Rob John | National University of Singapore (original) (raw)
Papers by Rob John
A giving circle is an example of collective philanthropy where donors pool their financial capita... more A giving circle is an example of collective philanthropy where donors pool their financial capital to support a non-profit organisation. While giving circles have existed for decades, they are funding a fresh expression as individuals rediscover the advantages of giving together.
Our previous study on giving circles reviewed 35 circles, which we classified as either indigenous or affiliated to networks outside the region, in eight Asian countries. These giving circles demonstrate a wide variety of styles and models. Some circles are informal and volunteer managed; others are more structured and use professional staff. While all giving circles encourage their members to do more than make a donation, some utilise the skills and networks of their members to provide consulting expertise for the non-profits they support.
In this new study we list 66 known indigenous and transplanted giving circles in 10 Asian countries. We surveyed the members of 38 of these giving circles to understand how membership influences an individual’s knowledge of, and attitude towards, their community, social issues, nonprofits and philanthropy. The survey also explored how joining a giving circle changes the amount given and the ways in which people choose to give. A number of non-profits were asked about their experience of being supported by giving circles and how this contrasted with the support they received from more traditional donors.
This paper examines the particular role of corporate business as provider of philanthropic capit... more This paper examines the particular role of corporate business as provider of philanthropic capital – financial, human and intellectual. As well as using traditional grant funding, we found that some corporations invest in early stage ventures that reach the poorest with affordable goods and services, or outsource their business processes to social enterprise vendors. Businesses increasingly see skilled volunteering or giving circles are new approaches to community engagement that motivate and retain employees.
The report illustrates these ways in which businesses engage with high-potential social organisations through twenty-three case studies drawn from Hong Kong, Australia, India, Singapore, Japan, China and the Philippines. We make recommendations for ways in which the corporation can creatively deploy its resources for public good in Asia.
(NOTE: An earlier version omitted one reference in the appendix; this has now been corrected)
Business Angels invest their money and time into the early stage businesses. We report here 13 ... more Business Angels invest their money and time into the early stage businesses.
We report here 13 impact angel investment initiatives in Hong Kong, India, Pakistan and Taiwan. We suggest that angel investing offers a useful model for the financing of start-up and early stage social enterprises in Asia.
Giving Circles are a significant part of the American philanthropy landscape and have been the su... more Giving Circles are a significant part of the American philanthropy landscape and have been the subject of academic study since 2004. They are important not only for raising funds for locally based, non-profit organisations, but also as a vehicle for donor education and socialisation. We know that giving circles exist outside of the US and Canada but little has been written about them. We report on initiatives in collective philanthropy in 7 Asian countries, including India and China, and suggest an initial typology. We profile examples of giving circles in 2 broad categories – models imported from the US and Europe; and indigenous models initiated within Asia. Both categories exhibit a wide range of characteristics, e.g. circle size, organisational structure, strategic partnerships and level of personal engagement by members. We argue that giving circles will become an important phenomenon in the growth of philanthropy in Asia and make recommendations that would promote their number and quality of impact.
The paper is copyrighted and only available to subscribers of Foundation Review: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/tfr/vol6/iss4/9
Skoll Centre working paper
Skoll Centre working paper (translated into Mandarin)
Skoll Centre working paper
Articles by Rob John
The 20/20 Social Impact Leaders' Group comprises young Asian philanthropists who wanted a way to ... more The 20/20 Social Impact Leaders' Group comprises young Asian philanthropists who wanted a way to 'engage next-generation leaders through peer to peer learning for the purpose of collective action'.
The article is published in Philanthropy Impact Magazine, Issue 20, Autumn 2018 pp 18-20
@philanimpact
Cecil Jackson-Cole’s legacy in shaping post-war philanthropy remains largely unrecognised. He was... more Cecil Jackson-Cole’s legacy in shaping post-war philanthropy remains largely unrecognised. He was a restless social entrepreneur who thrust new thinking into the sleepy, post war charity sector and whose legacies include Oxfam, ActionAid and venture philanthropy.
Philanthropy Impact, Online, October 2018
http://www.philanthropy-impact.org/inspiration/personal-stories/cecil-jackson-cole
The article introduces the author's working paper comprising 23 case studies that explore how bus... more The article introduces the author's working paper comprising 23 case studies that explore how businesses in Asia are experimenting with innovative ways to provide financial, intellectual and human capital in support of high-potential nonprofits and social businesses.
Angel investing is an important source of capital and business advice for start-up businesses. Th... more Angel investing is an important source of capital and business advice for start-up businesses. The techniques of angel investing can also be used to help social entrepreneurs grow social enterprises, as examples from Asia illustrate.
