[38th Edition] page 2

 
Doan Phung (3rd from left) with (L-R) T hao Griffiths of Vietnam Veterans of American Foundation, Binh Rybacki of Children of Peace International, Prof. Le Khoa of Pacific Links Foundation, Quyen Vuong of International Children Assistance Network, Dee Dee Nguyen of Changemakers.

VIETNAMESE-AMERICAN NGOS STEPPING ON WORLD STAGE AT THE APPC CONFERENCE
Quyen Vuong wrote back to the VA NGO members from the USA, July 4, 2008

(condensed for the APPC Post, with permission)

I am writing to share with you my impressions of the APPC Conference which I and some individual members of VA NGO Network had the chance to attend, May 21 to 23 in Hanoi.

The APPC conference was truly a world stage with about 120 professionals, experts, academia, foundations, government agencies from 15 or more countries coming to attend. I felt quite honored to be among these folks. The discussion was on Diaspora philanthropy and how to promote it. It was quite intellectually challenging to be thinking about our work in a much broader context involving communities, generations, trends, policies, etc.

I stood up and shared one issue that has been a big concern for me and many of you out there: “How do we get our children to be interested in helping Vietnam as much as we are doing now?”

My involvement with Vietnam was developed during my first 16 years growing up in there; but my children won’t have that kind of emotional connection. To them, helping Ethiopia carries just about the same interest as helping Vietnam. This issue struck a chord in quite a few people who shared their thoughts afterwards.

We also had a chance to contribute to the current model of diaspora giving [in Vietnam] which only takes into account the following components: the overseas Vietnamese [as givers], intermediaries (Asia Foundation, Give2Asia etc.), and the Vietnamese government. In advocating for community-based NGOs to be part of the giving model, I pointed out that VA NGOs should be seen as how the Vietnamese diaspora community has organized itself to become more effective and efficient. VA NGOs are not separate entities from the community; they are part of the community. In fact, VA NGO is the philanthropic arm of the community.

VA NGOs may never become big like Asia Foundation, Give2Asia or other intermediaries, but we play a critical role in promoting diaspora philanthropy…we are the actual venues, the cradles that nurture and facilitate the desire to give among current generations. We help pass on the passion for giving, and the love for Vietnam to future generations.

I’d like to thank Diep Vuong for her efforts in helping to organize the APPC conference in Hanoi, as this conference gave the Vietnamese Diaspora much more visibility on the world stage – and this visibility was extended to VA NGOs. If Diep was the one who set the stage for VA NGO Network to be known in a much wider circle, then chu Doan Phung and co Thu Le were the ones who made the debut of Vietnamese Americans and VA NGOs on this world stage such a grand debut – with a matching gift of $3 million for VA NGOs.

All in all, it was a great learning opportunity. I thank all of us for the heart and soul, the sweat and tears that we have put into this big dream of helping our country of origin thrive and helping our children and grandchildren generations become better, stronger, happier, and more complete human beings.

And now… back to the US, the land we’ve come to call our home: Happy July 4th and THANK YOU America!

Quyen Vuong

• Asian American Giving featured the conference and in particular the Vietnam Country Paper
• Asian Philanthropy Forum, a new blog, is managed by the managers of Asian American Giving. Dien Yuen, one of founders of both blogs, is also Director of Philanthropy at Give2Asia.
• In “The new Official Diaspora Assistance builds Nations of the Future,” Jeremaiah Opiniano shares his views about what transpired in the APPC conference in the Business Mirror newspaper.

LEADERSHIP TRANSITION IN APPC

In late June, APPC Chair Darwin Chen announced with deep regret the resignation of Chief Executive, Rory Tolentino by August 1, 2008. (Download a copy of the announcement.) Rory has family commitments that require that she relocate to the United States soon. Rory co-founded APPC in 1994 and served as its Chair before she became Chief Executive in mid-2002. She has made APPC much more widely known in the philanthropy world, facilitating the wide sharing of critical information about philanthropy in Asia. While the Board searches for Rory’s successor, two Board members will lead the Secretariat --Mr. Bobby Calingo (Team Energy Foundation) for the financial operations and Ms. Priya Viswanath (Charities Aid Foundation India) for the operational issues. APPC continues to be totally committed to the hosting of the Worldwide Initiative for Grantmaker Support (WINGS) in the Manila office.

