This in-depth Bloomberg explainer on the how and why of establishing a family office highlights how philanthropy and a sense of shared purpose are often the critical glue that keeps families talking and working together. This was a key finding from our report, “Family Philanthropy in Asia: Insights from Five Families,” where we highlighted the compelling stories of the Harilela (Hong Kong) and Tanoto (Indonesia/ Singapore) families who were also interviewed for this piece.

Another important reason for single-family offices to consider philanthropy? Legacy.

As CAPS CEO & Co-Founder Dr Ruth Shapiro said in the article, “Philanthropy can help establish that you care about the world, that you’re compassionate, and help you build that legacy as a person. What do you want to be remembered for?”

Read the article here.

Maternal and child health (MCH) is critical to global health, poverty alleviation, and economic development. Yet across Asia, the impressive gains made over the past two decades in reducing maternal and child mortality are now at risk. The withdrawal of foreign assistance—such as from the United States, historically a major supporter of MCH in Asia—raises concerns about sustaining this progress in the region. 

In response to these shifts in international development funding, this report from the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS) examines how domestic philanthropy in China, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines has contributed to MCH.  

It shows how domestic philanthropy has brought unique resources and know-how to the table alongside critical capital, highlighting areas where it has already made an impact: strengthening the capacity of health workers, supporting the local implementation of national policies, improving access to services in remote and underserved regions, and aligning with national nutrition programs for mothers and children. 

Asian philanthropy has demonstrated its potential to support MCH. This report explores how those contributions can be built upon to ensure that hard-won progress is not lost. 

The family unit serves as a cornerstone of many Asian cultures, influencing how business and philanthropy are conducted. In recent years, there has also been a notable rise in family offices and foundations in the region dedicated to doing good. This report delves into the motivations and strategies of five prominent Asian families, showcasing their unique journeys toward societal impact.  

This report profiles the Chaudhary family (Nepal), the Harilela family (Hong Kong ), the Li family (China), the Lo family (Hong Kong), and the Tanoto family (Indonesia/Singapore). While the stories of these five philanthropic families alone cannot capture broader regional trends, a detailed examination of what motivates their collective giving and how their approaches have evolved offers unique insights into family philanthropy in the region. Indeed, each family we studied has its own distinct way of giving back, but our study has also identified six common characteristics:  

1. Family philanthropy comes in many forms: These families showcase different vehicles of giving—whether it be through corporation foundations, family foundations, hybrid models or charitable initiatives focused on specific causes—and have a mix of approaches to craft philanthropic strategies that align with their work styles and social goals.  
2. Family philanthropy is primarily community-focused: Philanthropy is seen as a way to give back to the communities where these families have built their businesses, wealth and networks.  
3. Family philanthropy is professionalizing: These families reflect a trend toward institutionalizing philanthropy, especially with the involvement of newer generations. This is demonstrated through the creation of foundations and the hiring of professional staff or external advisors to assess community needs, structure and manage programs and initiatives, and evaluate impact – with the family steering the overall direction and vision. 
4. Family philanthropy is reinforced—and inspired—by the family business: These families use their business expertise to enhance their philanthropic efforts or leverage their business infrastructure to implement projects directly. 
5. Family philanthropy is creating ties across generations and borders: Through their philanthropy endeavors, the families create a multi-generational legacy while forging tighter bonds in their shared decision-making, community and joy. 
6. Family philanthropy is sustaining core values over time: For these families, philanthropy is a lasting channel to reinforce core family values across generations. 

家族是诸多亚洲文化的基石，深刻影响着商业与慈善事业的运作方式。近年来，亚洲地区致力于慈善事业的家族办公室和基金会数量显著增长。本报告深入剖析了亚洲五大家族开展慈善事业的核心驱动力与策略，展现了他们各自创造社会影响力的独特历程。  

本报告涵盖了乔杜里家族（尼泊尔）、夏利里拉家族（香港）、李东生家族（中国内地）、罗氏家族（香港）以及陈江和家族（印度尼西亚/新加坡）。虽然五个家族的慈善事迹不能完全代表亚洲整体趋势，但深入剖析其各自慈善捐赠动机及方法的演变，为理解亚洲地区家族慈善事业提供了独特视角。我们研究的每个家族都有自己独特的慈善理念和方式，但也拥有一些共同特征： 

1. 家族慈善呈现多元形态：这些家族通过企业基金会、家族基金会、混合模式或针对特定议题的公益项目等不同形式开展捐赠，并结合自身行事风格与社会目标，制定混合多元的慈善战略。 
2. 家族慈善以社区为本：慈善事业被视为一种回馈社会的方式——这些家族的商业版图、财富积累与人脉网络正是在当地社区逐步建立起来的。 
3. 家族慈善日益专业化：这些家族均展现出慈善事业规范化的趋势，尤其在新一代家族成员的日益参与下。具体体现在设立基金会，聘请专业团队或外部顾问来评估社会需求、规划管理项目、评估项目影响等。在此过程中，家族自身会主导整体发展方向与愿景蓝图。 
4. 家族企业赋能并驱动家族慈善：这些家族运用其商业专长提升慈善效能，或依托企业营运的基础设施直接落地公益项目。 
5. 家族慈善正在跨越世代与地域建立纽带：这些家族通过慈善事业创造了代际传承，更在共同决策、社会联结与价值共鸣中建立了更紧密的家族纽带。 
6. 家族慈善维系家族核心价值观：对这些家族而言，慈善事业是跨越代际强化家族核心价值观的恒久载体。 

This report, commissioned by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council Malaysia (ASEAN-BAC Malaysia) and conducted by the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS), offers the first comprehensive look at Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) across Southeast Asia. It highlights the private sector’s crucial role in addressing major regional challenges like improving livelihoods, access to education and healthcare, and tackling climate change.

