new market off the ground.

Huawei begins ‘Seeds for the Future 2020’ in Bangladesh. Huawei’s flagship CSR program ‘Seeds for the Future’ aims to develop global ICT (information and communication technology) talent by bridging the gap between academic and industry knowledge. The program is part of the company’s long-term CSR activity dedicated to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and ICT students worldwide. Seeds for the Future has benefitted over 30,000 students around the world, and has recently expanded to Bangladesh. The program aims to help the country achieve its ‘Vision of Digital Bangladesh 2021’ plan by equipping youth with ICT skills that will help them innovate local solutions for local needs.

Mi India pledges 2,500 smartphones worth Rs 2 crores (approximately US$300,000) towards digital inclusion. In addition to recent initiatives to help over 200,000 families affected by Covid-19 and 10,000 families impacted by Cyclone Amphan, Mi India announced a new donation of 2,500 smartphones to students in need. Mi India has partnered with Teach For India, which has shifted to blended learning during India’s lockdown, to distribute phones to children from under-resourced communities and help them access online classes.

THE INNOVATORS

Four lessons for launching a social enterprise. In Stanford Social Innovation Review, the founder and team members of Mauqa Online share their lessons from launching and expanding their social enterprise in Pakistan. By sharing what they wish they had done differently at certain points of growth, they hope to help the next wave of social entrepreneurs. Ultimately, they encourage social entrepreneurs to use the enterprise’s social mission to help guide decision making along the way.

We’d also like to hear from you. How is your organization responding to Covid-19? Email us your stories at research@caps.org. 

THE GIVERS

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka Shing to donate another HK$101 million (US$13 million) to medical and welfare sectors amid pandemic. A fifth of the donation will go to encouraging graduates of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong to stay back and serve the city, by providing each graduate with a HK$50,000 (approximately US$6,500) cash gift. The rest of the donation will benefit Hospital Authority’s hospitals, 12 local NGOs, and individuals who fall outside of the city’s social security safety net as Hong Kong battles its third wave of Covid-19 cases. This fresh bequest follows earlier donations of HK$100 million (approximately US$13 million) and HK$80 million (approximately US$11 million) to Wuhan and Hong Kong, respectively, to help contain their Covid-19 outbreaks.

Forbes China releases 2020 China Philanthropy List. In its 14th edition, the list includes 100 business owners and their firms, representing ¥17.91 billion (approximately US$2.57 billion) in cash donations. Xu Jiayin, president of real estate giant Evergrande Group, tops the list with charitable cash donations of ¥3.01 billion (approximately US$430 million) in 2019. Yang Guoqiang, founder and chairman of Country Garden, and his family ranked second with ¥1.52 billion (approximately US$218 million) in cash donations.

Korea’s top research university receives record donation from entrepreneur Lee Se-young. Lee, head of real estate company Gwangwon Industry, announced a donation of real estate worth ₩67.6 billion (US$56.4 million) to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST)—the biggest donation received by the school since its founding in 1971. Lee has previously donated real estate worth ₩8 billion (approximately US$6.7 million) in 2012 and ₩1 billion (approximately US$900,000) in 2016, making her cumulative donation to KAIST around ₩76.6 billion (approximately US$65 million). Lee hopes that her donation will help Korea produce its first Nobel Prize winner in science.

THE THINKERS

Taiwan among the leading group of “Doing Well” in the Doing Good Index 2020. Read more (in Chinese) about Taiwan’s leading performance in the latest article by CAPS’ Chief Executive Ruth Shapiro. In CommonWealth Magazine (天下雜誌), Shapiro discusses Taiwan’s laws and policies that promote an accountable and transparent social sector and engagement with it. 

THE NONPROFITS

Singapore-based NGO to invest up to SG$100 million (approximately US$73 million) in environmental projects in India. The Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a Singapore-based NGO working in the environmental sector, plans to invest in India over the next five years to help reduce the country’s plastic waste. Projects so far include an initiative to reduce plastic waste in the river Ganga and a partnership with UN-Habitat to implement solutions towards a circular economy. The Alliance also has a budget of SG$400 million (approximately US$290 million) for environmental projects in Southeast Asia and China.

THE BUSINESSES

Hitachi to donate ¥100 million (approximately US$1 million) to support research on the novel coronavirus. The funds are earmarked for “The Hitachi Global Foundation Fund for Research Support of Infectious Diseases,” which will support researchers in Japan and the ASEAN region. This follows earlier Covid-19 relief efforts from Hitachi Group, including donating PPE and providing US$1 million in loans to businesses in need through Kiva.

