January 2009 | By Jane Leung Larson
Last year, over $840,000 was raised for the Committee of 100 Earthquake Relief Fund and distributed to Chinese charity, community, and educational organizations helping the May 2008 earthquake victims in Sichuan province. One corporation’s donation of $500,000 gave the Relief Fund real heft, and, unusually, came to the Committee unsolicited.
The Bank of America traditionally gives generously for disaster relief in the United States, but was challenged when it wanted to make a gift for disaster relief in China. After the company’s philanthropic arm, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, discovered Give2Asia and the Committee of 100, “we were thrilled,” said Kerry Sullivan, National Philanthropy Executive. Sullivan said that the Bank was especially pleased that donations to the C-100 relief fund, which was organized through Give2Asia, would go to grassroots organizations in China for strategic and carefully monitored projects. For a list of the seven projects made possible by the Earthquake Relief Fund, click here to see this November Committee Bridges story.
Last April, the Committee honored Bank of America with its Business Excellence Award. Stewart Kwoh, C-100 Vice Chair for Southern California, said, “Bank of America has been a great partner of C-100 and a key supporter of our 2008 national conference in Los Angeles. Their reaching out to us after the earthquake was an extension of their support for increasing friendship between the people of the U.S. and China, and their confidence in C-100. We thank Bank of America for their tremendous partnership.”
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