The Asia Foundation Explained

The Asia Foundation
Formation:1954
Type:Nonprofit organization
Headquarters:San Francisco, California, United States
Leader Title:President and CEO
Leader Name:Laurel Miller
Revenue:$104,324,731[1]
Revenue Year:2019
Expenses:$104,757,151
Expenses Year:2019

The Asia Foundation (TAF) is a nonprofit, mission-driven international development organization committed to improving lives across 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. The Foundation was established in 1954 by the Central Intelligence Agency to undertake cultural and educational activities on behalf of the United States Government in ways not open to official U.S. agencies.[3]

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.[4]

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.[11]

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."[12] The Asia Foundation is an outgrowth of the Committee for a Free Asia, which was founded by the U.S. government in 1951.[13] CIA funding and support of the Committee for a Free Asia and the Asia Foundation were assigned the CIA code name "Project DTPILLAR".[14]

In 1954, the Committee for a Free Asia was renamed the Asia Foundation (TAF) and incorporated in California[15] 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.[12] 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.[16] 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

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FY2019 Form 990 Public Disclosure . Asia Foundation . 29 March 2022 .
  2. Web site: The Asia Foundation: Improving Lives, Expanding Opportunities . Funds for NGOs . 19 September 2013 . 19 February 2019 .
  3. Book: Stonor Saunders, Frances . 2000 . The Cultural Cold War. The New Press . 193 .
  4. Web site: Arnold to lead the Asia Foundation . Rogin . Josh . 9 June 2010 . Foreign Policy . 19 February 2019 .
  5. Web site: Campaign theme . International Women's Day . 19 February 2019 .
  6. Web site: The next big thing in development: What Asia's young leaders think . DE Vos . Manola . 26 May 2014 . Devex . 19 February 2019 .
  7. Web site: To Reduce Impact of Natural Disasters, Vietnam Must Engage Small Businesses . Tri Thanh . Nguyen . 18 April 2012 . The Asia Foundation . 19 February 2019 .
  8. News: Deep South peace requires justice first . Bangkok Post . 19 February 2015 . Patrick . Barron.
  9. Web site: Survey on Afghan fears over corruption and security . Allen . Karen . 5 December 2013 . BBC News . 19 February 2019 .
  10. Web site: The Asia Foundation : About Books for Asia . 2015-03-20 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150319120351/http://www.asiafoundation.org/program/books-for-asia/about.php . 2015-03-19 .
  11. Web site: New Report Reveals Trends and Implications of Conflict in Asia . 4 October 2017 . The Asia Foundation . 19 February 2019 .
  12. Web site: 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. 2 September 2017. 22 June 1966.
  13. Web site: Routing and Record Sheet: Committee for a Free Asia. https://web.archive.org/web/20170122214639/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DTPILLAR%20%20%20VOL.%201_0001.pdf. dead. 22 January 2017. Central Intelligence Agency.
  14. Web site: DTPILLAR. Internet Archive.
  15. Web site: Congressional Research Service. The Asia Foundation: Past, Present and Future. https://web.archive.org/web/20170118155416/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0001088617.pdf. dead. 18 January 2017. Central Intelligence Agency. February 1983.
  16. Web site: Tax Exempt Document. asiafoundation.org. 29 August 2023.

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