News & Trends for Donor-Advised Giving to Asia

New Partnership for Give2Asia and Shanghai Roots & Shoots Helps U.S. Donors Support Youth & Environment Programs in China

San Francisco, CA - March 11, 2010 - Give2Asia, a leading U.S. philanthropic services nonprofit, and Shanghai Roots & Shoots, a China-based program of the Jane Goodall Institute, today announce a fiscal sponsorship that enables U.S. donors to support local programs in China that promote the environment and community service.

Shanghai Roots & Shoots is an environmental education and community service non-profit located in Shanghai, China. Its programs include education on environmental sustainability and hands-on community service projects. Past work has included such projects as planting trees in Inner Mongolia; growing organic vegetables on campus gardens; providing environmental audits to businesses, schools and homes; and bringing physical and health education to migrant schools.

Give2Asia's Fiscal Sponsorship services help approved Asia-based charitable groups establish a U.S. presence, provide professional donor stewardship, and make possible tax-deductible support for Asia-based groups. Give2Asia currently provides fiscal sponsorship to approximately 100 charitable institutions across the Asia-Pacific region. For more information on Give2Asia's fiscal sponsorship program, visit www.give2asia.org/fsf.

Bangladesh Braces for a Floating Future

By Nadia Shafiullah, Give2Asia Philanthropic Initiatives Intern

The UN World Summit on Climate Change - Cop15, came to an end on Dec 18, 2009, with what most conceive to be vague and non-committal agreements by the developed nations. Disappointing as it is, I don't think I had much expectations out of this conference. I took solace from what I saw on my last trip back home to Bangladesh (which is projected to be one of the hardest hit countries of climate change), and how the people have already started to take action in preparing for the unwarranted change in their environment and living conditions.

Recovery from Fall 2009 Disasters will Take Months or Years

Beginning in the final week of September, Asia has been battered by several deadly natural disasters. Multiple typhoons have struck the Philippines, killing hundreds. The first, Typhoon Ketsana, moved on to cause destruction in Southeast Asia as well.

The most deadly events were consecutive earthquakes in western Sumatra that killed over a thousand in Indonesia. In addition, massive flooding in south India, and an earthquake and tsunami in Samoas have destroyed entire towns.

While the immediate response to these disasters has included significant corporate giving and donations from large international groups, such as the Red Cross and the UN, the longer-term recovery process will likely outlive this initial surge in philanthropy from the international community.

The initial provisioning of food, water, shelter and medical care often takes a few days. Based on needs following past disasters, affected communities will likely require the following support and services from local groups: rebuilding of homes and schools; microfinance and job training for those whose businesses were destroyed; psycho-social services to relieve stress from death and hardship caused by the disaster; and education and scholarships for affected students.

Click here for more information on Give2Asia's short-term and long-term disaster relief efforts to these affected areas.

Give2Asia's Philanthropic Community Takes Action in Response to Consecutive Asian Disasters

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Give2Asia, a U.S. public charity which empowers donors and local Asia-based charitable groups, is partnering with corporations, foundations and individuals to help on-the-ground organizations respond to recent disasters in Taiwan, Southeast Asia and India.

Since August, Give2Asia’s donors have supported disaster relief projects across Asia in response to typhoons in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, massive flooding in South India, and successive earthquakes in Western Sumatra in Indonesia. Donors have given over US$400,000 for disaster relief since August. Contributions to support disaster relief projects can be made online at www.give2asia.org/relief.

Philippines Typhoon Disaster Relief Call Recap

On the morning of October 19, Give2Asia hosted a conference call on disaster response in the Philippines. Thanks to everyone who attended. In this call, we featured Dr. Steven Rood of The Asia Foundation and Gillian Yeoh of Give2Asia, each discussing immediate relief and long-term recovery needs following the tragic Typhoon Ketsana and Parma.

Some key points we shared on the call as advice to donors included:

- Providing financial support versus in-kind donations. This helps to support the local economy by allowing NGOs to purchase needed supplies from local vendors, and which also provides the most cost-effective way to deliver the right supplies to the right people.

- Supporting groups that involve local communities in the relief effort. Empowering local communities is part of the recovery process, and often these groups and people know the best way to provide relief.

- Considering longer-term recovery needs. In addition to providing immediate relief support, consider the longer-term needs of the affected communities, which will be struggling long past the initial response and media coverage.

In case you were not able to attend, we have posted both the written transcript and audio recordings for the call. Please visit here to catch up on all the information that was shared.

Also, if you have additional questions, please contact Gillian Yeoh at gyeoh@give2asia.org or call 415.743.3371.