APPC provides links to NGOs

APPC provides links to NGOs

JAKARTA (JP): Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium (APPC), an
organization dedicated to charity and community service, said on
Monday it was ready to match Indonesian corporations with local
non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

"In the three years of its existence, APPC has managed to
build a significant information system on the nonprofit sector
and philanthropy in general," APPC executive director Erna
Witoelar said in a statement during a luncheon with
representatives of the corporate community.

APPC, which opened a branch in Indonesia in 1996, has focused
its recent work in the country on raising corporate awareness
about the importance of philanthropy and promoting cooperation
between Indonesian corporations and NGOs, the group said in a
statement.

Many corporations in Indonesia have established community
service foundations, while others have channeled donations
through NGOs, according to APPC.

APPC was launched in Osaka, Japan, in 1994. Its main focus is
increasing the quality and quantity of philanthropic activities
within the Asia-Pacific region.

The Asian economic crisis, which many experts see as having
damaged philanthropy in the region, can be seen as momentum to
strengthen civil society's increasing role in the process of
social and economic change, Erna said.

APPC plans in the future to establish an NGO certification
process, which will help corporations choose reputable NGOs when
making donations, said Erna, who is a former head of Indonesia's
consumer agency and has been involved in the environmental
movement.

APPC executive Tadashi Yamamoto said working with partners
such as NGOs who were capable of serving corporate shareholders
in a given community, was a more efficient and effective measure
for corporations.

Corporations and NGOs would create a perfect partnership,
Yamamoto said.

NGOs bring to the partnerships a sense of value and an
appreciation of the broader interests of the community, making
corporations more conscious of the need to reorient themselves to
meet the interests of their communities, he said.

APPC cochairwoman and the executive director of the Ayala
Foundation in Manila, the Philippines, Aurora Tolentino, stressed
the importance of community service for corporations.

Private corporations are better able to cater to the community
than the government because they can quickly respond to society's
needs, she said.

Community service in areas such as education,
entrepreneurship, community development, the environment and
housing would benefit corporations in the long run, she said,
adding that over time corporations would be judged by the
community.

"In the end, people will choose products not just based on
quality, but based on a company's reputation," Aurora said. (02)