Wix helps bring first-of-its-kind remote learning initiative to Philippines Department of Education. Wix, a leading website creation platform, announced that over 43,000 e-learning websites were built and launched in two days through its project with the Philippines Department of Education. Under the government’s “Digital Rise Program,” this initiative enabled teachers with no coding experience to digitize their curriculum via Wix, helping schools transition to e-learning during this time.

Yoma Bank donates 6,000 masks and school supplies to under-resourced students. In Myanmar, Yoma Bank donated design-your-own masks, intended to improve the motivation of students to follow safety practices by allowing them to personally design their masks. In collaboration with Step-in Step-up, a vocational training academy, Yoma Bank also provided mask-wearing training to ensure students wear, remove, and handle masks in a safe manner when they return to school.

THE VOLUNTEERS

China sees increase in number of registered volunteers. The number of registered volunteers reached 169 million in China by the end of 2019, a 13.9% increase year-on-year, according to the Blue Book of Philanthropy—a report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Social Sciences Academic Press, and the China Lingshan Council for the Promotion of Philanthropy. These volunteers together offered over 2.2 billion hours of service last year. The monetary value of this work is estimated to be ¥90.3 billion (US$12.8 billion).

We’d also like to hear from you. How is your organization responding to Covid-19? Email us your stories at research@caps.org. 

THE GIVERS

Renowned filmmakers Wong Kar-Wai, Peter Chan Ho-sun, and Derek Yee pledge US$33.5 million to help revive the Hong Kong Film Industry. The donation will go to Hong Kong’s new Directors’ Succession Scheme, a government-funded initiative to boost the local film industry after Covid-19. The directors have pledged to pass on their skills and experience to the next generation, and they will be pairing up with promising local filmmakers to co-produce films during this uncertain time.

THE THINKERS

Read more about CAPS’ Doing Good Index 2020 in the Myanmar Times, “Myanmar moves up in Doing Good Index 2020,” and in Arthikpati (Nepali), “डुइङ गुड इन्डेक्स २०२० सार्वजनिक, च्यारिटी∕डोनेशनका लागि राम्रो वातावरण हुनेमा सिगापुर र ताइवान.” Listen to Money FM’s interview with CAPS’ Chief Executive Ruth Shapiro, where she discusses the index and a rising trend of cross-sector collaboration across Asia.

New report: Gender Lens Investing Landscape – East and Southeast Asia. The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, in partnership with Catalyst at Large and Sagana, launched the region’s first landscape of gender lends investing (GLI) investment vehicles in both public and private markets. The report aims to track the size and state of the gender lends investing market in Asia over time.

New report: Sustainable Investing Review 2020. According to Standard Chartered’s latest report, Sustainable Investing Review 2020, sustainable investment is on the rise in Asia. 90% of investors in the region said they are interested in sustainable investment and plan to invest 5-10% of their funds in this area. Yet, the report also highlights the need for more awareness and information regarding ESG solutions, as many affluent and high-net-worth investors in the region are still apprehensive about sustainable investing.

THE BUSINESSES

H&M Foundation to support female garment workers in Bangladesh. The Foundation will donate US$1.3 million to provide emergency relief to an estimated 76,000 young women and their families in the greater Dhaka area amidst Covid-19. The funds will be distributed to WaterAid, CARE, and Save the Children. In response to the devastation of the textile industry caused by Covid-19, H&M foundation has also pledged long-term upskilling, re-skilling, digital literacy, and entrepreneurship initiatives to help enhance the employability of female textile workers.

Wadhwani Foundation commits Rs 200 crore (approximately US$27 million) for social development programs amidst Covid-19. The Foundation announced the Sahayata Initiative to help distressed small and medium enterprises affected by Covid-19 as well as to help public health workers improve their Covid-19 knowledge and skills. The initiative consists of three programs: the Sahayata Business Stability program, the Sahayata Covid-19 Skilling program, and the Sahayata Public Health Innovation program.

