OVERVIEW: Give2Asia is a U.S.-based public charity and philanthropic intermediary that facilitates grantmaking from individuals, corporations, foundations and other donors to charitable organizations in China, including mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong SAR. Its work spans education, health, environment, livelihoods, social services, arts and culture, disaster response and other charitable causes. Give2Asia also operates three signature initiatives focused on education and rural health.
IP TAKE: Give2Asia operates differently from a traditional foundation. Much of its grantmaking is donor-advised, meaning donors generally identify the causes or organizations they want to support and Give2Asia handles due diligence, regulatory compliance, grant administration and monitoring. As a result, nonprofits should not view Give2Asia as a conventional funder with an open unsolicited-proposal process.
A warm connection to a donor who wants to support an organization is likely to be the strongest route to a donor-advised grant. Give2Asia does, however, offer a more accessible pathway through its Friends Fund program, which allows eligible Chinese charities to apply for a U.S. fundraising vehicle and solicit tax-deductible donations from their own overseas supporters. Disaster-response organizations may also find an entry point through Give2Asia’s DisasterLink network.
Give2Asia narrowed its geographic focus in 2024 and now concentrates primarily on grantmaking to China; organizations seeking support elsewhere should generally look to Myriad USA and other members of the Myriad Alliance. Give2Asia reported distributing more than $23 million across 214 projects in China in 2025.
PROFILE: Launched in 2001 and headquartered in San Francisco, Give2Asia is a 501(c)(3) public charity that helps donors carry out cross-border philanthropy in China. The organization works with individuals, family foundations, corporations and associations and offers donor-advised grantmaking, advisory services, nonprofit services, Friends Funds and disaster-response support. Give2Asia also maintains a representative office in Beijing.
Give2Asia previously worked much more broadly throughout Asia and other regions. In 2024, it refocused on China as part of a restructuring with Myriad USA, which assumed much of Give2Asia’s former grantmaking work outside China. Give2Asia remains a founding member of the Myriad Alliance, a network of independent organizations facilitating cross-border philanthropy.
Give2Asia’s current materials identify three signature programs: the Rural Healthy Family Program, Rural Doctors TCM Training Program and Tomorrow-iCAN. The organization also facilitates donor-directed giving across a broader group of issue areas.
Grants for Education
Education is a major area of Give2Asia’s grantmaking. In its 2024 snapshot, Give2Asia reported that education accounted for 62% of grants, by far its largest issue area that year. Current organizations in its education Friends Fund network include schools, universities and nonprofits working on educational access, disability, rural education, workforce skills and other needs.
- Give2Asia’s principal education initiative is Tomorrow-iCAN, which supports high school students from low-income families who are working toward becoming the first generation in their families to attend college. The program provides scholarships, educational training and long-term mentoring. Give2Asia says the initiative has raised about $2.14 million and supported more than 3,300 students since it began in 2021. In 2024 alone, Tomorrow-iCAN supported more than 1,200 students.
- Beyond Tomorrow-iCAN, Give2Asia’s current education network includes National Cheng Kung University, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Tianjin Juilliard School Education Development Foundation, the CANGO Visionary Education Program, Yuanshan Education Foundation’s rural STEM work and other educational organizations in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong SAR. These are generally Friends Fund or donor-advised giving opportunities rather than grantees selected through a centralized Give2Asia education competition.
Grants for Global Health
Health is another significant area of Give2Asia’s work and is the focus of two of its three signature programs. Give2Asia’s donor guidance also identifies health as one of its most frequently funded program areas.
- The China Rural Healthy Family Program seeks to improve hypertension management and reduce cardiovascular disease risk in rural communities through family-centered health management, local medical providers, health monitoring and education. The program launched its first pilot in Ruyang, Henan Province, in April 2024, reaching 2,000 families across 40 villages. Give2Asia reports that after several months, the number of residents with above-standard systolic and diastolic blood pressure declined by 22% and 15%, respectively.
- The Rural Doctors TCM Training Program provides rural doctors with a year of online training in traditional Chinese medicine, totaling 112 learning hours. Give2Asia says it has raised more than $1 million for the initiative, which has trained more than 2,300 rural doctors in seven cities, counties or districts and benefited more than 2.3 million rural residents.
Give2Asia’s broader health charity network includes organizations addressing healthcare access, mental health, disability, medical education and related needs. These opportunities are generally supported through donor-advised grants or Friends Funds rather than a broad open health RFP.
Grants for Environment and Climate Change
Environmental giving is an important secondary area of Give2Asia’s grantmaking. Environment represented 12.7% of grants in Give2Asia’s 2024 snapshot, making it the second-largest issue area reported that year after education. Give2Asia has also said corporate environmental and climate grantmaking in China exceeded $14 million from 2021 through 2024.
