Boundless philanthropy: challenges and opportunities for cross-border giving

Relationship building is key to successful cross-border philanthropy, according to a major global funder.

Built on a foundation of trust and based on the knowledge of local communities, US-based funder Give2Asia is leading the way in cross-border giving.

By mobilising individuals, corporates and foundations, the organisation funds communities across the Asia-Pacific, achieving outcomes in line with the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Speaking to Pro Bono News ahead of the Philanthropy Australia National Conference where he was a keynote speaker, Give2Asia CEO Birger Stamperdahl said one of the key elements of Give2Asia’s model is that it has a local presence in all of the countries in which it makes grants.

“Especially in the Asia-Pacific region, that’s so crucial because you have different languages, different cultures… [and] different work cultures,” he said.

Building relationships with people and organisations on the ground is vital for successful grant provision.

“The relationships that you build for cross-border giving are probably the most important factor in whether or not the projects you fund are successful, and we’ve found that having local staff in the various countries in which we work is important, in terms of building relationships and in addition to the due diligence component,” Stamperdahl explained.

The organisation also makes every effort to stay away from the paternalistic, ‘white saviour’ style of aid, he added.

Give2Asia’s locally driven model and focus on private philanthropy helps it avoid falling into this trap.

“Our tagline as an organisation is ‘local knowledge counts’, and the programs that we fund are programs that are driven and derived from the local organisations that are leading the programs,” Stamperdahl said.

“So, yes, we work with international donors, and yes, those international donors have desires and wishes. But as a philosophy within our organisation, it’s super important to listen to what the local communities that you’re actually trying to serve are saying and listen to what they need.”

Navigating challenges

Despite ongoing geopolitical tensions, Stamperdahl said Give2Asia had seen no drop-off in donor interest.

Rather, a new generation of philanthropists is coming on board, characterised by a focus on creating solutions and sustainable systems that solve ongoing and future problems.

Increasing wealth in the Asia-Pacific region also presents an opportunity for the organisation to take advantage of.

A recent research paper published by Give2Asia revealed further opportunities for cross-border giving, provided challenges like relationship and trust-building can be managed.

The research revealed that Australia was among the countries most interested in engaging internationally with philanthropy, Stamperdahl said.

A history of support through turbulence

Since its founding in 2001, Give2Asia has delivered over US$465 million in grants to 2,500 local charities across more than 20 countries.

Give2Asia was founded during a time of global turbulence: September 11 rocked not just the geopolitical situation, but the philanthropy sector as well.

“The impact of 9/11 on philanthropy was quite significant in the US. There was a lot of concern about rules and regulations for funds flowing outside of the United States and making sure that they were being used appropriately. And so there was certainly a response by the philanthropic sector to make sure that we were protecting and properly managing funds that were flowing overseas to support rural communities especially, but impoverished communities globally,” explained Stamperdahl.

At the same time, the wealthy Asian diaspora in the United States signalled interest in giving back to the communities that they had come from, and the tech boom created a push to apply more business-oriented models to philanthropy, he added.

The move towards more personalised philanthropy and impact investing, driven by local communities and guided by partners overseas, and assisted by business-like strategies, helped create the environment in which Give2Asia was founded.

The Asia-Pacific region was chosen as a focus due to the scale of impact that could be achieved.

“You can’t have a global impact on any issue unless you focus on Asia, just based sheerly on the population that is centred within the region,” Stamperdahl explained.

“[Whether] you’re focused on global warming or climate change or you focus on education and poverty alleviation or any of the SDGs, you’re ignoring basically the majority of the planet if you don’t focus on Asia.”

Disaster need ramps up

Since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, Give2Asia has had a greater focus on disaster response, something that Stamperdahl said is likely to increase with the climate crisis.

“The challenge with climate change and with natural disasters is that they have an impact on poverty and livelihood. And the people who are going to be most impacted by those issues are the people that are living in some of the poorer communities,” he said.

“I think that there’s this crossover between climate change, disaster response and poverty alleviation that will continue to be an issue that we focus on and we hope to stay in front of it, or at least to continue to support communities as they address those issues.”