Shangri-La partners with Diversey to upcycle 12,500 kg of hotel linen into face masks for the vulnerable. 21 participating Shangri-La hotels in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka joined the initiative Linens for Life Face Masks, together with Diversey, a global hygiene solutions provider. The hotel linens have been upcycled into half a million reusable face masks by local nonprofits in the region. The masks will be distributed to local communities in need, such as refugees and asylum seekers in Bangkok, Thailand and orphanages in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

A joint CSR program in Malaysia to benefit 500 schools nationwide. This program by Green Packet’s subsidiary KiplePay and the Malaysia Xiang Lian Youth Association Charity and Education Fund will create an end-to-end digital experience for 500 schools. This initiative comes in response to Covid-19 which was “a wake-up call for schools to seriously consider putting in place technologically advanced protection systems that can continue to protect school children, even after the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Johnson Controls–Hitachi Air Conditioning India to train rural youth across the country. Recently, India’s Prime Minister cited air conditioning as a priority sector in the government’s push to generate jobs. As part of its ‘Unlocking Skills’ CSR initiative, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India will expand skill development for the air conditioner and refrigeration industry amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The company will leverage its trainers, specially designed curriculum, and its six skill development centers in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat to train rural youth via a virtual platform.

Companies continue to give to Covid-19 relief efforts. In Malaysia, Tropicana and Top Glove have jointly announced a donation of RM1.8 million (approximately US$500,000) worth of medical equipment and supplies to the Ministry of Health Malaysia. In India, Hyundai Mobis donated Rs3.5 crore (approximately US$500,000), with Rs 0.5 crore going to the PM CARES Fund and Rs3 crore to distributing masks and sanitizers through a local nonprofit.

We’d also like to hear from you. How is your organization responding to Covid-19? Email us your stories at research@caps.org. 

CAPS’ Co-Founder and Chief Executive Ruth Shapiro shares insights from the second edition of the biennial Doing Good Index, launched in June 2020.

CAPS’ Director of Research Mehvesh Mumtaz Ahmed shares insights from the second edition of the biennial Doing Good Index, launched in June 2020.

THE GIVERS

Uniqlo chief pledges US$93 million for coronavirus research. <>Tadashi Yanai, chairman and president of Fast Retailing—the Japanese company behind Uniqlo—pledged ¥10 billion (US$93 million) to Kyoto University for research into treatments for the new coronavirus and other communicable diseases. The donation will be split, with ¥5 billion each going to Shinya Yamanaka and Tasuku Honjo, two Nobel Prize winners in medicine.

THE THINKERS

Doing Good Index 2020 shows how Asia can maximize doing good in a post-Covid world. <>CAPS’ Chief Executive Ruth Shapiro shares insights from our recently launched Doing Good Index 2020 for Alliance Magazine. Shapiro highlights developments across the region since the 2018 edition of the Index, and she underscores that with the right policies coupled with private and social sector initiatives, we in Asia will be able to bring about the maximum good for our communities as we rebuild from the Covid-19 crisis.

THE NONPROFITS

Singapore charity sets up SG$5 million fund to help vulnerable seniors. <>The Asian Medical Foundation (AMF), a charity affiliated with Raffles Medical Group, set up the SG$5 million (approximately US$3.6 million) AMF Silver Care Fund. The fund will support two causes: the AMF Elder Voucher scheme to help 30,000 seniors purchase food and household items, and the AMF Elder Health scheme to support pilot projects aimed at improving seniors’ access to healthcare and enhancing their well-being. 

THE BUSINESSES

As Covid-19 saps Vietnam’s economy, private charity is blossoming.<> The Economist covers how a prototype of an ATM that dispenses rice, built by a local entrepreneur to support Hanoi’s poorest during the Covid-19 crisis, has been scaled nationwide by the private sector. Each ATM distributes enough rice to feed a small family for three days, and some machines have been serving up to 2,000 people a day. Corporates, such as Cen Group, have stepped in to produce these rice ATMs, supplying tens of locations in cities across Vietnam. Danielle Labbe of the University of Montreal points out that while large-scale philanthropy is rare in Vietnam, it is a country where “good ideas replicate quickly.” This rise of private charity during Covid-19 has also been embraced by the government, exemplified by generous press coverage in state-controlled media. 

Gilead commits US$500,000 worth of support across Asia.<> As part of its first Asia-wide corporate social responsibility program, “Creating Possible For Our Communities,” US-based Gilead Sciences will support hard-hit communities in Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan. The donation will be used to provide basic necessities to lower-income families, education resources to underprivileged children, public health education related to Covid-19, and cash donations to community-based organizations to allow them to continue to provide vital care services to HIV and hepatitis patients.

