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)