With Give2Asia, a U.S. public charity with affiliates in Hong Kong and Australia, the King Baudouin Foundation and its affiliates in North America have created Myriad to ease and encourage charitable donations across borders worldwide.
Myriad means donors on four continents can now support charities in nearly 100 countries while benefitting from standardised services, fees and, typically, tax benefits in their home states. It is a response to the substantial obstacles which persist, despite the globalisation of the world economy, for individuals and corporations wishing to support causes abroad.
The alliance, which is open to further partners in other regions, also seeks to nurture the growth of truly global philanthropic movements and to help individuals, families, and corporations to engage with each other globally - thanks to the expertise, the networks and the cross-border experience of Give2Asia and the King Baudouin Foundation in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.
Through Myriad, the Foundation is building on two decades of pioneering work withTransnational Giving Europe (TGE), a platform through which philanthropy institutions in 20 European nations have made it possible for European residents to make grants and gifts across frontiers as easily and as economically as they can at home.
On a global level, not only can it be difficult for cross-border donations to access the same fiscal advantages as domestic philanthropy, but a number of trends, including post-9/11 anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering controls, have added complexity and legal jeopardy to the process.
“Moving money around the world gets easier every day - until you try giving it to charity,” KBF Managing Director Luc Tayart De Borms says of Myriad. “We want to make it effortless for donors to support good causes anywhere in the world, not just in their own backyard.”
A Donor-advised Fund, set up with the KBF in Belgium or with its affiliates in the United States or Canada, will now let individuals, corporations, and corporate foundations channel grants to charities not only in Europe and Africa but also across the Asia-Pacific region through Myriad. Such funds can also handle legacy bequests to communities overseas or art donations to foreign museums.
Corporate donors can also leverage Myriad’s trusted network of local experts through the Corporate Plus service to identify premier nonprofit partners and build rewarding relationships across the globe. A Disaster Response Fund also offers a tool to engage employees in many countries, to mobilise giving across multinational enterprises for local communities in need.
The alliance will also make it simpler for charities to raise funds directly from international donors. Not only can they receive tax-deductible gifts through KBF from supporters in Europe, the United States or Canada but they will be able to open new ‘Friends of’ Funds – often a way of raising large numbers of fairly modest donations - in Australia, and Hong Kong SAR PRC.
Myriad lets donors access standardised service offerings and fees regardless of their location - as well as a single point of contact for donations to any region served by the alliance.
“People around the world are increasingly looking for good things to do with their money,” said Birger Stamperdahl, President and CEO at Give2Asia. “And the best way to help is often to send that money abroad. Through this alliance, our goal is to unlock the potential of charitable giving from anywhere, to anywhere.”
KBF’s partners among the founding members of the Myriad alliance are:
• Give2Asia: a San Francisco Bay Area 501(c)(3) organisation that connects American donors with charities in the Asia-Pacific region
• KBFUS: a New York-based 501(c)(3) facilitating giving to Europe and Africa
• Give2Asia Australia: a Melbourne-based Deductible Gift Recipient funding overseas poverty alleviation projects
• KBF Canada: a Montreal-based charitable organisation enabling and implementing charitable projects
• Give2Asia Foundation Ltd.: a Section 88 tax-exempt organisation facilitating overseas giving from Hong Kong SAR PRC
To learn more about the Myriad alliance and its services for donors and charities, visit https://myriad.org.
About the King Baudouin Foundation
The King Baudouin Foundation's mission is to contribute to a better society in Belgium, in Europe and in the world. It is an actor for change and innovation, serving the public interest and increasing social cohesion. It seeks to maximise its impact by improving skills in organisations and for individuals. It also stimulates effective philanthropy by individuals and corporations. The King Baudouin Foundation was set up in 1976, on the 25th anniversary of King Baudouin's reign.