Financial Times

Assessing philanthropy in South Asia
These days worldwide there are moves to improve the organisation and distribution of money from fund-raising events to acts of philanthropy. Even though philanthropy has been around for many years, nowadays accountability and transparency have become important as people, both rich and poor, want to know where and how their money is spent.

And here in South Asia it's no different, where earlier last week the Colombo-based South Asia Women’s Fund at the request of the Charities and Foundation India (CAF) organised a brainstorming session to see what Sri Lanka had to offer when it came to setting up a South Asian regional grant-makers association, with an aim to strengthen and promote philanthropy in the region.

Invited were people involved in a variety of organisations that raise money for good causes to air their thoughts on a variety of topics. The phrase that was in was corporate social responsibility (CSR); also thrown into the ring was looking to be less dependent on international funding and working on a more local level.

The get-together did not aim to come to any conclusions that day but rather find out what those attending were looking for if such an association was to come into existence. Transparency and accountability were mentioned a lot due to people these days becoming more suspicious of fund-raising organisations and NGOs. And also in these times of seemingly more widespread natural disasters, the public would like to know which NGO or charity to give to due to their ever-increasing number, thus leading to the need for a central group to help ease the publics' mind.

One of the necessities was good networking so that each country knows what the other is doing — too many times have there been overlaps in particular needed items at the expense of others. This concern was followed by looking for tax incentives to encourage giving, something that regional governments aren't keen to do.

Also brought up was the need for a comprehensive profile to put the region on the international map. Training was needed, as well as awareness programmes, to ensure the staff working for the association was pointed in the right direction. The media was also needed on board to be part of the check-and-balance process.

There was a vital topic brought up over sustainability, to ensure that the leadership and members would go the distance with enthusiasm to ensure the movement was not a flash-in-the-pan. This led to participants asking what type of person was needed?

Other questions thrown into the pot were: Why was their a need for such an organisation? What are the needs? And what sort of organisation should it be? Should it be informal or have a board of directors?

Another reason for such an organisation was the need for foreign donors to know where money should be sent to ensure delivery and accountability. There was also a problem of listings, such as those philanthropists in the region, plus those needed phone numbers so it was simple to contact the right person in whatever country.

A valid point brought up was the potential problems working with governments, where good social association skills were needed. It was noted that there were society-friendly politicians out there; you just had to find them.
As for where the association should be based, it appears Sri Lanka was popular as the other South Asian countries had their respective problems, whereas India should be out as just about every NGO or charity has set up a regional shop there.

It was noted that post-tsunami, CSR has been taken more responsibly, but it is still not very sophisticated, and this is where the government can help: such as giving tax breaks to charitable donations. This was especially true for equipment brought in to the country but remains held by the customs department due to high import tax bills.

There was also the need to organise a better system from within, because once the tsunami relief programmes had done their job, there was need to continue charity work to benefit those whose plight was still an unhappy one.
Of course the ideas were all good and well, but there was still the need to find that person to lead the association and pay him or her to stay the course. There was also the need for premises, and three or four members of staff, plus communication costs, among others. A figure discussed was in the area of Rs 200,000 a year for the leader, with a total annual bill of around $100,000 for all the workings and staff.

On a more lighthearted note, there was no real love for the association’s name, but I'm sure one will be found, as will the official setting up of the organisation. The reason for the optimism — those attending; there was an air of group participation that was very positive.

Those participating at the meeting Amita Kapoor, CAF-India; Professor Savithri Goonesekere, Chairperson, South Asia Women’s Fund; Dr. Hiranthi Wijemanne, Executive Director, SAWF; Shirantini de Silva, Grants Administrator/Finance Manager, SAWF; Jayanthi Liyanage, Programme Officer, SAWF; Shirani Wiratunga, Project Assistant, SAWF; Suzanne Davey, UNICEF Colombo; Shiromi Masakorale, Hemas Holdings Trust; Carmeline Jayasuriya, John Keells Social Responsibility Foundation; John Thamber, NOC; Lekha Ratwatte, Hayleys Group Trust; Lilani Jayasuriya, Centre for Resource Mobilisation; Yasanthi Soysa, CFDC; Serena Fernando, MJF Foundation; and Gordon Glick, American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka.

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