Differences Between Donating in the West and East

In the West, wealthy families have been giving back to society as part of their corporate social responsibility or for estate planning purposes for a long time. In the East, the concept of institutionalizing charity giving is starting to catch on. The postwar babies have studied Europe and the U.S. and have seen the benefits of giving.

In the West, the focus is on donating to the arts, education, and health. In Asia, the emphasis is currently on poverty alleviation, but education and health are quickly gaining interest.

See Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, Q. and A.: The Differences Between Philanthropy in the West and the East, N.Y. Times, Nov. 23, 2010.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (WealthCounsel) for bringing this to my attention.