Angel investors are beginning to flock to impact investments as the social enterprise space grows... more Angel investors are beginning to flock to impact investments as the social enterprise space grows in Asia. Rob John outlines the three different types of angel investors today and how they can make a social impact.
Giving to charity has never been a solitary activity in any culture. People have joined together ... more Giving to charity has never been a solitary activity in any culture. People have joined together to give for millennia. In Asia, clan associations, religious groups or just friends have enjoyed the benefits of giving as a group. But there appears to be a renaissance of collective giving with the advent of more organised, strategic and outcome-focused philanthropy. At the Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy (ACSEP) where I am presently based, our research team’s curiosity about giving circles was first piqued when investigating the nature of innovation in Asian philanthropy in 2012. In that study, we reported several initiatives where individuals pooled their resources and jointly selected a non-profit organisation to fund. Since then, the number and variety of giving circle models have increased across the region, leading me to believe that giving circles will make a significant to the development of philanthropy in Asia over the coming decade.
This article was originally published in Social Space Issue 8 (2016/7), and is reproduced with the kind permission of the Lien Centre for Social Innovation at Singapore Management University.
A giving circle is an example of collective philanthropy where donors pool their financial capita... more A giving circle is an example of collective philanthropy where donors pool their financial capital to support a non-profit organisation. While giving circles have existed for decades, they are funding a fresh expression as individuals rediscover the advantages of giving together.
Our previous study on giving circles reviewed 35 circles, which we classified as either indigenous or affiliated to networks outside the region, in eight Asian countries. These giving circles demonstrate a wide variety of styles and models. Some circles are informal and volunteer managed; others are more structured and use professional staff. While all giving circles encourage their members to do more than make a donation, some utilise the skills and networks of their members to provide consulting expertise for the non-profits they support.
In this new study we list 66 known indigenous and transplanted giving circles in 10 Asian countries. We surveyed the members of 38 of these giving circles to understand how membership influences an individual’s knowledge of, and attitude towards, their community, social issues, nonprofits and philanthropy. The survey also explored how joining a giving circle changes the amount given and the ways in which people choose to give. A number of non-profits were asked about their experience of being supported by giving circles and how this contrasted with the support they received from more traditional donors.
This paper examines the particular role of corporate business as provider of philanthropic capit... more This paper examines the particular role of corporate business as provider of philanthropic capital – financial, human and intellectual. As well as using traditional grant funding, we found that some corporations invest in early stage ventures that reach the poorest with affordable goods and services, or outsource their business processes to social enterprise vendors. Businesses increasingly see skilled volunteering or giving circles are new approaches to community engagement that motivate and retain employees.
The report illustrates these ways in which businesses engage with high-potential social organisations through twenty-three case studies drawn from Hong Kong, Australia, India, Singapore, Japan, China and the Philippines. We make recommendations for ways in which the corporation can creatively deploy its resources for public good in Asia.
(NOTE: An earlier version omitted one reference in the appendix; this has now been corrected)
Business Angels invest their money and time into the early stage businesses. We report here 13 ... more Business Angels invest their money and time into the early stage businesses.
We report here 13 impact angel investment initiatives in Hong Kong, India, Pakistan and Taiwan. We suggest that angel investing offers a useful model for the financing of start-up and early stage social enterprises in Asia.
Giving Circles are a significant part of the American philanthropy landscape and have been the su... more Giving Circles are a significant part of the American philanthropy landscape and have been the subject of academic study since 2004. They are important not only for raising funds for locally based, non-profit organisations, but also as a vehicle for donor education and socialisation. We know that giving circles exist outside of the US and Canada but little has been written about them. We report on initiatives in collective philanthropy in 7 Asian countries, including India and China, and suggest an initial typology. We profile examples of giving circles in 2 broad categories – models imported from the US and Europe; and indigenous models initiated within Asia. Both categories exhibit a wide range of characteristics, e.g. circle size, organisational structure, strategic partnerships and level of personal engagement by members. We argue that giving circles will become an important phenomenon in the growth of philanthropy in Asia and make recommendations that would promote their number and quality of impact.
The paper is copyrighted and only available to subscribers of Foundation Review: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/tfr/vol6/iss4/9
Skoll Centre working paper
Skoll Centre working paper (translated into Mandarin)
Skoll Centre working paper
The 20/20 Social Impact Leaders' Group comprises young Asian philanthropists who wanted a way to ... more The 20/20 Social Impact Leaders' Group comprises young Asian philanthropists who wanted a way to 'engage next-generation leaders through peer to peer learning for the purpose of collective action'.
