December 10, 2008
Clinton Meeting in Asia Raises $185-Million in Pledges
By Ian Wilhelm
Bill Clinton raised $185-million in pledges to assist charitable causes last week during the meeting of his Clinton Global Initiative in Asia, according to the former president’s foundation. That amount, however, is far less than what his other meetings have garnered.
In September, for example, his Global Initiative meeting in New York raised $8-billion in commitments.
Last week’s meeting did generate several big pledges by Asian donors.
- The Wu Zhi Qiao Charitable Foundation, Chinese universities, and others offered $420,000 to construct environmentally friendly houses and bridges in rural villages.
- The charitable arm of VinaCapital, an investment bank in Vietnam, and others promised more than $300,000 to train doctors in Asia to help poor children with heart conditions.
- The Lifeline Express Hong Kong Foundation, the Chinese Ministry of Health, and the International Council of Ophthalmology pledged $7-million to provide free cataract surgery to 100,000 people and to train 6,000 doctors.
The Hong Kong meeting was the first Clinton Global Initiative event held outside the United States. Mr. Clinton recently agreed to limit his charitable activities to smooth the way for his wife to be the nominee for secretary of state.
As part of the agreement, the former president has agreed to no longer hold Clinton Global Initiative gatherings overseas any more. He also has agreed to no longer accept gifts from foreign governments and to establish the Clinton Global Initiative as a separate nonprofit entity from his foundation.
Read The Chronicle’s article about the new limits on Mr. Clinton’s philanthropy.
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