An Asian

Philanthropist's
Journal

22 October 2014

Mvenpick Heritage Hotel, Sentosa

Just had a meaningful retreat to discuss the need for setting up an Asia
Foundation Centre. We first discussed this idea with our friends at the China
Foundation Center, Cheng Gang and Tao Ze, a year ago, as they lamented how
Asia lacked a body for foundations to coordinate and share knowledge across
the region, unlike the US and Europe. Cheng Gang and Tao Ze were here for
the Philanthropy in Asia Summit. Laurence Lien, Cherie Nursalim, Tan Bee
Wan and Mathias Terheggen also joined us forthis retreat.
After a day of intense discussions, we are convinced by our
common experience in the field work and with philanthropists
and foundations in the region, that there is need for a platform for the
principals to come together, to exchange, coordinate and collaborate, and
to shape an Asia centric brand of philanthropy. Currently, a unified voice is
missing and that voice should be that of private donors. The more I thought
about this, the more convinced I am of its purpose andpotential impact.

> As an active participant

working throughout Asia, I
see much fragmentation and
inefficiencies from donors
reinventing the wheel and
making the same mistakes.

> Foundations were too diverse

a group and there is a need
to gather the principals and
key decision makers together,
to encourage them to be
changeagents.

We settled on the name, Asia Philanthropy

Circle. Laurence said that we should travel
around Asia to sound out prospective members. Itold
him that the only way to test the idea was to plunge
into it and set it up. He reflected and agreed to lead the
effort. It is a big ask and I am heartened by his willingness,
commitment and conviction to carry this burden so that more
effective and impactful work can be done; leading to more
meaningful experiences of giving, and most importantly, more
peoplebeinghelped.
There is so much to do to get this off the ground but it is about
time for us to understand and define Asian philanthropy: not just
with our unique assets, networks and know-how, but also with
the differences in our motivations, context and culture.

LOOKING FORWARD TO A BETTER ASIA

THROUGHPHILANTHROPY!
It is time that we take greater accountability
and provide the leadership needed in the area of
Giving in Asia, our home.

Stanley
Singapore

18 May 2016 | Malaysia

Had a long day today but was
excited to have met some
interesting people introduced by
Laurence from APC. He brought
Azad Oommen and Sameer Sampat,
representing the Global School
Leaders (GSL), to my office.
Azad and Sameer are bringing
a successful school leadership
programme in India to SoutheastAsiaand Africa.
What got me going is the potential such an
intervention would have in improving the quality
of education. Leadership is key in running any
organisation, including government and non-profit
ones. In the case of school leadership development,
it would be easier to work with the private schools.
However, to bring impact to scale, it is critical to
reach out to the principals
of those in the 10,000
government schools. What
so many people fail to realise is the importance of
working with the government if they want to create
real change in peoples lives.

EDUCATION

That was actually why I and several other

corporate foundations co-founded MCII
(Malaysian Collective Impact Initiative), to
work collectively on improving outcomes
in local schools, with the support of the
MalaysianMinistryofEducation.

APC is helping to enhance our work, and to create

the opportunity to connect and learn from the
global and regional community. Through them, we
can convene not just the philanthropists, but also
the subject matter experts from across Asia; and
together, we have more power to advocate for
systems change. Finding like-minded people beyond
the small circle here has been so helpful to grow
and learn. Its strange how
some people think that
philanthropy doesnt require
constant learning when we are trying to improve
lives, communities and societies!

Leadership

Perhaps MCII will work together with GSL to

roll out this training programme? After all, this is
about leveraging on our resources and networks,
which are all the more pertinent in solving complex
socialproblems!

Kathleen

What we are doing

58 %

9:41 AM

SingTel

APC has started nine joint projects amongst our members

within the first year and the interest is still growing! Some
of these are in-country collaborations, whilst others are
cross-border projects, or even replications of models across
differentcountries.

Peggy
To da y

14 :2 1

e our
all I invit eeting in
nce, sh
Hi Laure m YPO to the m
fro
friends
eek?
ai next w
Shangh
D el iv er

A Collaborative
Community
Development Effort
in a Low-Cost Public
HousingCommunity

people
ee more
reat to s hilanthropy!
G
!
re
u
S
p
rested in
are inte

ed

nd
an expa
lly we c
Hopefu
=)
re
e
h
the circle

soon!
See you

:3 1
R ea d 14

e
iMessag

q w e

a s d

y u
g h

o p
k

b n m
v
c
z x
return

123

aceessage
spiM

INDONESIA

Our Indonesian members are coming

together to combine their resources
and expertise in different fields
in the community building of a
rusunawa in Jakarta. Working with
GK (Gerakan Kepedulian) Indonesia,
the project aims to work on a
holistic level on the different issues
affecting the communities living in
such areas: education, healthcare,
infrastructure, community-building
and livelihoods. The hope is that
this project will eventually become a
demonstration project for community
building in otherrusunawas.