With international financial aid to Southeast Asia decreasing and governments facing budget limits, this study was initiated to understand and boost private sector contributions to societal needs. While businesses in the region have a long history of supporting communities, and their investment is vital for development, CSR’s full potential is hampered by unclear definitions, limited regulations, and underused support systems.

To improve the impact of CSR, the report calls for coordinated action from ASEAN as an organisation, national governments, individual companies, and business groups.

Key recommendations include:

• Standardising CSR definitions and reporting across ASEAN.
• Introducing stronger policies and incentives, such as broadening tax benefits for corporate giving and promoting government-endorsed CSR awards.
• Increasing and strategically deploying CSR funds, moving beyond just education and healthcare to address critical issues like environmental protection.
• Encouraging more cross-border giving and regional collaboration.
• Clarifying how CSR fits within sustainability (ESG) frameworks for listed companies, ensuring community investment is explicitly included.

Ultimately, by improving and expanding CSR, ASEAN can not only deepen its commitment to community development but also become a leader for other Global South nations, enhancing its social and economic resilience.

Our DECODED series unpacks, explains, and crystallizes issues critical for social investment in Asia. It draws upon our expertise in research and access to an extensive network of sector experts and philanthropists in 18 Asian economies, enabling us to identify emerging trends in the region. Through DECODED, we translate these concepts into digestible insights.  

This edition of DECODED looks at the unique landscape of collaborative giving in Asia. In recent years, the global call for more collaboration to tackle significant societal challenges has grown louder. There is strong recognition that collaboration is critical in driving meaningful change at scale, and private sources of wealth have become an increasingly important source of capital that can be mobilized swiftly. However, the discourse around collaborative giving has been dominated by models and approaches emanating from the West, often neglecting the contributions of similar efforts in Asia. This oversight ignores the characteristics and nuances that distinguish Asian philanthropy. In Asia, we find that while interest in collaboration is high, actual attempts to create these mechanisms are more limited. Despite this, given the enormity of our shared challenges, we need to find ways to carry out more collaborative efforts. 

Despite the rapid digitisation of the Asian social sector, social delivery organisations (SDOs) are struggling to keep up with technological changes because of inadequate access to digital infrastructure, lack of capacity and insufficient donor support, according to the Doing Good Index 2024. As technology continues to advance, a new type of digital divide is emerging that hampers the ability of the social sector to deliver products and services to the most vulnerable communities, said the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS), which created the index.

Read the full article here.

The 2024 Doing Good Index (DGI) report, recently launched by the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS), reveals that Indonesia’s policies related to philanthropic activities and social initiatives have been stagnant and even barely able to encourage the progress of these activities in the last six years. This lack of policy change and improvement is reflected in the DGI 2024 Report, released on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, which shows that Indonesia is ‘doing okay’.

Read the full article here.

The Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society(CAPS),a uniquely Asia, independent, action-oriented research and advisory organization, released the 2024 edition of its flagship study, the Doing Good Index. The study finds that despite the rapid digitalization of the Asian social sector, social delivery organizations (SDOs) are struggling to keep up with technological changes due to inadequate access to digital infrastructure, lack of capacity, and insufficient donor support. As technology continues to advance, a new type of digital divide is being created that hampers the ability of the social sector to deliver products and services to the most vulnerable communities.

Read the full article here.

The Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS), a uniquely Asia, independent, action-oriented research and advisory organization, released the 2024 edition of its flagship study, the Doing Good Index. The study finds that despite the rapid digitalization of the Asian social sector, social delivery organizations (SDOs) are struggling to keep up with technological changes due to inadequate access to digital infrastructure, lack of capacity, and insufficient donor support. As technology continues to advance, a new type of digital divide is being created that hampers the ability of the social sector to deliver products and services to the most vulnerable communities.

Read the full article here.

CAPS’ biannual Doing Good Index identifies the factors that drive or hinder the giving and receiving of private social investment to address social needs.

Now in its fourth iteration, the Doing Good Index 2024 looks at how the four components of the Index—regulations, tax and fiscal policy, ecosystem and procurement—have changed in the last two years. The findings are evidence-based, derived from original data from surveying 2,183 nonprofits and social enterprises and interviewing 140 experts across 17 Asian economies. This iteration of the report also includes a special thematic section on the impact of digital technology on Asia’s social sector.

Against the backdrop of the tumultuous Covid-19 years, the 2024 Index shows a continuation of the status quo with few major changes. However, the lack of change is not necessarily bad, as stability lays the groundwork for the social sector to thrive. The report also finds that Asia’s social sector is insufficiently prepared for the technological future, held back by inadequate access to digital infrastructure, capacity constraints and insufficient donor support.

The Index offers a blueprint of the policies and practices that can unleash private social capital and how the public, private and social sectors can work together to build a stronger and more equitable Asia.

Doing Good Index microsite

Our interactive microsite lets you explore and compare our Index data using visual and digestible graphics. The economy profile pages present a deep dive into each economy and provide a longitudinal overview of select data points. The data dashboard allows you to compare economies with each other, the Asian average and over time.

The Doing Good Index is published every two years. Read the inaugural edition from 2018, our 2020 edition, and our 2022 edition.