Singapore

The inaugural Philanthropy in Asia Summit concluded Tuesday. The invitation-only gathering convened for two days in Singapore and brought together philanthropists to “experience new perspectives to old issues and meet like-minded” peers.

During his keynote address Monday, the Business Times Singapore’s Nisha Ramchandani reported that Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said giving “in Singapore as well as across Asia is still in its very early stages.”

According to Shanmugaratnam, individuals’ donations in Singapore tripled between 2006 and 2010, reports the Straits Times’ Leslie Kay Lim.

NEW YORK, July 29, 2009 — The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) today unveiled its "DMA Certified Marketing Professional" program, a first of its kind global standard for direct marketing education. While the program is open to all, individuals from DMA member companies will receive additional benefits throughout their course of study, beginning with special member pricing.

May 29, 2009, Singapore — The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is committing $68 million over seven years to a new Asia Security Initiative that will increase the effectiveness of international cooperation in fostering peace and security in Asia. The Initiative brings together 27 institutions from around the world to develop new ideas to address Asia’s many security challenges.

Chicago, IL, April 16, 2009 — Nineteen projects from around the world were awarded funding today to explore digital media’s ability to help people learn. In a $2 million competition funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, winners include a radically affordable $12 TV-computer, a video blogging site for young women in Mumbai, India, and a cutting-edge mobile phone application that lets children conduct digital wildlife spotting and share that information with friends. Other winners include:
Tecno.Tzotzil, a project that leverages low-cost laptops to help indigenous children in Chiapas, Mexico learn by producing and sharing their own media creations;

SAN FRANCISCO, April 15, 2009 — The Salesforce.com Foundation, the global leader in integrating philanthropy and business, today announced its 2009 grantees in celebration of salesforce.com and the Foundation's 10 year anniversary. A total of $235,000 in grants has been awarded to organizations globally, including Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties, Micromentor and World Toilet Organization. For the first time, the winning organizations were voted on by salesforce.com employees using the company's own deployment of Salesforce CRM Ideas, the world's first cloud computing application that enables the wisdom of crowds to drive innovation.