What we are doing

Mapping of
Philanthropic
Education Initiatives

SchoolLeadership
Development
Philanthropy in education is popular
across Asia but funds mostly
flow into physical infrastructure
and scholarships, and not into
education software. In particular,
APC believes that we have to
address the capability of the top
level of school management as
this is a critical factor for the
success of any school. APCs pilot
programme to train school leaders/
principals is working with the India
School Leadership Institute (ISLI)
and Global School Leaders, the
international platform for school
leadership development programmes
that are deliveredlocally.

AL
MALAYSIA | REGION

REGIONAL

Talent Development
in the Philanthropy
Sector
The lack of human capital in
the social sector continues to
be a huge problem across Asia,
especially at the middle and senior
levels. This limits philanthropists
work in building a high-impact
organisation. APC is working
with a leading global search
firm to undertake a study on
how the leadership deficit in the
philanthropy sector can be better
addressed on a regionalbasis.

Whilst many funders and

organisations are involved in the area
of education, there is a lack of a
clear landscape mapping of whos
doing what, with indications of the
key players and the impact of their
work. This is especially pertinent
since the education category spans
a broad spectrum, from early
childhood education, to sponsorships
of graduate education, funding for
cutting edge research, building of
infrastructure and many more. With
proper identification, our members
will then be able to address the
gaps and opportunities, especially
for collaboration and also to avoid
duplication of effort.

INDONESIA

MALAYSIA

Special Needs
Education
This is a new project that has
emerged from our Malaysian
members, who hope to bring in
effective models within our network
that would be able to address
this in an impactful way. APC
has been engaging experts in the
field in Malaysia to understand
the landscape there, and has
been engaging regional sector
experts who specialise on early
identification andintervention.

What we are doinG

Preventing
Radicalism

Addressing rising extremism amongst

youths was a key challenge brought
up by our Filipino members. This
is an issue that we quickly realise
needs addressing in many other
Southeast Asian countries too. We
will be looking to start something
small by partnering with NGOs
working on existing programmes with
children and youths in Mindanao
and looking to tap into role models
and to convene meaningful dialogues
on the issue. Our key belief for
this project is to tackle this with
the local communities upstream
before it even becomes a security
challengedownstream.

ESIA
PHILIPPINES/INDON

Cross-Border
Giving Guide

SINGAPORE

A Pilot Assisted
LivingFacility
Accommodation and service
options for the senior population in
Singapore is currently limited and
nursing homes do not cater for
seniors with low dependency needs
and desire high autonomy and
purposeful living. The Assisted Living
Facility (ALF) pilot aims to provide
a demonstration model, offering a
more community-centric model that
engages with the residents. APC
is collaborating with a non-profit
organisation to build this first
purpose-built facilityinSingapore.

In some regional countries,

particularly in Singapore and
Hong Kong, many philanthropists
give outside the country. However,
regulatory red tape and operational
challenges can be substantial.
Hence, the APC is working on a
Cross-Border Giving Guide that
can be helpful for philanthropists
giving overseas. APC is finalizing
a suitable research partner for the
project. For a start, the guide will
likely cover Singapore, Malaysia,
Indonesia, the Philippines and China.

SINGAPORE/RE

GIONAL

REGIONAL

ASEAN
Philanthropy
Dialogue
ASEAN Philanthropy Dialogue is
a platform that aims to bring APC
members together with regional
government leaders to discuss joint
efforts to work on social issues
together. This is a good opportunity
for members to learn what ASEAN
public sector priorities are, and
to state their case on the role of
philanthropy being a problemsolver for key social challenges.

17

AUGUST, 2016
WEDNESDAY

AUGUST

SUMMARY:

Today started early with a morning meeting organised by APC at the Singapore
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) with Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the foreign
minister. One benefit of APC is their convening power: we were with the MFA
ASEAN team and other APC members from Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia
on setting up a dialogue between ASEAN political leaders and APC members on
growing philanthropyinASEAN.
I had another surprise take-away when I met fellow APC member Cherie from
Indonesia. Laurence asked me to share about the Zuellig Family Foundations
Community Health Partnership Program which incorporates leadership and
management training on health for Filipino mayors. Cherie expressed great
interest in the programme and wanted to explore bringing it to Indonesia! With
family business interest in Indonesia, I have always been interested in doing
something there. But I suppose that it is the power of having a group like this
that makes the possibilities concreteandimmediate.
The programme started in the Philippines borne out of a need to let bureaucrats
and government leaders understand more about the health sector with
professional training customised for them.

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

25

26

27

28

22

23

24

29

30

31

Often times, government officials lack the technical and industry knowledge
that will shape more effective policies.

