September 2024 marks the first anniversary of the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA), following our official launch at last year’s Philanthropy Asia Summit.
From the beginning, our mission has been clear: to catalyse collective action across Asia’s philanthropic landscape to address interconnected global challenges. We are working to achieve this by building capabilities, fostering communities, and facilitating partnerships across the public, private, and philanthropic sectors, scaling “Asia for global” solutions.
Catalysing Impact through Partnerships
Our role as an impact catalyst is supported by our over 80 global members and partners, directing collective resources towards innovative solutions in climate, education, and health across Asia. Whether it is funding a pilot project to improve school-based eye care in Vietnam or sharing research to advance ocean conservation, each action and intervention contributes to meaningful change.
However, achieving this change requires time and a balance of diverse impact priorities. The past 12 months have been an iterative process of innovating, learning, and refining our approach as we chart new pathways.
Collaboration involves navigating various priorities and considerations, but PAA is committed to providing a coordinated, inclusive, and integrated approach to deliver impactful outcomes, focusing on the outsized benefits of multi-stakeholder partnerships in scaling positive change.
As we mark our first anniversary, we are deeply grateful to our members and partners, whose steadfast support has enabled us to convert nearly US$150 million in pledges into funding commitments, driving over 20 impactful climate, education, and health projects across Asia. This achievement highlights the vital role of partnerships in making a meaningful difference.
Another key milestone this year was the announcement of our Communities initiative, unveiled at PAS 2024. Essentially a funders’ collective, Communities brings together like-minded funders to share knowledge and pool resources towards a portfolio of high-impact projects aligned with their priorities. This model was co-developed with our Community Leads – Dalio Philanthropies, Tsao Pao Chee, Golden Philanthropies (Sinar Mas), and Tanoto Foundation – who are spearheading our first three pilot Communities focusing on Blue Oceans, Sustainable Land Use, and Holistic & Inclusive Education.
PAA continues to work closely with our Community Leads to shape how each Community will operate, exploring various collaborative philanthropy models to maximise impact. We welcome all PAA members to join this journey, whether as a Community Lead or Member.
Leveraging Expertise for Impact
As we lay the groundwork for lasting impact, we are leaning into the power of partnerships. We recognise that PAA is still a work in progress, complementing and building on the pioneering efforts of leading global and regional philanthropic organisations. Many of these partners are experts in their respective fields, and we are fortunate to collaborate with them.
We are grateful for the expertise and capabilities of Temasek Trust and other key entities within the ecosystem, which play a crucial role in advancing our shared mission. To continue building a robust pipeline of impact projects in line with our anchor mandates, PAA is working with Temasek Foundation as our Programmes Hub, providing rigorous programme advisory, curation and co-development services to deepen our understanding of key programmes.
Additionally, we are working closely with Temasek Trust’s Systems, Knowledge and Innovation (SKI) Hub to apply concepts like Systems Thinking and the Theory of Change to our work, and partnering with the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices to co-develop white papers and case studies that highlight key learnings, funding gaps in the climate and health nexus, and emerging philanthropic models.
These collaborations provide Alliance members with critical knowledge and impact metrics, fostering new partnerships and impactful outcomes.
Accelerating Towards Action
One year on, PAA remains laser-focused on our mission, with a renewed emphasis on translating this focus into concrete actions and impact. Our role as an informed connector and convenor is increasingly critical, as we look to drive deeper collaborations and catalyse positive change.
In the spirit of collective action, we encourage our members to continue sharing high-impact projects that offer scalability, replicability, and sustainability, and to support PAA's key impact initiatives. These include:
• The Asia Centre for Changemakers, a collaboration with Temasek Trust and hosted by the Wealth Management Institute to enhance skills within the philanthropic sector;
• Co-Axis, a digital marketplace developed with Temasek Trust and other partners to connect funders with high-impact projects and startups;
• The Amplifier mentorship programme, which supports emerging impact ventures and drives innovative solutions.
We invite our members to engage with and contribute to these efforts, fostering a truly collaborative environment for transformative change. Learn more about PAA’s climate, education, and health projects here.
Themed Partnerships for Action, this year’s PAS brought together over 400 participants from the global philanthropic, private, and public sectors.
Our annual Philanthropy Asia Summit (PAS) remains a cornerstone event for PAA, bringing together global partners across sectors to catalyse collective action. PAS 2024 was our largest yet, spanning four days with an expanded agenda that included plenaries, partner events, and experiential “Impact Journeys” showcasing solutions in the interconnected areas of climate, education, and health. We look forward to partnering with Temasek again to host PAS 2025 alongside next year’s Ecosperity Week, offering attendees a comprehensive view of how capital can be harnessed to tackle social and environmental challenges.
As we strive towards a sustainable future, our focus remains on building on our foundations, learning from our experiences, and refining our strategies. We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment, amplifying our collective impact, and addressing global challenges though knowledge exchange, best practices, and new collaborations.
Ms Lim Seok Hui, Chief Executive Officer, PAA, reflects: “As PAA marks its first anniversary, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to our members and partners for their unwavering support. The journey has been challenging but deeply rewarding. We are building a solid foundation and as we move forward, I believe our collective efforts will continue to drive meaningful impact and advance our mission in the years to come.”