THE INNOVATORS

Thailand’s tourism social enterprises help locals hit by coronavirus.<> When Local Alike, a travel consultancy that promotes sustainable tourism in 200 villages, saw its revenue drop to zero during Covid-19, the social enterprise pivoted to selling products from villages through social media. This article by the Thomson Reuters Foundation highlights how similar social enterprises in Thailand have adapted through the crisis, while concomitantly finding solutions for community needs. 

Helping youth enterprises take off will bring sustainable returns, say UN economists.<> The 2020 World Youth Report was recently published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. This edition of the biennial report focuses on how youth social entrepreneurship can both support youth development and help accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The report highlights key characteristics of an effective entrepreneurship ecosystem, including the importance of tailored support. A recent CAPS report, Business for Good: maximizing the value of social enterprises in Asia, also explores the key ecosystem aspects that can enable social enterprises in Asia to reach their potential.

Climate fund targets USD$2.5 billion in clean energy investment for Southeast Asia.<> The new South East Asia Clean Energy Facility (SEACEF) fund backed by philanthropic donors is aiming to aid the region’s green recovery after coronavirus. Managed by Singapore-based Clime Capital, the fund has an initial investment of US$10 million and a focus on getting new projects underway in Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. SEACEF describes itself as a first-of-its-kind philanthropic initiative to tackle climate change, focused on the high-risk funding needed to get new clean energy projects up and running. 

ESG investing gaining traction in Korea.<> Financial firms are rushing to issue sustainable bonds amid the Covid-19 pandemic, as ESG-themed bonds witness burgeoning growth and popularity in Korea. This Korea Times article highlights examples of banks who have recently embraced ESG factors and have issued ESG-principled social bonds.

<>IN OTHER NEWS…

Is PM-CARES diverting money away from nonprofits?<> While the PM National Relief Fund in India has historically received INR 200 crore (approximately US$27 million) annually from CSR contributions, the PM-CARES Fund, which was established to fund Covid-19 relief efforts, has received 25 times this amount in a shorter amount of time. India Development Review (IDR) offers a breakdown of CSR spending during Covid-19 and explores how PM-CARES has diverted a large amount of capital away from nonprofits.

<>We’d also like to hear from you. How is your organization responding to Covid-19? Email us your stories at <>research@caps.org<>. 

THE GIVERS

Singaporeans donated SG$90 million in first five months of 2020, equal to whole of last year’s donations. From January to May of this year, SG$90 million (approximately US$64 million) was donated to the Community Chest, the Community Foundation of Singapore’s Sayang Sayang Fund, and through the online donation platform Giving.sg. This amount was around the same as the total donations received by the Community Chest and Giving.sg in the entire year of 2019, according to a joint statement by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and Ministry of Social and Family Development.

17th China Philanthropy Ranking released. The 17th edition of the annual China Philanthropy Ranking, supported by China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs and the China Charity Times, was released on June 16. This year’s ranking includes 118 philanthropists with a total of ¥5.45036 billion (approximately US$771 million) in donations, and 605 companies with a total of ¥1.245 trillion (approximately US$176 billion) in donations.

THE THINKERS

GIIN’s 2020 Annual Impact Investor Survey released. The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) released the 10th edition of its flagship report, which provides an overview of the global impact investing market. This report includes an updated market sizing analysis—estimating the current market size at US$715 billion—trends analysis, and insights on topics such as climate investing, the evolution of impact measurement, and policy developments over the past decade. CAPS’ recent study, Business for Good: maximizing the value of social enterprises in Asia, points out that impact investment in Asia is not yet living up to its full potential. While Asia accounts for nearly 50% of global GDP, GIIN’s latest report finds that only 14% of global impact investment is allocated to the region.

CEO of Singapore’s NVPC argues corporate giving during Covid-19 more than just a PR exercise. Melissa Kwee, CEO of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), highlights examples of corporate efforts amidst Covid-19 that aligned a company’s purpose and expertise to enable more strategic giving. She cites Temasek, which leveraged its supply chain networks to provide hand sanitizers to all Singaporean households, and the Singapore Metal & Machinery Association, which mobilized a donation of 3,800 sets of PPEs. Kwee states that this is a step up from past CSR efforts that can sometimes be peripheral to the business or more reactive activities that lack a larger strategic intent.