Since inception, we have trained

over 200 mayors out of the 600
municipalities. Thats one-third!
That is why we strongly believe that our philanthropy should not only involve
programme implementation, but also invest in capability building and
advocacy. It is important to raise awareness about issues to the authorities
and also to other stakeholders and the public. Where social and other problems
persist, they usually need changes in mind-sets and behaviour. Thatis
sometimes the hardest!
I think I have found a like-minded group here with APC and by working
together, we can do much more in changing entrenched problems, habits
andperceived norms!

David

17 August 2016, Philippines

Indonesia 8

August 2015
S

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30

April 2016

March 2016
T

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30

December 2015

November 2015

July 2015

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31

May 2016

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31

January 2016

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31

September 2015
T

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30

June 2016

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30

February 2016

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29

October 2015
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31

APC has organised following events for

our members to gather and deep-dive
into difficult topic.

Philippines 3

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31

Events & Roundtables

Singapore 8

Malaysia 3

China 2

venn2015
APC Roundtable
APC GSL Visit to KL

Today, APC
has 24 mem
bers,
who are phil
anthropists
from Singap
ore
the Philippin , Indonesia,
es, Malaysia
and China.
Membership
is
by invitatio
n and mem
ber
suggestion o
nly.

11th September 2015

NEXT STEPS

Friday

* Adoption of a school
leadership programme
* Research: talent
development for the
philanthropy sector

NOTES

* Organising 18
APCRoundtables

Lien Villa, Singapore

We just finished APCs first
annual summit, venn2015. Feeling
a mixture of elation that the
feedback was so positive, and
relief that the risks paidoff!
When we first set out to plan venn,
we wanted it to be different. I have
attended so many philanthropy
events, and while many were fancy
and even inspiring, few were
personal, and even fewer resulted
in concrete actions after.
It was important that venn did
succeed in being intimate and
in-depth. It s rare to be able
to create a safe space where
philanthropists can indulge in
a true peer to peer dialogue,
sharing and comparing experiences,
connecting on common areas of
interest, and giving advice to
each other as equals. What was
particularly unique were mandalas
individually created to illustrate
each members philanthropy
and motivations, through the
interpretation of individual
volunteer artists. Participants
certainly saw one another, and
themselves, in a differentlight!
For APC, the success of great

convening is not just

satisfied souls, but also
a renewed urgency to
act, and commitments
to collaborate to
achievemore.
It was wonderful then
that venn2015 saw
the adoption of a
school leadership
programme that
will leverage on best
practices in the field,
with the possibility of replicating
an existing programme and
an agreement to research into
talent development for the
philanthropysector.
Bringing a group of progressive
people together can result in
unexpected and amazing results.
Whenever we convene in-country
roundtables, we uncover new
issues to address, as well as
harness untapped resources
amongst our members. People
connect, ideas germinate, and
projects launch. Sounds easy,
but it s not, and joint action
therefore has become one of
APCs key raison d etre.

We can start quickly on possible

interventions because our
members are key decision makers
and collaborative in mind-set,
and are aligned in growing the
role of philanthropy.
This coming year, we are
organising 18 roundtables and
many other activities. I am eagerly
looking forward to engaging our
members and their friends during
these trips, and also more crossborder interactions to effect
morechange!
LAURENCE

Vice Chairman
GITI Group

CEO, Global Yellow Pages Singapore

Director and Founder,
Global Media Holdings

Co-Founder and CEO,

Asia Philanthropy Circle
Chairman, Lien Foundation

Laurence Lien

Christine Chaw
Executive Assistant

Stacey Choe
Director

Our Team

For full bios, please visit

AsiaPhilanthropyCircle.org

We would like to acknowledge

Mathias Terheggen who was
our very capable COO from
inception till 30 Jun 2016!

Laurence Lien
CEO

Berlinda Gooi
Deputy Director

Tan Bee Wan, Mathias Terheggen, Cheng Gang, Tao Ze, Cecilia Chua, Pauline
Tan, Lee Ee Teng, Winnie Liu, Amber Durrant, Kwan Jinyao, Ng Xujie, Natalie
Soh, Prasatt Arumugam, JovinLoh, Mira Cole-Wijaya and Goh Hwee Leng

APC would like to thank all those who have so generously given their time,
energy and expertise to support and grow our idea:

Cherie Nursalim

Stanley Tan, Chairman

We have a team of experienced board members who

provide strategic oversight and directionforAPC.

Board Members

For full bios, please visit

AsiaPhilanthropyCircle.org

Financial Highlights

Asia Philanthropy Circle Ltd. (APC) is a company limited by guarantee.

The company was incorporated on 10 Jul 2015 and was registered in
Singapore as a charity (UEN201528607M) on 29 Sep 2015.