The article is published in Philanthropy Impact Magazine, Issue 20, Autumn 2018 pp 18-20
@philanimpact
Cecil Jackson-Cole’s legacy in shaping post-war philanthropy remains largely unrecognised. He was... more Cecil Jackson-Cole’s legacy in shaping post-war philanthropy remains largely unrecognised. He was a restless social entrepreneur who thrust new thinking into the sleepy, post war charity sector and whose legacies include Oxfam, ActionAid and venture philanthropy.
Philanthropy Impact, Online, October 2018
http://www.philanthropy-impact.org/inspiration/personal-stories/cecil-jackson-cole
The article introduces the author's working paper comprising 23 case studies that explore how bus... more The article introduces the author's working paper comprising 23 case studies that explore how businesses in Asia are experimenting with innovative ways to provide financial, intellectual and human capital in support of high-potential nonprofits and social businesses.
Angel investing is an important source of capital and business advice for start-up businesses. Th... more Angel investing is an important source of capital and business advice for start-up businesses. The techniques of angel investing can also be used to help social entrepreneurs grow social enterprises, as examples from Asia illustrate.
Angel investors are beginning to flock to impact investments as the social enterprise space grows... more Angel investors are beginning to flock to impact investments as the social enterprise space grows in Asia. Rob John outlines the three different types of angel investors today and how they can make a social impact.
Giving to charity has never been a solitary activity in any culture. People have joined together ... more Giving to charity has never been a solitary activity in any culture. People have joined together to give for millennia. In Asia, clan associations, religious groups or just friends have enjoyed the benefits of giving as a group. But there appears to be a renaissance of collective giving with the advent of more organised, strategic and outcome-focused philanthropy. At the Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy (ACSEP) where I am presently based, our research team’s curiosity about giving circles was first piqued when investigating the nature of innovation in Asian philanthropy in 2012. In that study, we reported several initiatives where individuals pooled their resources and jointly selected a non-profit organisation to fund. Since then, the number and variety of giving circle models have increased across the region, leading me to believe that giving circles will make a significant to the development of philanthropy in Asia over the coming decade.
This article was originally published in Social Space Issue 8 (2016/7), and is reproduced with the kind permission of the Lien Centre for Social Innovation at Singapore Management University.
Wealth is being created across Asia Pacific with unprecedented speed. There are now more high net... more Wealth is being created across Asia Pacific with unprecedented speed. There are now more high net worth individuals in Asia than in either North America or Europe. Economic development is creating huge middle classes in emerging economies like India, Indonesia, and Thailand. But half of Asia’s 1.63bn people live on less than US$2 a day.
The view from Asia Reflections from the Bosch Academy workshop on Arab & Global Philanthropy
Alliance magazine article on angel investing for impact in Asia
on the role of grantmaking in social change PLUS
Article for SALT non-profit sector online magazine, March 2012
Wealth is being created across Asia Pacific with unprecedented speed. There are now more high net... more Wealth is being created across Asia Pacific with unprecedented speed. There are now more high net worth individuals in Asia than in either North America or Europe. Economic development is creating huge middle classes in emerging economies like India, Indonesia, and Thailand.
But half of Asia’s 1.63bn people live on less than US$2 a day. Rapid development burdens the environment and widens the gap between rich and poor. While Asia has many historical and cultural practices of giving, new, innovative expressions of philanthropy must rise to the social and environmental challenges in the region.
De qué manera pueden los inversores de capital riesgo dejar su impronta en la filantropía*
Innovation Management anfd Growth in Emerging Economies, 2020
This chapter describes how corporations and social enterprises in Asia can co-create social value... more This chapter describes how corporations and social enterprises in Asia can co-create social value. The traditional role of corporate philanthropy is transactional in nature, where the donation of resources from a corporation allows a non-profit organisation to create social value through its mission. The rise of social entrepreneurship as an alternative for creating social value through hybrid business models has given rise to novel opportunities for corporate philanthropy. Corporations can use their discretionary finances to support social enterprises across the spectrum of their organisational development from ideation and early stage ventures to later stages of maturity. The chapter offers case studies from Singapore, India, and Hong Kong that exemplify the co-creation of social value through small enterprise acceleration, angel investing, corporate venture capital, and business process outsourcing.
A chapter on the history and development of venture philanthropy in a new book on social finance.... more A chapter on the history and development of venture philanthropy in a new book on social finance. Rob John & Jed Emerson.
