The synergy between entrepreneur Mark Weingard and local businessman Joe Gasan has grown since they ended up around the same board table of Midi’s business centre – so it is perhaps no surprise that Mr Gasan sought the younger man’s advice when he decided to set up a foundation to put his group’s corporate social responsibility programme on a formal basis.

Mr Weingard set up his charity, Inspirasia Foundation, in 2003 after his girlfriend was killed in a terrorist attack, wanting something positive to come out of the horror. It has evolved over the years thanks to a percentage of the revenue – yes, revenue, not profit – from his luxury Thai resort, Iniala.

“We didn’t want to only give them money. We also wanted to give them time… And we sought out organisations which made an impact – looking for long-term projects rather than short-term ones,” he explained.

The inspirasia-aided project in Bali made a huge impact on Joe Gasan and his daughter Sarah Carbonaro.

This approach was very much in line with Mr Gasan’s and that is why he and his daughter Sarah Carbonaro – who will run the foundation – found themselves travelling for hours with Mr Weingard through the jungle in Bali, much of the way on unpaved roads, across mountain ranges to reach a remote village.

A few years ago, it was so isolated that many of the inhabitants had never seen a white man – and disease was rife as there was no water and little agriculture. The funds (a third of which came from Inspirasia) made all the difference and the village has slowly but surely been brought into the 21st century – with roads, water, a school and plantations to give its residents an income and all-important sustainability. Mr Gasan and Ms Carbonaro forgot all about the dust and discomfort and knew immediately that they wanted their own foundation to achieve the same tangible results.

We are encouraging people to come forward, whether they are an established NGO or a new one. If they have a great project, they should bring it to us

“We will definitely fine-tune our mission but at present we will be looking at impact, scalability, feasibility and sustainability,” Mr Gasan said.

The challenge is to find the right projects and the two hit on a solution: Social Impact Awards. The idea is for each of the foundations to donate €10,000 every year ­– but the twist comes from having a competition, with shortlisted projects going to a semi-final round, and possibly receiving further mentoring before the final, drawing on the foundations’ expertise. And a bonus is that the two of them have already started using their extensive contacts to encourage other businesses to come on board as donors, with a further €30,000 already pledged in cash, but also other companies willing to offer services in kind, such as marketing.

“We want to televise the awards too, as this will bring the topic to a wider audience to encourage more donors, while we will also offer mentoring to help NGOs improve the quality of their projects in line with the four pillars we have identified,” Mr Gasan said.

“The shortlisted companies will pitch to a group which will include other philanthropists and corporate foundations who might be interested in innovative ideas,” Inspirasia assistant director Louise Attard explained.

The money will be pooled and the decision on how to allocate the funds will be taken on a case by case basis – as the foundations are open to the idea of multiple projects.

“We are looking at great projects for Malta which will make an impact on society. We are encouraging people to come forward whether they are an established NGO or a new one. If they have a great project, they should bring it to us,” Mr Weingard said.

Contact Ms Attard on louisa@ inspirasia. org for more information. The deadline for submissions of expression of interest is July 11. The awards will be held in autumn.