2ND FAMILY PHILANTHROPY WORKSHOP MOVED 

The APPC Workshop on Engaging Successor Generations will push through in Cranlana, Melbourne, Australia on September 14 – 18, 2008 as hosted by the Myer Foundation. The Workshop will be facilitated by Stephanie Yang of SYD Consulting. For interested participants, please email workshop@asiapacificphilanthropy.org

Here’s a quick link to the APPC website, www.asiapacificphilanthropy.org … through http://asianphilanthropy.org. Check out the Diaspora Philanthropy conference materials now!

July 16 – 18, 2008 - “CSR is Everyone’s Business” Conference 2008 will be staged by the League of Corporate Foundations in Makati City, Philippines. Key speakers will include Dr. Bradley Googins of the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship. For details, visit www.lcf.org.ph.

September 12, 2008 – Deadline for submission of nominees for innovative CSR projects in the areas of: Best Workplace Practices, Concern for Health, Environmental Excellence, Poverty Alleviation, and Support and Improvement of Education. The Asian Forum on CSR Awards are presented annually by the Asian Institute of Management with partners. Intel partners with AIM this year. Submit entries online at www.asianforumcsr.com.

October 27-30, 2008 - The 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) will be held in Manila, Philippines. The meetings will include The Civil Society Days (October 27-28) and the Government Meeting (October 29-30). Convenors are, for civil society, the Ayala Foundation with the assistance of the Philippine Organizing Committee, International Advisory Committee, and the Experts Group. For the government, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. More details at http://www.gfmd2008.org/

Launched July 1! - The United Nations Development Program’s Growing Inclusive Markets (GIM) program launch is now officially underway. Creating Value for All: Strategies for Doing Business with the Poor is the program’s first case book. “About 50 studies by researchers predominantly from developing countries demonstrate the successful pursuit of both revenues and social impact by local and international small- and medium-sized companies, as well as multinational corporations.” It is now available for download at http://www.undp.org/gimlaunch/

 
"INDIVIDUAL GIVING...MAKING IT COUNT" IS THE SPECIAL FOCUS OF ALLIANCE MAGAZINE, JUNE 2008

In this issue, guest editors Rory Tolentino, Peggy Dulany and Adele Simmons provided their views about the potentials of individual giving.

With Asia in focus, Rory Tolentino wrote that “overall individual giving is as rich and interesting …the stories of the individual philanthropists and the innovativeness of their philanthropy, shaped by their vision and their values; their view of what needs doing and how they want to respond to those needs.

“How philanthropists are engaged, and the openness with which they view learning from others, are important issues for the Global South, including Asia. Where some philanthropists are under the radar, networks that can identify them and help to engage them are becoming potent tools for offering help and assistance. All in all, the approaches to engaging philanthropists in these contexts have to be improved dramatically.” (Read more at http://www.alliancemagazine.org/free/)

The issue of Alliance also features “Effective strategies for making a difference” for individual givers (by Adele Simmons and Peggy Dulany) and “China Dispatches” about the country’s philanthropic climate (by Olga Alexeeva).

LAUNCHED BY PCNC: GUIDEBOOK ON THE BASICS OF NGO GOVERNANCE

To introduce the basics of NGO operations to small and newly formed NGOs, PCNC has produced a “small book” that’s big on fundamentals of NGO governance. Launched last June 30 in Makati City, the guidebook cites the basic principles that NGOs should practice. Tools are provided from a list of online selections. The APPC’s “Accounting Guide for NonProfits 2006” was a main reference used by PCNC in the guidebook. (Access the Guidebook at www.pcnc.org.ph)

NEWS FROM THE WORLDWIDE INITIATIVES FOR GRANTMAKER SUPPORT

• WINGS facilitates learning on collaboration for a common social development agenda

WINGS and the Banking Association of South Africa have organized a learning exchange with the Philippines’ League of Corporate Foundations this July 14-18 in Makati City. The activity is in line with the Association’s broad role to "establish and maintain the best possible platform on which banks can do progressive, responsible, competitive, profitable and sustainable banking" within the context of the transformation challenges in South Africa. The Association’s Corporate Social Investment Committee is represented in the learning exchange by Fikile Kuhlase, General Manager, Transformation, The Banking Association South Africa; Reabetsoe Motsepe, CEO, Nedbank Foundation; and Zanele Mvelase, Head, Group Corporate Affairs, African Bank. (For more information, contact gina@wingsweb.org)