As philanthropy in Asia continues to evolve, emerging leaders are playing a crucial role in shaping its future. In January 2025, the Li Foundation hosted the Young China Philanthropy Leadership Programme, welcoming a distinguished cohort of Ginkgo Fellows for an intensive 6-day learning journey in Singapore. This initiative provided young philanthropic and social entrepreneur leaders from China with firsthand exposure to Singapore’s philanthropic ecosystem, innovative funding models, and social impact landscape.
Singapore has established itself as a regional hub for philanthropy, impact investing, and social innovation, where government agencies, family offices, foundations, and social enterprises collaborate to drive meaningful change. Through a well-curated itinerary, the Ginkgo Fellows engaged with leading institutions across public, private, and nonprofit sectors, gaining insights into strategic giving, grantmaking models, and sustainable impact initiatives.
The programme offered a comprehensive perspective on Singapore’s philanthropic infrastructure, covering strategic philanthropy, grantmaking, government-backed initiatives, and social innovation.
The Young China Philanthropy Leadership Programme featured a series of dialogues, site visits, and knowledge-sharing sessions across four key themes:
By engaging with philanthropy networks, grantmakers, social sector enablers, and social innovators, the Ginkgo Fellows gained a comprehensive understanding of Singapore’s philanthropic landscape. This immersive experience provided them with valuable insights into different approaches to giving, funding models, and sustainable social impact strategies.
The Li Foundation is honored to have facilitated this knowledge exchange, reinforcing its commitment to empowering young philanthropic leaders. The insights gained from this journey will enable Ginkgo Fellows to refine their approaches, scale their impact, and drive a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable future.
The book showcases how the participants challenged their limits and conquered the World Marathon Challenge and North Pole Marathon to inspire people to challenge their own limits and pursue their dreams boldly.
The book tells the stories behind the event which saw the largest number of people in history running 1045km round Taiwan in 19 days.