1994–2004
Twenty-five years ago, giving internationally looked very different than it does today.
Donors who wanted to support charitable causes across borders had far fewer options, while nonprofit organizations throughout Asia were building their own philanthropic institutions, networks, and expertise. Give2Asia grew out of this changing landscape—and out of a deceptively simple question about how donors and communities could be better connected.
As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, we’re looking back at the milestones, partnerships, and moments that shaped Give2Asia. Our story begins even before our founding, with a regional movement to strengthen philanthropy across Asia.
1994: A Seed Is Planted
In 1994, philanthropic leaders from across the Asia Pacific region came together to establish the Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium (APPC).
At the time, opportunities for philanthropic institutions across the region to exchange knowledge were limited. APPC brought together foundation leaders, legal experts, and charitable institutions from countries including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand.
Its goal was ambitious: strengthen the infrastructure and operating environment for philanthropy while increasing the quality and quantity of giving within and to Asia.
Through leadership exchanges, research, and regional dialogue, APPC helped create new professional connections across borders. Those relationships would ultimately help plant the seeds for Give2Asia.
1999: An Idea Takes Shape
Five years later, one of those connections helped set something new in motion. 
In 1999, a delegation of Chinese foundation leaders traveled to the United States through relationships developed in part through APPC. During the visit, members of the delegation posed a question to a professional wealth advisor:
Did a community foundation exist that could help private funders make grants into Asia?
At the time, there was no easy answer.
The question highlighted a gap between donors in the United States interested in supporting communities across Asia and the local charitable organizations doing the work. Drawing on donor networks in the United States and nonprofit connections throughout Asia, philanthropy leaders began developing a model for an organization that could bridge that gap.
The idea was to create something akin to a community foundation for Asia: an organization informed by local knowledge, but able to help donors navigate the complexities of responsible cross-border philanthropy.
That idea became Give2Asia.
2001: A Public Charity Is Born
Give2Asia officially launched in 2001 as an independent U.S. public charity with a founding mission to expand the quality and quantity of private philanthropy to Asia.
From the beginning, the model combined two things that would remain central to Give2Asia’s work for decades: relationships with donors and strong connections to communities and nonprofit organizations on the ground.
Its first advised grant brought that model to life.
The Robert N. Chang Foundation, established by a family originally from China, partnered with Give2Asia to provide university scholarships for deserving rural students in Inner Mongolia. It was a deeply personal form of philanthropy—a family supporting young people in the community from which it had come—and an early example of the role Give2Asia could play in turning a donor’s intentions into effective local support.
It was the first of many relationships that would connect families, foundations, corporations, and charitable organizations across borders.
2002–2003: Building the Model
The organization began growing quickly.
In 2002, Give2Asia expanded its grantmaking beyond China to India, beginning what would eventually become a much broader presence across the Asia Pacific region.
A year later, Johnson & Johnson became Give2Asia’s first corporate donor, marking another important step in the organization’s development. What had begun as a model serving private and family philanthropy was proving valuable to corporations seeking trusted ways to support communities overseas as well.
These early years helped establish a pattern that would define Give2Asia’s growth: listening to what donors and nonprofit partners needed, then building the infrastructure to make those relationships possible.
2004: A New Way to Support Local Organizations
By 2004, Give2Asia was beginning to develop services beyond individual donor-advised grants.
That year, the organization launched Friends Funds, creating a way for charitable organizations based in Asia to receive donations from multiple supporters through a U.S.-based charitable fund.
The concept addressed another persistent challenge in cross-border philanthropy. Many effective local organizations had strong communities of supporters overseas but lacked the infrastructure needed to receive tax-deductible gifts in the United States. Friends Funds created a pathway between those supporters and the organizations they cared about.
Twenty-two years later, helping nonprofit partners connect with donors across borders remains a core part of Give2Asia’s work.
Responding When Disaster Struck
Late in 2004, Give2Asia’s growing network faced an enormous test.
On December 26, a massive earthquake off the coast of Sumatra triggered the Indian Ocean tsunami, devastating communities across South and Southeast Asia.
Give2Asia mobilized its relationships with local charities to support relief and long-term recovery in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Individual and corporate donors responded, including partners such as the Starbucks Foundation.
Together, they contributed $10 million through Give2Asia for locally led relief and recovery efforts. 
The response demonstrated something that would become increasingly important in the years ahead: effective disaster philanthropy depends on relationships built before a crisis occurs. Local organizations understand their communities, can identify evolving needs, and often remain long after international attention has moved elsewhere.
That lesson would help shape Give2Asia’s approach to disaster response for the next two decades.
Building a Bridge That Would Last
By the end of 2004, Give2Asia had come a long way from the question posed during a delegation visit five years earlier.
An idea for a “community foundation for Asia” had become an independent public charity. One scholarship grant had grown into work across multiple countries. Family philanthropy had expanded to include corporate partners. New services were helping overseas nonprofits reach U.S. supporters. And when one of the region’s most devastating natural disasters struck, Give2Asia was able to mobilize millions of dollars for local organizations responding on the ground.
These first years established principles that would continue to guide Give2Asia: local knowledge, trusted relationships, responsible cross-border giving, and a belief that philanthropy is most effective when it connects donors with organizations rooted in the communities they serve.
Over the years that followed, those foundations would support dramatic growth—and lead Give2Asia into some of the most consequential moments in philanthropy across Asia.
Next in our 25 Years of Impact series: Give2Asia’s early growth, new partnerships, and emergence as a leader in cross-border philanthropy from 2005–2010.