Innovation of Gawad Kalinga – Managing Partnerships of Meaning

By Raymund B. Habaradas
Business Management Department, De La Salle University
[email protected]; [email protected]

Abstract - Contributing to the success of Gawad Kalinga II. GAWAD KALINGA

(GK), a community development model that begins at the
grassroots level, is its ability to manage its relationships with Gawad Kalinga (GK) began in 1995, when the
various benefactors that decide to partner with GK through Couples for Christ (CFC) in the Philippines organized a
several models of engagement. These partnerships allow GK
to accelerate its efforts in alleviating poverty in the
youth camp in Bagong Silang (literally “new born”), one
Philippines by providing “land for the landless, homes for of the biggest slum areas in Metro Manila. Since then, GK
the homeless, and food for the hungry.” has built close to 200,000 houses in more than 2,000 GK
Among these models are: (a) the Corporate Social villages in poor communities all over the country for a
Responsibility Model, (b) the Co-Branding Model, (c) the fraction of the cost of government’s own subsidized and
Good Governance Model, (d) the Service Expansion Model, low-cost housing programs.
(e) the Expertise Sharing Model; and (f) the Legacy / Tribute Development experts have, in fact, estimated the total
Model. These models of engagement can be considered as development generated by Gawad Kalinga at more than
innovations in inter-organizational relationships, which can P8 billion in just over eight years (P3 billion for houses,
be a template for community development and poverty
alleviation efforts elsewhere in Asia.
P0.5 billion for schools, clinics, and other infrastructure,
P2 billion for land and site development, P2.5 billion for
social preparations, donated professional services, and
I. INTRODUCTION volunteerism, programs for health, education, and
livelihood). 1
In 1991, Peter Drucker lamented how government According to Edgar Chua, country chairman of Shell
“has proved incompetent at solving social problems” even companies in the Philippines and member of GK’s board
as he credited not-for-profit organizations (nonprofits) for of consultors: “what differentiates GK from others is that
“virtually every success we have scored.” Citing the it has taken steps to ensure the sustainability of the
societal contributions of groups such as the American communities it builds” (Meloto, 2009). GK’s holistic
Heart Association, the American Mental Health approach includes values formation training, education,
Association, Alcoholics Anonymous, and the Salvation health care, environmental awareness, food sufficiency,
Army, Drucker declared that nonprofits “have the and livelihood training to beneficiaries.
potential to become America’s social sector—equal in In recognition of its achievements, Gawad Kalinga
importance to the public sector of government and the has received numerous awards from various groups.
private sector of business.” These include the Ramon Magsaysay Award for
Drucker’s declaration applies to the Philippines as Community Leadership, the first Haydee Yorac Award,
well. Amidst the landscape of poverty, corruption, and the first Jose P. Laurel Award, the Manuel Luis Quezon
both natural and man-made disasters, nonprofits have Award, and the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Filipino of the
shown the way. Year citation.
One of these nonprofits is Gawad Kalinga (literally GK has become a true nation-building movement.
“to give care”), a community development model that Local government units (LGUs), civic organizations,
harnesses “a massive army of volunteers” who work politicians, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), academe,
together to bring about change and “to restore the dignity and even rival corporations (e.g. telecommunication
of the poorest of the poor” (Gawad Kalinga, 2009). companies Globe and Smart, fast food giants Jollibee and
In this paper, we show how Gawad Kalinga engages McDonalds, and major global players such as Unilever,
different sectors of society, i.e., business, government, Procter & Gamble, and Nestle) have embraced GK’s
academe, religious, non-government organizations, and vision of a slum-free Philippines.
private citizens in its mission of “building a first-class In 2009, Gawad Kalinga unveiled to the world the
Philippines one community at a time.” emerging Asian model for development at the first GK
We highlight several models of engagement that can Global Summit in Boston. It also launched GK2024, a 21-
be considered as innovations in inter-organizational year vision that provides the roadmap towards a First
relationships. These models can be used as a template for World Philippines” (Gawad Kalinga, 2009).
community development and poverty alleviation efforts
not only in the Philippines but in other developing
countries as well.
1
From the article “After Edsa I, Gawad Kalinga Filipinos’ next gift to
the world,” retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net
/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20070128-460...

