There are very few short articles about giving circles in Asia in general or philanthropy publications. Here are a few selected examples.
Virtuous Circles: the growth of collective giving in Asia, by Rob John. Alliance, March 2014.
When America sneezes, Europe catches a cold, it was said of the 1929 Wall Street crash. In philanthropy, the US usually leads, Europe follows, and the rest of the world eventually catches up. In the case of giving circles, it looks like Asia may be catching the cold before Europe. Collective giving, well established in the US, is a growing phenomenon in Asia, from India to New Zealand, Singapore to Beijing, while we identified only a handful of giving circles in Europe.
BFM 89.9 Malaysia. A radio interview with Rob John on Malaysia's business and current affairs radio station.
The interview introduces the idea of a giving circle as an innovation Asian philanthropy and summarises research from NUS Business School, Singapore.
Giving to charity has never been a solitary activity in any culture. People have joined together to give for millennia. In Asia, clan associations, religious groups or just friends have enjoyed the benefits of giving as a group. But there appears to be a renaissance of collective giving with the advent of more organised, strategic and outcome-focused philanthropy. A study from NUS Business School, Singapore on the rise of giving circles in the region.
Today’s ‘next gen’ philanthropists in their 20s and
30s are steeped in family-giving traditions while also exposed to contemporary, western practices through education and travel abroad. In this case study from NUS Business School we see how a group of young Asians formed their own peer group to experiment with giving models and learn from each other.
Asian Giving Circles Come of Age, by Rob John. Alliance, March 2018.
Recent studies from the US, Europe and Asia have found a surge in the growth of giving circle membership. Not only that, our latest research from Asia supports those studies in suggesting that participation in a giving circle can help donors become more generous and strategic with their money and time, and positively change their attitude towards non-profits and philanthropy.