- The organization’s current environment Friends Fund network includes organizations such as Plastic Oceans Limited, Shenzhen Zero Waste, Ocean Recovery Alliance and DOMI Earth. Their work includes plastic pollution, waste reduction, toxic chemicals, ocean health and clean energy. Give2Asia has also used donor-advised grants, Friends Funds and its Disaster Preparedness Fund to support climate resilience.
- Give2Asia does not currently identify a standalone environmental signature program comparable to Tomorrow-iCAN or its rural health initiatives.
Grants for Livelihoods, Social Services, and Women and Girls
Give2Asia supports livelihood, social services and women and girls through its donor-advised and Friends Fund infrastructure. Livelihoods and workforce development are among the areas Give2Asia says are most frequently funded by its donors.
- Work in these areas may include poverty alleviation, employment and workforce skills, rural economic development, services for people with disabilities, children’s services, migrant support and programs serving women and families. For example, One-Forty in Taiwan works with migrant workers on language, digital and financial skills, while the China Foundation for Rural Development supports rural health, education and livelihood initiatives.
- Give2Asia currently lists women and girls as an issue category, but it does not identify a separate women-and-girls signature initiative or organization-wide funding strategy.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Arts and culture represent a smaller portion of Give2Asia’s recent grantmaking. Its 2024 snapshot attributed 2.3% of grants to this area. Give2Asia’s current arts and culture network includes organizations in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong SAR.
- Current giving opportunities include Para Site in Hong Kong, Chinese Opera Taiwan Arts Square, Müller Chamber Choir and the Asian Youth Orchestra, among others.
- Grantseekers should not interpret this list as evidence of a specific preference for music or any one artistic discipline; Give2Asia’s current materials do not articulate such a strategy.
Grants for Disaster Relief and Preparedness
Give2Asia supports disaster preparedness, emergency response and longer-term recovery through donor-advised giving, disaster-response campaigns and DisasterLink. Launched in 2022, DisasterLink has grown to more than 50 partners across more than 30 disaster-prone locations. The network is intended to strengthen local organizations before disasters occur and facilitate connections, capacity building and knowledge sharing.
- For nonprofits, this is one of Give2Asia’s more distinctive access points. Give2Asia says organizations running community-based disaster risk reduction and preparedness programs are encouraged to connect with the organization about DisasterLink.
- Give2Asia also periodically establishes disaster-response and preparedness funds for donors.
Friends Funds and Other Grantmaking
Give2Asia’s Friends Fund program is particularly relevant to nonprofits seeking access to donors in the United States. Eligible Chinese charities can establish a fund at Give2Asia for their organization or for a specific project and use it to receive tax-deductible donations from U.S. donors without creating their own U.S. public charity. Gifts can come from individuals, corporations, foundations and donor-advised funds.
- Importantly, organizations can apply directly for a Friends Fund. However, Give2Asia stresses that it is not a fundraising organization and that participating nonprofits are responsible for cultivating their own donors. Its current application says the relationship is most beneficial when an organization already has U.S. or Hong Kong donor leads.
- Organizations must also be able to document their legal status, maintain an appropriate bank account, separately track grant funds and complete Give2Asia’s vetting process. Applications are available here.
Important Grant Details:
Give2Asia’s 2024 Form 990, the latest Form 990 currently posted by the organization, reports $32.8 million in grants and similar amounts paid, including about $29.3 million to foreign organizations and $3.5 million to domestic organizations. Year-end assets totaled approximately $29.6 million, with net assets of about $23 million.
Give2Asia’s current primary geographic focus is China, including mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong SAR. In 2025, the organization says it distributed more than $23 million across 214 projects in these areas.
- Give2Asia does not advertise a general open or unsolicited application process for its donor-advised grants. Its description of the due-diligence process says review begins after a donor has selected a prospective grantee and a grant has been confirmed. This makes relationships with existing or prospective Give2Asia donors particularly important for nonprofits seeking donor-advised support.
- Give2Asia conducts substantial due diligence on prospective grantees, including verification of legal status and charitable purpose, governance and organizational reviews, screening of leadership, financial review, assessment of program experience and review of individual project proposals and budgets.
- Donors interested in collaborating with Give2Asia can get started by filling out their consultation request form.
- Donors interested in making grants through Give2Asia can request a consultation. General inquiries may be directed to info@give2asia.org or 415-967-6300. Give2Asia’s U.S. headquarters is at Two Embarcadero Center, 8th Floor, San Francisco, California 94111, and it maintains a representative office in Beijing.
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