A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
When Taiwan went in to soft lockdown in May, a group of diaspora who had moved there decided a Covid 19 Taiwan fundraiser for organizations assisting society’s most vulnerable was needed. They created the Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser and before they launched it, I spoke with three of the seven organizers- Catherine, Kevin and Jane.
We talked about how the charities benefitting from the fundraiser provide direct assistance to the homeless, disabled, migrant workers and survivors of domestic violence, and how all donations will go directly to the participating organizations. The fundraiser’s organizing team has pledged to match the first $10,000 donated. The team’s novel approach to organizing the Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser has given the charity organizations greater exposure to English language speakers and international donors.
UPDATE: Since this interview was recorded and the fundraiser was launched the matching goal of $10,000 was reached in the first 3 days. The Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser organizing team has secured an additional $15,000 of matching donations so now the fundraising goal is $25,000, which when matched will mean that a total of $50,000 would be raised.
The #TaiwanCovidRelief Fundraiser Organizing Team:
Catherine Chou is a second-generation Taiwanese-American who writes on Taiwanese history and identity, and tweets at @catielila.
Kevin Lin is the Co-Founder and former Chief Operating Officer of Twitch. He was born and raised in New Orleans. Through co-founding groups like Gold House, Kevin is giving back to communities that he cares about through sustainable investing, hoping to support creators of all shapes and sizes. @kevinlin
Jane W. Wang is founder of Build Great Bridges Around Taiwan (BGBAT) and a self-actualization coach who helps multiculturalites navigate their Multicultural Hero’s Journey, so they can find home within and live their joy & purpose.
Remaining Members of the #TaiwanCovidRelief Fundraiser Organizing Team (not shown):
Jonathan Liao
Kathy Cheng @trickytaipei
Laura Huang @laurahuangla
Tait Sye
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How Catherine, Kevin and Jane, three of the organizers of the Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser met and their connection to Taiwan
- How they came up with the idea for the fundraiser
- Who’s on the organizing team
- What it’s been like being under soft lockdown in Taiwan
- How the fundraiser is meant to benefit vulnerable communities affected by COVID in Taiwan
- The five charity organizations that that will benefit from the fundraiser: Homeless Taiwan, Hsichulun Hpme, 1919 Foodbank, Serve the People, and Garden of Hope
- Donations will go directly to the organizations
- How the Taiwan COVID Relief Fundraiser committee will be matching the first $10,000 of donations made
- How Catherine approached 15 organizations initially about being a part of the fundraiser
- How the five charity organizations had to build English landing pages to receive foreign donations
- NetiCRM, the company that worked with the charities to create new landing pages and donation websites
- How the Taiwan COVID Relief Fundraiser will help the five charities to internationalize their donor market
- The fundraiser was initially targeted at diaspora, but it is also for one who may not be able to read Chinese language websites, are primarily English speakers, and friends of Taiwan around the world
Related Links:
The Taiwan Covid Relief Fundraiser: www.taiwancovidrelief.com
ITASA (Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association): https://itasa.org/
TaiwaneseAmerican.org feature about ITASA – Inspire, Empower, and Activate: ITASA’s “Coming of Age”: https://www.taiawaneseamerican.org/2011/01/inspire-empower-and-activate-itasas-coming-of-age/
BGBAT (Build Great Bridges Around Taiwan): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1798268263828078/
Articles related to the April 2, 2021 Hualien train crash:
NPR article, “More Than 50 Dead, Dozens Injured As Taiwan Train Derails Inside Tunnel”: https://www.npr.org/2021/04/02/983763089/nearly-50-dead-as-taiwan-train-derails-inside-tunnel
The News Lens article, “Taiwanese American Investors Hold Fundraiser To Support Taroko Train Crash Victims” (about the fundraiser Kevin organized for the April 2, 2021 Hualien train crash): https://international.thenewslens.com/article/149825
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/
Tiltify: https://tiltify.com/
NetiCRM, a Taiwanese constituent relationship management system for non-profits: https://netivism.com.tw operated by NETivism: https://neticrm.tw