Freeman Grant

The Freeman Foundation has given $237,500 to help to provide new books for university libraries, and college scholarships for some of the neediest students. We are building two Web sites to coordinate these efforts and mobilize further support.

The first site, BOOKSAIL, will let libraries in China and other countries list their needs, and let donors around the world buy books that match them. Large collections will be purchased - in law, medicine, architecture, science and engineering, and other critical fields - by spreading the costs over very large numbers of donors. When BOOKSAIL reaches critical mass, it will operate without external funding and continue to provide thousands of new books and journals over the long term.

The second site, DONORSCLUB, will let donors give scholarships in China, Vietnam and other countries. It will solicit small donations from individuals worldwide. and aggregate those gifts to create $500-1500 grants for students who have passed their entrance exams but cannot afford to enter school.

These projects will be breakthroughs for the people and places we serve: they will fill hundreds of libraries with up-to-date materials, and let thousands of students finish college. They will also recruit new donors to the cause of international development, and demonstrate novel uses of the Web for person-to-person giving.

To launch these ventures, BTA seeks additional funding. Donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Checks may be made payable to Bridge to Asia and be mailed to: Bridge to Asia, 665 Grant Avenue, San Francisco, California 94108. Please call with any questions, or contact us by e-mail (415-678-2990 - asianet@bridge.org).

Get Involved!