Social Finance
Edited by Alex Nicholls, Rob Paton, and Jed Emerson
672 pages | Oxford University Press
978-0-19-870376-1 | Hardback | November 2015
Chapter 9 in The World that Changes the World, Edited by Willie Cheng and Sharifah Mohamed Wiley... more Chapter 9 in The World that Changes the World, Edited by Willie Cheng and Sharifah Mohamed
Wiley Jossey-Bass, 2010 (Download not available)
Chapter 12 in Structuring European Private Equity, Edited by Iggy Bassi and Jeremy Grant Euromon... more Chapter 12 in Structuring European Private Equity, Edited by Iggy Bassi and Jeremy Grant
Euromoney Books, 2006 (Download not available)
Corporate philanthropy in Asia is adapting to meet the opportunities to create social value that ... more Corporate philanthropy in Asia is adapting to meet the opportunities to create social value that arise from the growth of social entrepreneurship. The historical relationship of donor-grantee is being replaced by investor-investee/client as businesses engage with social enterprises. We draw on a selection of short case studies resulting from our study of the changing dynamic of corporate philanthropy in Asia. The studies suggest that corporate businesses are responding to social entrepreneurship by channelling financial, human and intellectual resources across the organisational lifecycle of social enterprises, including through activities such as business process outsourcing and corporate venture capital, not traditionally thought of as within the realm of philanthropy. The theoretical frameworks of corporate philanthropy need to be revised in response to these new practices.
Presented at the Social Value International Conference, Taipei, Taiwan, 5th December 2019
Collected papers and presentations from ISSE 2015 p 40 - 46: Asia’s Impact Angels: How Business A... more Collected papers and presentations from ISSE 2015
p 40 - 46: Asia’s Impact Angels: How Business Angel Investing can Support Social Enterprise in Asia
Business Angels are typically high-net-worth individuals who invest their money and time into the... more Business Angels are typically high-net-worth individuals who invest their money and time into the early stage businesses of others with the objective of a financial return. They do so by acting either alone or in formal or informal syndicates called angel groups or networks. While angel investing in purely commercial ventures is widespread in countries with strong enterprise cultures, relatively little has been reported on the practice of angel investing for impact, i.e., providing capital and advice to social businesses whose intentional purpose is to create social value profitably.
We report here 13 impact angel investment initiatives in Hong Kong, India, Pakistan and Taiwan, and offer a tentative typology. New forms of enterprise, which address social problems or provide goods and services to low income communities, are gaining traction in Asia. We suggest that angel investing offers a useful model for the financing of start-up and early stage social enterprises in Asia.
Paper presented in the symposium 'Venture Philanthropy: Un modello per l'Italia? Atti del Covegno... more Paper presented in the symposium 'Venture Philanthropy: Un modello per l'Italia?
Atti del Covegno, Torino, 6th August 2008
Fondazione CRT
CSPPG blog
A reflection on the growth of giving circles globally, drawing on recent research from Asia
To see the posting, please click on the URL
To see the posting, please click on the URL
Two postings on The Conference Board's "Giving Thoughts" blog that look at the role for corporate... more Two postings on The Conference Board's "Giving Thoughts" blog that look at the role for corporate venture capital investment in early stage businesses that create social value.
To see the posting, please click on the URL
The Conference Board "Giving Thoughts" blog on giving circles in Asia To see the posting, pleas... more The Conference Board "Giving Thoughts" blog on giving circles in Asia
To see the posting, please click on the URL
The Conference Board "Giving Thoughts" blog on the role for angel investing in early stage social... more The Conference Board "Giving Thoughts" blog on the role for angel investing in early stage social businesses
Prof Negishi's Nobel presentation. Rob John is one of many graduate students and postdoctoral res... more Prof Negishi's Nobel presentation. Rob John is one of many graduate students and postdoctoral researchers cited by Prof Negishi in the presentation.
The structure of 2a has been established by X-ray crystal structure analysis[3b1. Although the po... more The structure of 2a has been established by X-ray crystal structure analysis[3b1. Although the position of the hydride ligand cannot be given precisely, the bond angle of 90.2" between P(l), Ru, and the midpoint of C(31)-C(32) confirms the octahedral coordination around ruthenium. Since the 'H-NMR spectrum does not change between -80 and +35 "C ([DJacetone), it seems certain that the ethylene(hydrid0)cations 2 @ are configurationally stable in solution, and that the equilibrium with the ethyl tautomers-in contrast to the structurally analogous complexes [C5H5RhH PR3]+ (R= Me, iPr)['l-is almost completely shifted to the side of [C6Me6RuH(C2H4)PR3]+. Received: August 13, 1982 [ Z 132 IE] German version: Angew. Chem. 95 (1983) 49 [I] a) R. C. Brady 111, R. Pettit, J.
Papers from a former life!