The move into philanthropy, which started to gain pace with donations to alma mater Colgate, Buddhist-related initiatives and healthcare, took on an institutional form in 2005 when Robert Hung Ngai together with his two children launched an independent philanthropic organisation called The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation. It was not an endeavour planned years in advance but rather an organic development that all felt was the right way to go.

Birth of the Family Foundation

“We would sit around at dinner – not one dinner but over time – and say we ought to something charitable. We tossed around ideas over what to do. I wanted to go with healthcare. One of my sons wanted to focus on Africa. The other was interested in the Himalayas. This went on for months without coming to any conclusion.

“Finally we said: ‘OK, we will have a family pool and we will decide on things in that pool together. If anyone now sitting around the table wants to do their own thing, they can start their own foundation.’ We decided to do two things as a family: promote Chinese arts and culture, and raise awareness of Buddhism.”

The Foundation is based in Hong Kong, supporting arts and culture activities in the city; at leading world museums; and Buddhism-related education and cultural programmes at major global universities and institutions.

In setting up the Foundation, the Ho family decided that they would be active participants in the process of decision-making on programme support and grant-making rather than figureheads. Initially, Robert Hung Ngai was chairman as well as founder. Since 2010, his eldest son has taken on the chairmanship.

The satisfaction of giving

“There are two ways to go into philanthropy: either you are proactive or you just write a cheque. Writing a cheque is easy. But at our Foundation, we think proactive is the way to go. We want to generate interest in a certain field and help it come up. This was one thing I didn’t inherit, as my grandfather was one of those people writing cheques! My father also wrote cheques. It was what mostly happened in their time.

“When I work at something as a job, any success is achieved for the organisation. When I am working on philanthropic endeavours, it is for society. It is a totally different feeling.”

In recent years, there has been a gradual move towards recruitment of high-quality people beyond the family circle. The Foundation has a Board of Directors, comprising experienced and relevant senior figures in the two core areas it fosters in addition to family members. There is a full-time Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, and an established team of staff to administer and run the organisation. “The family can oversee everything,” Mr Ho said. “But it doesn’t have to do everything.”