Conference Presentation, Panel
Bridging the Divide: The Rise of Philanthropy in Asia
- The Milken Institute anticipates that Singapore's location will facilitate the observation of tens of millions entering the middle class, with a prediction that private banking hub status will surpass Switzerland by 2015, fostering new wealth and philanthropy.
- Economic projections indicate Asia's gravitational pull will result in a middle-class population exceeding Europe's and an Asia-Pacific millionaire count surpassing North America, driven by a leadership change involving second and third generations occurring within the next five to ten years.
- A generational shift is expected as the millennial cohort (born 1980 to 2000) naturally gravitates toward impact investing, potentially transferring approximately 30 to 40 trillion dollars in North America over coming decades, with younger Asian philanthropists engaging earlier than historical Western models.
- Asian philanthropy is predicted to evolve from secrecy to public wealth deployment, with young leaders driving innovation through giving circles, collaborative moral pledges, and social enterprises, while new collaborative groups integrate diverse funding mechanisms rather than maintaining bifurcated lenses.
- The "2020 Social Impact Leaders" group is expected to serve as a platform for integrating social enterprise into main business supply chains, leveraging technology to efficiently dismantle geographic barriers among the 1.6 million US nonprofits.
- The "The Impact" membership ranges from investors allocating 1% to 90-100% of portfolios, with an anticipated growth in mentoring dynamics and a commitment to "double down and triple down" efforts in Asia as a more efficient path than traditional philanthropy.
- The impact investing community is viewed as being in nascent stages comparable to the early days of the cell phone, requiring infrastructure development before widespread adoption, though technology will soon increase intolerance for nonprofit inefficiency and enhance data sharing.
- Bhutan faces challenges balancing development with Gross National Happiness values as its population becomes more educated, necessitating a customized education system to replace industrial revolution models and finding philanthropic answers soon.
- Trans-Asian philanthropic initiatives are expected to emerge in the next two to five years, evolving from home turf initiatives to regional replication, with social innovation changes like Singapore's social impact bonds creating ripple effects to Bhutan.
- The King's Challenge experiment is hoped to inspire similar ideas for Bhutan, while collaborative discussions are expected to yield answers to unresolved problems by the meeting's culmination.
- The public nature of the Giving Pledge is predicted to receive a lukewarm response in China due to wealth newness and concerns regarding tax, regulatory scrutiny, and political instability.
- Initiatives are expected to fail if they lack resources, fail to engage deeper than money, or misalign with stakeholder values and energy.
- Bhutan's future is anticipated to be realized through collective action and friends appreciating the nation's approach, potentially inspiring others to place the individual at the heart of development.