Philanthropy and the Indonesian Community in Seattle : The Cerdas Foundation Experience

As the number of Indonesians migrating to foreign countries grows, so do the remittances they send back to Indonesia. The amounts are significant. The World Bank's Migration and remittance Factbook noted that in 2008 Indonesia ranked thirteenth in the world's top remittance-receiving countries. In 2006 Indonesia received inward remittance flows of 5.722 million US dollars or 1.6 percent of the nation's GDP. However, few studies have been conducted of the Indonesian diaspora's philanthropic organization. This article will examine the experience of the Cerdas Foundation in managing Indonesian philanthropy in Seattle, in the United States of America. In accomplishing its mission statements, the Cerdas Foundation faces obstacles and challenges generated by the problems of distance from Indonesia, inadequate organizational structure, and an "open ideology." Despite this, the Cerdas Foundation arguably has the potential to contribute sustainably to Indonesia's social and economic development through its education and disaster relief programs if it can transform itself from a gathering of nostalgic Indonesians in Seattle to a functional corporation. This is possible, and the article argues if the Cerdas Foundation adopts a more hierarchical organizational structure and balances its stance of philanthropic amateurism