Global Giving Unlocked: Navigating Policy to Maximize Cross-Border Impact

The Changing Faces of Cross-Border Philanthropy

BREAKOUT SESSION REPORT

Global Giving Unlocked: Navigating Policy to Maximize Cross-Border Impact

by

Dana R.H. Doan

The 2025 edition of the Global Philanthropy Environment Index (GPEI) noted a decline in the policy environment for cross-border philanthropic flows. Around the world, philanthropy experts reported rising challenges in moving philanthropic resources across borders. These challenges were often connected to government efforts to prevent money laundering, protect against terrorism, or limit foreign influence.

South and Southeast Asia was one of three regions reporting the most difficulties with cross-border giving. It was for this reason that the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy partnered with CSIP-Ashoka University to organize a breakout discussion on the policy environment for cross-border giving. The session set out to raise awareness about the existing challenges and identify opportunities to strengthen the global environment for cross-border giving.

The session featured three distinguished guest speakers who generously shared their expertise on this topic, including:

• Sue Toomey – Chief Executive Officer with the Asia Community Foundation (ACF), who shared the background for setting up ACF in Singapore to help donors, in Asia and around the world, navigate complex policy environments and support cross-border giving in Asia.
• Professor Mark Sidel – Doyle-Bascom Professor of Law and Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Vice Chair of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) who not only described the legal and regulatory challenges relating to cross-border giving but also offered advice and examples of philanthropies successfully navigating these challenges and/or engaging government leaders in dialogue to influence change.
• Tristan Ace – Chief Engagement Officer & Policy Head at the Asia Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), who talked about facilitating policy dialogue and collaboration between governments and AVPN’s over 600 member organizations to improve the enabling environment for philanthropy in Asia.

To get a sense of the cross-border giving experience among the audience, we polled the audience and found that 85% were previously engaged in sending and/or receiving funds across borders:

My key takeaways from the conversation with our three guest speakers include the following: 

• Around the world, we see collaborations across philanthropists, and across countries, to facilitate cross-border giving, such as country-to-country agreements, regional platforms and regional agreements to lower the barriers to giving. Singapore was recognized as a bright spot in Asia with legal and regulatory initiatives working in harmony with philanthropy-led initiatives to encourage and facilitate cross-border giving.
• For an audience members seeking advice to attract overseas funds, intermediary organizations shared different support vehicles and approaches. For example, Sue recommended that organizations demonstrate good governance practices and share inspirational stories, while Tristan shared tools AVPN members use to gain trust.
• Diaspora giving appears to be a developing trend throughout many parts of Asia, despite the seeming lack of targeted policies. We heard examples of pooled funds through giving and learning circles.  
• “Necessity is the mother of invention” – quoting Plato, a Greek philosopher, Tristan shared that challenges faced during COVID-19 stimulated AVPN members to try out new approaches, including pooled funds and lowering of traditional due diligence requirements, to expedite cross-border grants. 
• In response to a question about being able to process overseas donations in restrictive environments, our speakers shared that organizations have pursued a number of lawful options, such as: working with an intermediary (like ACF) who can guide the process; partnering with organizations permitted to receive and regrant funds; raising funds through a giving platform (to minimize the number of permits required), etc. 
• The importance of philanthropy organizations hosting constructive dialogues with restrictive governments was emphasized, and this may require quiet discussions for the purpose of building trust and exploring opportunities to reduce barriers, perhaps sharing models from familiar countries in the region.  
• While intermediary organizations working in Asia recommend working with and alongside government, Professor Sidel challenged the audience to consider how philanthropy can pursue its characteristic risk-taking role if it must acquiesce to the policy preferences of government.     

During the session, the audience was also invited to share their ideas regarding strategies or collaborations to overcome legal, regulatory, or trust-related barriers to cross-border giving. Participants shared about services to facilitate cross-border giving (e.g., Myriad Australia), contributed novel initiatives to support diaspora giving (e.g., India Giving Day by India Philanthropy Alliance), or described how research has helped to inform their work.

My sincere appreciation to Sue, Mark, and Tristan for sharing their wealth of knowledge and experience and our partners at the Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy at Ashoka University for their hard work pulling the event together. Visit CSIP Ashoka’s page on LinkedIn for further insights from the joint event [https://www.linkedin.com/company/ashokacsip/].

Author bio: 

Dana RH Doan is the Director of the Global Philanthropy Indices at IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and a 2025-2026 Global Philanthropy Fellow, supported by the Giving USA Foundation. Before completing her Ph.D. with the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Dana worked with social purpose organizations in the U.S.A., Southeast Asia, and Latin America as a researcher, consultant, and trainer. Dana’s research interests include global philanthropy policy and practice, community philanthropy, community-led development, and measures of nonprofit performance and effectiveness. She is a member and volunteer with the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR), the Association for Research on Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Organizations (ARNOVA), and the global #ShiftThePower and #MeasuringWhatMatters movements. She also co-convenes ISTR’s Research for Practice Affinity Group.