The Asia Foundation

Last updated

The Asia Foundation
Formation1954
TypeNonprofit organization
HeadquartersSan Francisco, Calif., United States
President and CEO
Laurel Miller
Revenue (2019)
$104,324,731 [1]
Expenses (2019)$104,757,151 [1]
Website asiafoundation.org

The Asia Foundation (TAF) is a nonprofit , mission-driven international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. [2] Its work across the region focuses on governance, women's empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic growth, environment and climate action, and regional and international cooperation. The Foundation's Let's Read program is a free digital library in local languages and puts digital content and books into the hands of students, educators and leaders in 20+ countries. Headquartered in San Francisco, The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization working with public and private partners, and receives funding from a diverse group of bilateral multilateral development agencies, foundation, corporations and individuals. [1] The Foundation was established in 1954 to undertake cultural and educational activities on behalf of the United States Government in ways not open to official U.S. agencies.

Contents

On 1 February 2023, Laurel E. Miller took over as president of the Foundation. She previously directed the Asia program at the International Crisis Group. [3]

Impact

Global presence

The Asia Foundation addresses issues on both a country and regional level through its permanent offices on the ground in the Asia Pacific region. The foundation's staff are known for the depth of insights and granularity of knowledge on a variety of development challenges. Besides its offices across the region, the Foundation has an office in San Francisco and an office in Washington, D.C.

Program areas

Governance

The Asia Foundation's work in governance focuses on encouraging:

Environment and climate action

Women's empowerment and gender equity

Economic development

Exchanges

Through its LeadEx program, The Asia Foundation invests in equipping and developing emerging leaders in Asia, as well as seeking to encourage greater understanding between Asians and Americans with the ultimate aim of contributing toward strengthened U.S.-Asia relations. The Asia Foundation has a more than half-century partnership with the Henry Luce Foundation to administer an internship program in the Asia Pacific for young Americans with leadership potential. Since 1974, the Asia Foundation has developed and overseen placements for hundreds of Luce Scholars in Asia. [10]

History

"The Asia Foundation (TAF) was established in 1954 to undertake cultural and educational activities on behalf of the United States Government in ways not open to official U.S. agencies." [11] The Asia Foundation is an outgrowth of the Committee for a Free Asia, which was founded by the U.S. government in 1951. [12] CIA funding and support of the Committee for a Free Asia and the Asia Foundation were assigned the CIA code name "Project DTPILLAR". [13]

In 1954, the Committee for a Free Asia was renamed the Asia Foundation (TAF) and incorporated in California [14] as a private, nominally non-governmental organization devoted to promoting democracy, rule of law, and market-based development in post-war Asia.

Among the original founding officers of the board were presidents/chairmen of corporations including T.S. Peterson, CEO of Standard Oil of California (now Chevron), Brayton Wilbur, president of Wilbur-Ellis Co., and J.D. Zellerbach, chairman of the Crown Zellerbach Corporation; four university presidents including Grayson Kirk from Columbia, J.E. Wallace Sterling of Stanford, and Raymond Allen from UCLA; prominent attorneys including Turner McBaine and A. Crawford Greene; Pulitzer Prize-winning writer James Michener; Paul Hoffman, the first administrator of the Marshall Plan in Europe; and several major figures in foreign affairs.

In 1966, Ramparts revealed that the CIA was covertly funding a number of organizations, including the Asia Foundation. [11] A commission authorized by President Johnson and led by Secretary of State Rusk determined that the Asia Foundation should be preserved and overtly funded by the US government. Following this change, The Asia Foundation was classified as a private, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization under the section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. [15] The foundation began to restructure its programming, shifting away from its earlier goals of "building democratic institutions and encouraging the development of democratic leadership" toward an emphasis on Asian development as a whole (CRS 1983).

Board of trustees

Officers of the Board of Trustees

Members of the Board of Trustees

Terrence B. Adamson

William L. Ball, III

Robert O. Blake, Jr.

