There are many donors and leaders in the philanthropic community but very few of them share their advice publicly.  Arabella Advisors released Impact 2012, a collection of first-hand pieces from Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and 11 other prominent leaders from the public, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors offering their advice about how to be more strategic and create more impact for 2012.

Themes of taking risk, being bold and looking at issues from a fresh perspective resonate consistently in the report. 

….need to be open to funding new ventures that take a fresh approach to problem-solving. There Is risk involved, but there is a far bigger risk in refusing to bet on the future.

In 2012, philanthropy in this country must support young entrepreneurs as they take their ideas and energy global.

2012 is the year for philanthropy to take bold and focused action to address the challenges in our broken food system.

(B)ut philanthropy cannot be the clean-up engine for governmental problems or mismanagement.

This is a moment of invention. In 2012, philanthropists will not only navigate this landscape, but also shape it.

I wonder if these leaders will be applying their own advice in their own philanthropic work? Let's see what 2012 brings....

Golden Bridges Foundation, a U.S. nonprofit founded by Holly Chang, publishes the "China NPO Weibo Digest" each month. Weibo is a Chinese micro-blog and Holly's team sifts through thousands of reports to curate and translate selected reports to English. Below are the top 10 highlights for October:

1. Unlawful money-making by nonprofits such as in Lu Meimei case has attracted attention of senior government officials. Tough regulations are expected. According to officials at the NGO Administration of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Chinese NGOs in general operate in compliance with state laws and regulations, but there are some social organizations which engage in improper practices to obtain illegal financial gains in their daily operation. 10/1/2011

2. Kashgar Canyou of Canyou social enterprise group forms unique partnership with Chinese army in Kashgar, receives sports equipment and clothes 10/09/2011

3. Xu Yongguang leads group of 13 on field trip to Yellow River valley in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region as part of government-established program to promote private “social innovation” to solve social problems in Ningxia. 10/11/2011

4. GE Healthcare China organizes 100 people in pink to perform public flash mob led by famous singer Ai Dai, dancing for unsuspecting shoppers in Sanlitun SOHO in Beijing to raise awareness for breast cancer prevention. 10/11/2011

5. Even after government host requirements removed, NGOs like "Lighthouse Program" seeking registration still rejected by civil affairs department for other reasons, like having "improper name." 10/12/2011

6. Guangdong Province reported by Southern Metropolis to be leading the way in reforming management of social organizations, lowering threshold for NGO registration and promoting autonomy and marketization of NGOs 10/14/2011

7. Guo Meimei scandal has reportedly decreased donations to Beijing foundations by over 10 percent, according to MOCA official.10/14/2011

8. Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology (SEE) held leadership elections on 10/21/2011, marking its seventh year as a nonprofit in China adhering to strict democratic governance standards. 10/21/2011

9. Guangdong Province passes new fundraising regulations, allowing private charities and individuals to carry out fundraising activities. 10/28/2011

10. New Charity Law has been included in 2011 legislative plan of China State Council, but practitioners lament it has “already been promised many times but never delivered”.10/31/2011

Earlier this month, Give2Asia announced the merger of APPC (Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium) and Give2Asia. Barnett Baron, CEO of Give2Asia wrote in a blog piece:

The merger of APPC and Give2Asia creates a new resource for donors in Asia and the US. APPC’s research and conference reports have been digitized and are available for free download at Give2Asia’s new website, www.asianphilanthropy.org. 

For some folks, this is exciting as the new website will become the "hub" of all things philanthropy-related in Asia. However, the usefulness of the APPC research is questionable since much of the information is now outdated. Since the conference on diaspora philanthropy in Hanoi in 2008, APPC has been inactive. This is a shame because APPC was the one and only philanthropic research organization in Asia that was independently organized (and not affiliated with a university or western entity).

The quiet demise of APPC's leadership status as the preferred philanthropic research engine sheds some light on the lack of interest in funding this type of work. Very few donors want to support philanthropic research - even though they realize that it also helps build non-profit capacity and the field of philanthropy (many organizations use this research to be more effective when working with donors or in developing their programs). Afterall, it is difficult for individual donors to make a direct correlation between philanthropic research and providing immediate assistance to beneficiaries on the ground.

In the past several months, wealth management firms have partnered with for-profit and academic institutions to release philanthropy in Asia reports. While these reports are helpful and provide greater insight to the current situation in Asia, the underlying purpose of the sponsors is to promote their financial services to high-net worth clients.

We still lack a group that is represented by charitable and social organizations in Asia that is focused on information exchange and research. Who is convening nonprofit practioners all over Asia to build the sector? Who is funding research that examines how local donors in Asia give? Who is reporting on new legal issues and changes? As far as I know, no one in Asia. Who do you think will step up?