In mid-May, I traveled to Singapore to attend the 2026 Philanthropy Asia Summit, alongside a series of meetings focused on climate resilience, philanthropic innovation, land stewardship, and systems change across Asia. What struck me most was not any single funding announcement or initiative, but a broader shift in how philanthropy itself is beginning to understand its role: less as a funder of discrete projects, and more as a builder of the systems that make collective action possible. 

Across discussions, a consistent message emerged. Climate cannot be separated from food systems. Energy transitions cannot be separated from livelihoods. Biodiversity cannot be separated from Indigenous stewardship. Health cannot be separated from environmental resilience. And increasingly, philanthropy itself cannot operate in silos. Throughout the summit, speakers emphasized how Asia is rapidly becoming both a laboratory and evidence base for globally relevant solutions. Rather than importing models, organizations across the region are building integrated approaches grounded in local realities, cross-sector collaboration, and long-term resilience.

One idea stayed with me throughout the week: meaningful change happens when ideas, evidence, trust, and partnerships converge. Yet, many of the solutions highlighted, particularly community-based and locally led efforts, still struggle to access traditional financing despite delivering clear resilience and livelihood benefits. Discussions around climate adaptation, anchored by the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and the Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance, repeatedly pointed to the importance of catalytic and flexible funding, capital willing to absorb uncertainty and support experimentation.

One of the most powerful sessions, “Building a Multi-stakeholder Model for Climate, Nature, and Indigenous Land Tenure Rights: Exploring the Inter-governmental Pledge at COP30,” explored Indigenous land tenure rights through the Tenure Facility’s work in Indonesia. The conversation demonstrated how rights-based approaches are increasingly recognized not only as justice work but as climate and biodiversity solutions.  This is where Cadasta’s work increasingly sits: at the intersection of community-generated data and the systems that shape decision-making, investment, and governance. Too often, land rights conversations are siloed away from climate finance, resilience, or economic development, when in reality, secure stewardship systems are foundational to all three.

Another especially meaningful experience came during a field visit to St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory. As someone whose grandparents devoted their careers to tropical scientific research in Central America, I found it deeply moving to witness the scale of investment and long-term thinking Singapore is directing toward marine science, ocean stewardship, and climate resilience. It also reinforced the growing importance of “blue commons” stewardship — an area Cadasta has increasingly invested in through development of our Blue Commons Solution, supporting mapping and decision-making for marine and coastal governance.

Despite the optimism throughout the week, many conversations also acknowledged a difficult reality familiar to much of the nonprofit sector: organizations across Asia continue operating amid volatile funding environments, fragmented support systems, and overwhelming compliance burdens. At the same time, there was a palpable sense that Asian philanthropy is no longer positioning itself merely as a regional actor, but increasingly as a participant in shaping global conversations around resilience, systems change, and development.

This moment requires philanthropy to provide more than catalytic capital alone. Long-term, trust-based support is equally essential for building the connective infrastructure that allows transformative work to scale sustainably over time. That infrastructure is not only physical, it is relational. It is the networks, shared tools, pooled platforms, long-term partnerships, and trust-based ecosystems that allow communities and organizations to respond collectively to increasingly interconnected crises.

I left Singapore energized and grateful for the conversations and connections that emerged throughout the week, and excited to continue exploring how land stewardship, community governance, climate resilience, and collaborative philanthropy can intersect in more meaningful and transformative ways moving forward.