Karl Eikenberry

Stephanie Fahey

Daniel F. Feldman

Winnie C. Feng

Badruun Gardi

Kelsey L. Harpham

Ryan Hass

Lin Jamison

Stephen Kahng

Eun Mee Kim

Debra Knopman

Frank Lavin

Clare Lockhart

Meredith Ludlow

Jacqueline Lundquist

James D. McCool

Lauren Kahea Moriarty

Ted Osius

Mary Ann Peters

Ruby Shang

Calvin Sims

Harry K. Thomas Jr.

Deanne Weir

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Board of directors</span> Type of governing body for an organisation

A board of directors is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organization, or a government agency.

A chief executive officer (CEO) is the highest officer charged with the management of an organization – especially a company or nonprofit institution.

The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death of the two founders, the foundation owned 90% of the non-voting shares of the Ford Motor Company. Between 1955 and 1974, the foundation sold its Ford Motor Company holdings and now plays no role in the automobile company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Care International</span> International humanitarian agency

CARE is a major international humanitarian agency delivering emergency relief and long-term international development projects. Founded in 1945, CARE is nonsectarian, impartial, and non-governmental. It is one of the largest and oldest humanitarian aid organizations focused on fighting global poverty. In 2019, CARE reported working in 104 countries, supporting 1,349 poverty-fighting projects and humanitarian aid projects, and reaching over 92.3 million people directly and 433.3 million people indirectly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Institute for Training and Research</span> Teaching institute of the United Nations

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is a dedicated training arm of the United Nations system. UNITAR provides training and capacity development activities to assist mainly developing countries with special attention to Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and other groups and communities who are most vulnerable, including those in conflict situations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conrad N. Hilton Foundation</span> American non-profit charitable foundation

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is an American non-profit charitable foundation, established in 1944 by hotel entrepreneur Conrad Hilton. It remained relatively small until his death on January 3, 1979, when it was named the principal beneficiary of his estate. In 2007, Conrad's son, Barron Hilton announced that he would leave about 97% of his fortune to a charitable remainder unitrust which names the foundation as the remainder beneficiary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inter-American Foundation</span> U.S. government agency

The Inter-American Foundation, or IAF, is an independent agency of the United States government that funds community-led development in Latin America and the Caribbean. It was created through the Foreign Assistance Act of 1969 as an alternative to traditional foreign assistance that operates government-to-government on a much larger scale. The IAF receives its funds through annual appropriations by Congress. Until 2019, the agency also received annual reflows from the Social Progress Trust Fund administered by the Inter-American Development Bank consisting of repayments on U.S. government loans extended under the Alliance for Progress to various Latin American and Caribbean governments. Since beginning operations in 1972, the IAF has awarded more than 5,700 grants worth more than $940 million.

The Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board (CED) is an American nonprofit and nonpartisan public policy think tank. The board of trustees consist primarily of senior corporate executives from a range of U.S. industries and sectors. The organization has been credited with helping to create the Marshall Plan.

The Commonwealth Foundation (CF) is an intergovernmental organisation that was established by the Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1966, a year after its sister organisation, the Commonwealth Secretariat. The Foundation is located at Marlborough House in London, a former royal palace which was assigned for the use of these Commonwealth institutions by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the former Head of the Commonwealth. As the Commonwealth agency for civil society, the Foundation is funded by 49 member states to support participatory governance through its programmes. The Foundation provides resources, grants and access to platforms to encourage better engagement between civil society and institutions of governance. Membership of the Commonwealth Foundation is voluntary and is separate from membership of the Commonwealth of Nations.

The Maryland School of Public Policy is one of 14 schools at the University of Maryland, College Park. The school is located inside the Capital Beltway and ranks 16th nationally for schools of public policy according to U.S. News & World Report (2012).

BoardSource, formerly the National Center for Nonprofit Boards, is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1988. Its mission is "to inspire and support excellence in nonprofit governance and board and staff leadership".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle East Partnership Initiative</span>

The U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) is a United States State Department program that fosters meaningful and effective partnerships between citizens, civil society, the private sector, and governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to resolve local challenges and promote shared interests in the areas of participatory governance and economic opportunity and reform.

The Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation was an office new to the Obama Administration, created within the White House, to catalyze new and innovative ways of encouraging government to do business differently. Its first director was the economist Sonal Shah. The final director was David Wilkinson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John J. Danilovich</span> American business executive (born 1950)

John Joseph Danilovich is an American business executive who was secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce from 2014 – 2018. He previously held roles as a senior United States government executive, diplomat, and ambassador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Federation of Engineering Organizations</span>

The World Federation of Engineering Organizations is an international, non-governmental organization representing the engineering profession worldwide.

Luis Antonio Ubiñas is an American investor, businessman and nonprofit leader. He holds various influential roles in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors. Currently, he is the Chairman of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, demonstrating his commitment to preserving this iconic symbol of American immigration history. Ubiñas served as the president of the Ford Foundation from 2008 through 2013 and had a successful 18-year career as a senior partner at McKinsey & Company before joining the Ford Foundation. In the corporate world, he is actively involved as a board member of several public and private corporations, including Electronic Arts, where he serves as Lead Director and chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee, as well as ATT and Tanger. Additionally, he provides valuable advice to various private companies, such as Ebsco, a digital information provider. In the nonprofit sector, he served as president of the Board of Trustees of the Pan American Development Foundation from 2015 to 2019, and serves as an Advisory Committee member for the United Nations Fund for International Partnership. His commitment to the arts is also noteworthy, as he is an avid collector, donor, and board member.

Ruth A. David is an American engineer. While at the CIA, David was responsible for encouraging the agency to pursue partnerships with the private sector and designed a proposal to procure technology at the stage of development from the private sector. She has been awarded the CIA Director's Award, the Defense Intelligence Agency Director's Award, the CIA Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the National Reconnaissance Officer's Award for Distinguished Service, and the National Security Agency Distinguished Service Medal.

The Committee of Correspondence was an American anti-communist women's organization active from 1952 to 1969. A group of women active in international affairs voluntary clubs and professional fields created the committee as an counterpart to the National Council of Women. The committee established itself as an independent non-profit organization shortly after it began.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koyamada International Foundation</span>

Koyamada International Foundation, commonly referred to as KIF or KIF Global, is an international non-governmental organization, with its mission to improve quality of people's life by empowering global youth and women to reach their full potential and by providing humanitarian aid to promote global peace and sustainable development. It has affiliated national chapter members in seven countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Partnership for Central America</span> Public Private Partnership in International Development for Central America

The Partnership for Central America (PCA) is a public–private partnership focused on economic development in the Northern Triangle of Central America to address the economic roots of migration with job creation and social programs. The Partnership is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was launched in May 2021 with Vice President Kamala Harris in support of the White House Call to Action to the Private Sector to Deepen Investment in the Northern Triangle.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "FY2019 Form 990 Public Disclosure" (PDF). Asia Foundation. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  2. "The Asia Foundation: Improving Lives, Expanding Opportunities". Funds for NGOs. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  3. Rogin, Josh (9 June 2010). "Arnold to lead the Asia Foundation". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  4. "Campaign theme". International Women's Day. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  5. DE Vos, Manola (26 May 2014). "The next big thing in development: What Asia's young leaders think". Devex. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  6. Tri Thanh, Nguyen (18 April 2012). "To Reduce Impact of Natural Disasters, Vietnam Must Engage Small Businesses". The Asia Foundation. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  7. Barron, Patrick (19 February 2015). "Deep South peace requires justice first". Bangkok Post.
  8. Allen, Karen (5 December 2013). "Survey on Afghan fears over corruption and security". BBC News. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  9. "The Asia Foundation : About Books for Asia". Archived from the original on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  10. "New Report Reveals Trends and Implications of Conflict in Asia". The Asia Foundation. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  11. 1 2 "Doc. 132: Memorandum from the Central Intelligence Agency to the 303 Committee". Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume X, National Security Policy. US Department of State. 22 June 1966. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  12. "Routing and Record Sheet: Committee for a Free Asia" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2017.
  13. "DTPILLAR". Internet Archive.
  14. Congressional Research Service (February 1983). "The Asia Foundation: Past, Present and Future" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2017.
  15. "Tax Exempt Document" (PDF). asiafoundation.org. Retrieved 29 August 2023.