THE BUSINESSES

Covid-19 covers 80% of CSR budget for India Inc., according to Crisil Foundation. According to the Foundation, CSR spending thus far has been in the form of contributions to the PM CARES Fund and other relief funds, as well as distribution of food, PPE, and other relief supplies to the needy. The Foundation’s chief operating officer stated, “Interestingly, the 130 companies analyzed by Crisil accounted for nearly 80% of the total CSR spend by all listed companies in fiscal 2019. Assuming other companies would have followed a similar path, India Inc. has already allocated over 80% of the annual CSR budget to address the pandemic. This could impact spending on other areas this fiscal year.”

ASEAN and The Asia Foundation, with support from Google.org, collaborate to equip 200,000 micro and small enterprises with digital skills and tools amidst the Covid-19 crisis. The ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and The Asia Foundation have jointly launched ‘Go Digital ASEAN,’ supported by a US$3.3 million grant from Google’s philanthropic arm. The initiative will focus on expanding economic opportunities across ASEAN member states and mitigating the negative impact from the Covid-19 crisis. It aims to close the digital divide by equipping micro and small enterprises, as well as underemployed youth in rural and isolated areas, with crucial digital skills and tools.

Largest donation for Philippines’ fight against Covid-19 came from Project Ugnayan of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) at US$29.1 million. PDRF, the Philippines’ major private sector vehicle and coordinator for disaster management, has made the largest contribution to the government’s Covid-19 response to date: US$29.1 million. The next biggest donors to the government’s relief efforts are USAID, San Miguel Corporate, and Unilab. Ayala Group, which took an active part in Project Ugnayan, has set forth an array of other relief efforts to tackle Covid-19 in the Philippines. Recently, Ayala Group donated an automated RNA Extraction machine and two RT-PCR machines to Southern Philippines Medical Center and other institutions, which will help Davao boost its testing capacity to a maximum of 1,000 tests per day.

Tzu Chi Foundation Indonesia raised Rupiah 500 billion (approximately US$36 million) towards fighting Covid-19. The six biggest donors to the Foundation’s Covid-19 initiative were Sinarmas, Djarum, Indofood, Astra, Agung Sedayu Group, and Artha Graha Peduli. The funds will be used to purchase various equipment needed to help handle the outbreak in Indonesia.

Excelerate Energy has become the key sponsor of the HOPE Foundation for Women and Children of Bangladesh to support the organization’s Covid-19 relief efforts at the Rohingya camp outside Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh—home to more than a million refugees. The US company’s donation will provide up to 10,000 patients a year with outpatient and in-patient services, diagnostics, critical care, emergency transportation. It will also fund PPE for staff and surrounding community, staff training, and awareness programs.

Mastercard builds on Covid-19 response with commitment to expand financial inclusion initiative. The new commitment—an extension of Mastercard’s 2015 pledge to bring 500 million excluded people into the financial system—will bring a total of 1 billion people and 50 million micro- and small- businesses worldwide into the digital economy by 2025. This article shares examples of Mastercard’s financial inclusion initiatives in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

American Express India has pledged INR 9 crores (approximately US$1.2 million) towards Covid-19 relief efforts. This includes contributions to the PM CARES Fund and nonprofits working in Covid-19 relief areas—such as mobilizing essential supplies, providing medical kits, feeding healthcare professionals, and developing and providing PPE to vulnerable communities. American Express India has also partnered in an initiative called ‘Hunger Heroes’ that will help distribute dry rations and essential supplies to the families of 10,000 food delivery riders impacted by the pandemic.

PwC Singapore launches new initiatives to support the community amidst Covid-19. The company is releasing “Digital Fitness for the World,” a learning app aimed at increasing digital acumen and upskilling, to the public for free from June 8 onwards. PwC is also working to help small and medium enterprises accelerate digitization with dedicated digital advisory services, solutions, and upskilling programs. Other Covid-19 initiatives from PwC include purchasing and distributing food to vulnerable communities.

THE INNOVATORS

Indonesia-based e-sports company helping fight Covid-19 through streaming, direct action. EVOS Sports, which operates across Southeast Asia, has initiated a number of efforts, including streaming matches and collaborating with influencers and social delivery organizations, to give back. For example, in Malaysia, EVOS Sports’ PUBG Mobile team played matches among themselves over a livestream and encouraged viewers to contribute to the “Give with Ikhlas” charity initiative, which has raised RM1 million (approximately US$230,000) so far. In Thailand and Indonesia, EVOS Sports’ athletes have also stepped on the ground to cook 3,000 meals for the underprivileged and donate 50,000 masks and surgical gloves.

We’d also like to hear from you. How is your organization responding to Covid-19? Email us your stories at research@caps.org.