Representatives from 50 agencies that make grants to support community development in HCM City met on Oct. 21 to identify common goals and possible synergies while building a better understanding about the community.

At the first forum of its kind, held by the LIN Centre for Community Development, officials from NGOs and corporate and government grant-makers shared their experiences in monitoring, evaluating and value-added donor services.

"While we have witnessed increasing wealth in the urban centres of Vietnam and a complimentary upswing in philanthropic activities, good philanthropic advice and information sharing among grant-makers is hard to come by," Dana RH Doan, advisor to the LIN Centre, said.

"When we spoke with some of the grant-makers in the community, there was a great deal of interest in finding opportunities to meet other grant-makers to share their experiences."

The panel speakers and moderators included senior executives from both well-established and new players in the field like the Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion, Intel Products Vietnam, Irish Aid, Education for Development, the Justice Initiatives Facilitation Fund, Mast Industries, Sai Gon Children's Charity, and the Unilever Foundation.

The event was sponsored by Intel with financial and technical support from the US consulate in the city./.