The following 2002 edition of the Directory of 300 Major Foundations in Taiwan carries on the work undertook with the previous editions of Directory of 200 Major Foundations in Taiwan (1997) and the Directory of 300 Major Foundations in Taiwan (1999, 2001). In order to ensure maximal accuracy, the Himalaya Foundation began collecting new data in October 2001. Below is a summary of the data collection process and its findings:

1. Data Collection and Update of Records: Based on the existing database of 300 entries, survey forms were sent by fax and by email to foundations, followed by phone calls to remind recipients to complete and return the forms. A total of 226 surveys were returned, for an overall return rate of 75.3%. Despite repeated attempts, 74 organizations(24.7%) failed to provide updated information. Also, a special category was created to include and reflect the growing number of Country and Municipal Cultural Foundations. Finally, 19  foundations that either couldn't be reached or had ceased operation since our last update were eliminated from this present Directory. Consequently, a total of 34 new foundations have been added to our new edition, as detailed in Table One.

2. Government-related Foundations: In this 2002 Directory, Government-related Foundations have been divided into two categories. The first category includes 16 foundations whose reasons for establishment or mode of operation are particular and cannot be included in previous categories. The second category refers to Cultural Foundations established by County or Municipal Governments and includes 15 organizations of this type. Also, there are two foundations with special significance included in this year's Directory: "Tung-Shin Social Welfare Foundation" and the "Foundation for Scholarly Exchange". The "Tung-Shin Social Welfare Foundation" was established in 1833, which makes it the oldest foundation in Taiwan with a history of 169 years, and giving it a special historical significance. The "Foundation for Scholarly Exchange" was established in 1947 in accordance with the Sino-American Educational Exchange Agreement, its main purpose being to administer the Fulbright Exchange Program. This program encourages academic and cultural exchanges between researchers, professors and students from Taiwan and the United States by attributing scholarships. Despite not having large size endowments, these two foundations have nonetheless a special significance and historical background that justify their being listed in this Directory (see Table Two ).

3. Endowment of Foundations: The total endowment of Taiwan's 300 largest foundations amounted to NT$54.4 billion compared to the NT$50.8 billion surveyed in our previous edition. Such an increase results from the inclusion in the Directory of many new foundations with large endowments. In this year's Directory, one foundation's endowment exceeded NT$10 billion, "the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu-Chi Foundation", and 10 foundations' endowments exceeded NT$1 billion (see Table Three).

4. Missions of Foundations: When classified according to their mission and objective, foundations of the cultural and educational type lead with 161 foundations (53.7﹪), followed by 73 (24.3%) from the charity and welfare category and 31 (10.3%) from the medical and health category. Further down the list are economic development foundations as well as culture and arts foundations (see Table Four).

5. Supervising Agencies: A total of 222 foundations are supervised by central government agencies, thus showing the continued leading status of the central government in the jurisdiction of foundations. The Ministry of Education alone administers 120 foundations, followed by the Taipei City Government (44 foundations, or 14.7%), and Taiwan's other city and county governments (30 foundations, or 10%). For details see Table Five.

The Editors
April 2002

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Tables

1. Newly Added Foundations
2. Government-related Foundations
3. Annual Comparison by Endowment Size
4. Annual Comparison by Category
5. Annual Comparison by Supervising Agency

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Statement of Clarification

1. All foundations in this directory are incorporated entities. Therefore, we have omitted the word "corporation" from all titles herein.

2. Foundations applying to supervisory agencies for approval of establishment must place the descriptive name of the locale in Taiwan in which the foundation is located (city or county). We have chosen to omit such designations in this directory, with the exception of certain foundations in which a municipal area comprises part of a given foundation's name. For example the Chimei Cultural Foundation, based in Tainan city, does not carry that geographical designation, while the word "Taipei" is part of the official title of the "Taipei Financial Research and Development Foundation" and is thus retained in the title.

3. Foundation names and the English names of foundation personnel are rendered according to the preferences of the concerned parties except in the case of standardized addresses.

4. A few of the mission statements were provided to us in English by the foundations themselves. In instances where the editors of this directory undertook English translation, utmost pains have been taken to reflect the original Chinese-language content. However, the editors may exercise discretion in order to accommodate limitations of space. Corrections are welcome.