Statement of comprehensive income for the financial period

from 10 Jul 2015 (date of incorporation) to 30 Jun 2016

Statement of financial position as at 30 Jun 2016

10 Jul 2015
to 30 Jun 2016

in SGD
INCOME
Donations Non-tax exempt

523,387

Grants

57,860

Membership contributions

73,707

Others

151
TOTAL INCOME

655,105

in SGD

2016

ASSETS
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents

534,198

Other receivables

3,473
537,671

Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment

LESS: EXPENDITURE

4,397
TOTAL ASSETS

Staff Costs

(277,871)

LIABILITIES

Direct Programme Costs

(68,894)

Current liabilities

Outreach & Advocacy

(44,928)

Trade and other payables

Other Administration & Governance Costs

(68,123)

TOTAL EXPENDITURE

(459,816)

NET INCOME FOR THE PERIOD

195,289

The complete audited financial statements are available on request.

542,068

346,779
NET ASSETS

195,289

FUNDS
Unrestricted Fund

(35,817)

Restricted Fund

231,106

1-7

This week

Follow-up with Laurence

August 2016
Day

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

M
1
8
15
22
29

T
2
9
16
23
30

August

W
3
10
17
24
31

T
4
11
18
25

F
5
12
19
26

S
6
13
20
27

S
7
14
21
28

5
12
19
26

6
13
20
27

September
W

7
14
21
28

T
1
8
15
22
29

F
2
9
16
23
30

S
3
10
17
24

S
4
11
18
25

Description

5th August 2016, Indonesia

Spoke to Laurence on the phone today on what was raised at
the APC Indonesia Roundtable two days ago. APC is looking
at establishing an Indonesian APCChapter. The vision for
APC has always been to build a movement - for strategic
and collaborative philanthropy, and for philanthropists tobe
changeagents.
In order to do so, members must be the voice of APC and drive
the local agenda. It is timely for Indonesia, which already
has eight APC members, to set up an in-country chapter with
in-countrystaff.
I told him that I fully support this initiative. The benefits
make sense. Members would take more ownership and make
APC truly member-led. An on-ground staff would help drive
activities more responsively. It is great that Indonesia is picked
as the country to pilot this. Once we get this right, it can be
the model for other countries!

Thinking back on why I joined

APC, I think APC members bring
unique strengths and perspectives
to create shared value and grow impact
together. Although I already know many of the Indonesian
APC members personally, we seldom talk about our
philanthropy, let alone act together. I am so glad that when
I floated the idea of jointly working on a community building
project at a rusunawa in Jakarta, there was an enthusiastic
response from the other members, and now we are working at
RusunawaPinosElok.
Other projects in Indonesia include mapping the education
sector, developing a school leadership development programme,
and exploring regulatory change in the philanthropy sector.
Most of the work is still starting up, but I believe the potential
is great. I also look forward to learning from non-Indonesian
members and welcoming them to the Annual Summit in
Jakarta this November!
ARIF

1-7

August 2016

With the calibre and dedication of our members,

our network and our combined resources, the
ASEAN Philanthropy Dialogue will serve as the
much needed voice to set real changes in
motion at a high level. Direct engagement with
governments at this level should contribute
significantly in making headways, especially in our
common efforts to grow the impact of our
programmes, influence policies, change mindsets,
and get regionalcollaboration.
All these would not be possible if each of us
were to approach it alone. I am really glad that
Laurence and Stanley kicked this off and are
leadingtheeffort.

20th
July
2016

I am delighted to receive an email from APC

today about organising an ASEAN dialogue
for government leaders and our members. I
instinctively thought about how this would be a
great opportunity to tack on the UN SDGs on the
ASEAN agenda. As the representative for UN global
initiative SDSN in Southeast Asia promoting the UN
Sustainable Development Goals, I continue to look
at partner projects that are aligned and ponder to
advocate the sharing of the same language among
leaders. A common language improves organisations
across countries and sectors, set by different
measurements and indicators, to engage and create
a difference together for the common goal.

It redefines the purpose of why we,

as some of the most progressive
philanthropists in Asia, come together!
The initiative injects a new kind of energy, one that
encourages us all to raise our bars. No longer is it
about individual projects and efforts. What is more
significant and unique in our coming together lies in
the combined creative power of such a platform.
There will be much to do leading up to that!

Cherie

Indonesia

APCS PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR

Learning Journey to Yunnan, China

Work group meetings for ASEAN
PolicyDialogue
Workshop on revisiting your philanthropy
More regional roundtables!
More APC projects or to work more
in-depth for each?
Increase advocacy in region on strategic
and collaborative philanthropy
Expand membership in other countries:
Thailand, Vietnam
venn2017 annual meeting back
inSingapore!