Lionel Li, a member of Asia Philanthropy Circle, founder of Li Foundation, and an alumnus of the China Global Philanthropy Institute (CGPI), has announced a donation of RMB 6 million (SGD 1.2 million) to revitalise CGPI’s Executive Leaders in Philanthropy (ELP) program by launching a new Singapore module. The CGPI is China’s first nonprofit educational organization fully dedicated to nurturing philanthropy leaders and was founded in 2015 by Ray Dalio and Bill Gates, alongside Chinese entrepreneurs and philanthropists Niu Gensheng, Ye Qingjun, and He Qiaonyu. This gesture not only honours Ray Dalio — a longstanding visionary in philanthropy — but also symbolises a handover from the founders to the alumni, who are now driving CGPI’s development and the evolution of China’s philanthropic ecosystem.
In 2017, via Dalio Philanthropies, Ray Dalio initiated the ELP program with CGPI to equip executive-level philanthropy leaders with global insights and practical tools for change. The program brought participants to the Harvard Kennedy School of Government for a three-week immersive experience that blended classroom lessons, case discussions, and interactions with prominent thought leaders in philanthropy and impact investing. Lionel was part of the inaugural ELP cohort, and that experience transformed his paradigm of philanthropy, inspiring him to establish the Li Foundation and support various capacity-building projects. These include the China Institute for Philanthropy and Social Innovation at Renmin University, the CFPA Microfinance Management Co. Ltd. (under Chongho Bridge 中和农信), China’s largest microfinance institution for rural development, and China’s first Early Childhood Development Collaborative Fund.
As Southeast Asia’s financial hub, Singapore is also emerging as a regional center for philanthropy, impact investment, and social innovation, where the government, family offices, foundations, and social enterprises collaborate to drive meaningful change. Against this backdrop, the ELP Singapore module will expose Chinese philanthropists to Southeast Asian models of giving and family legacy while supporting the growth of Chinese philanthropy on a broader Asian stage.
The module will dive into topics such as strategic and collaborative philanthropy, family legacy and intergenerational philanthropy, and Singapore’s social service infrastructure through visits to key institutions and foundations. The program is set to launch in the last quarter of 2025, with two cohorts per year and 18 participants per cohort, ultimately cultivating 108 outstanding philanthropy leaders over three years.
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.