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 III. GK MODELS OF ENGAGEMENT members of the kapitbahayan. The goal is for the partner
institution to be more than just a donor, but to become a
Just like any organization, Gawad Kalinga has regular part of the GK volunteer force, even taking the
developed an organizational structure to coordinate its lead in implementing certain programs in GK
internal operations and to effectively mobilize its army of communities.
workers, volunteers and benefactors. Two major units Over the years, GKPMG has observed that the
created by GK to deal with its key stakeholders are the decision of different organizations to establish a
Gawad Kalinga Builders Institute (GKBI) and the Gawad partnership with Gawad Kalinga is driven by different
Kalinga Parntership Management Group (GKPMG). motives, while their continuing involvement is due to the
GKBI deals directly with schools, and serves as a meaning that they derive from an enduring partnership.
think tank and learning institution for GK teams, For private companies, the primary motive is to
volunteers, and partners. engage in corporate social responsibility. Their
As a think tank, GKBI develops templates and partnership with GK is reinforced by the benefits they get
models for GK through community and school-based in terms of better employee relations, and co-branding
research. It encourages schools and universities to engage advantage.
GK communities in documenting best practices, and in For government agencies and LGUs, the successful
introducing new approaches and technologies. Other partnerships are driven by the intent to exercise good
initiatives include integrating the GK way in the governance and to expand the scope of the delivery of
curriculum, research, and internship programs; and public service.
developing, offering, and implementing GK knowledge For other groups and individuals, motives include
products (i.e. courses and programs) that will impact not being able to contribute their individual or collective
only GK communities but also other sectors (i.e. expertise to help the underprivileged, and building a GK
corporations, civic groups, and government) that are community as a tribute to a beloved family member or to
becoming more involved in community building and a respected individual.
social transformation. As a learning institution, GKBI is
engaged in capacity building. It designs and implements A. Companies (private sector)
training programs for GK teams, GK communities Gawad Kalinga has successfully propagated the idea
(kapitbahayan), caretaker teams, management boards, that the participation of big business in GK is more than
volunteers, and partners (Gawad Kalinga, 2009). just exercising their corporate social responsibility (CSR).
GKPMG, on the other hand, deals directly with They are also involved in a bigger project that is nation-
corporations, local government units (LGUs), government building. Because of GK’s novel approach of actively
agencies and other groups that are (or could be) major engaging their corporate donors in implementing GK
benefactors of Gawad Kalinga. This group was formed programs and activities ‘on the ground’ (rather than
because GK recognized the need to pursue institutional simply raising funds), the partnership takes on some
partnerships in order to sustain the work. As GK Founder special meaning for them.
Tony Meloto himself said: “development cannot be
sustained purely through volunteerism and doles.” Corporate social responsibility model
This paper focuses on the experience of GKPMG, One of the inspiring stories of corporate involvement
which is responsible for two things: resource generation in Gawad Kalinga is that of Unilever RFM Ice Cream,
and partnership management. The basic strategy, Inc. (URIC), producer of Selecta, currently the premier
according to GKPMG Head Chacha del Rosario, is to ice cream brand in the country.2
actively engage groups that want to take part in the GK The URIC management, led by its managing director
mission. GKPMG begins by raising the potential partner’s John Concepcion, drove its employees hard, relentless in
awareness and appreciation of the activities of GK. Del its pursuit of making Selecta number one. But this only
Rosario explains: “We present to them what Gawad succeeded in alienating the company’s employees, who
Kalinga is. We orient them, and bring them to a GK site. filed notices of strike, and became too legalistic in their
Once they understand the vision of Gawad Kalinga, they negotiations with management. According to Concepcion,
would say: ‘Hey, we share the same vision. We want to “people became wary of each other and nobody seemed
be a part of it!’ That’s when the partnership begins.” willing to do more without asking for something
What follows is the formalization of the partnership monetary in return.” The old happy-family atmosphere
through the signing of a memorandum of agreement, after faded away and died.
which the terms of the partnership are executed. GKPMG While reflecting on where the company was headed,
constantly gives an update on the developments of the Concepcion encountered Gawad Kalinga in 2005. Several
project supported by the institutional partner. “Our role is visits to an urban poor village in Cainta, where he saw
to make sure that we deliver on our commitments to “people living near tombs in a cemetery and a family of
them,” del Rosario said.
GKPMG also aims for a more enduring relationship 2
From “Taking the High Road to Number 1,” written by Tina Arceo-
by involving GK’s partner institutions in as many events Dumlao for the Philippine Daily Inquirer on April 19, 2009, as published
as possible, and by encouraging them to interact with in Builder of Dreams, pp. 324-327.

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 twenty squeezed into a one-room shanty,” made him the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and member
realize how blessed he was. “Other people were either of GK’s board of consultors, his company has also
living in a shoebox or living with the dead,” he said. provided GK with telecommunications support in the
This realization eventually led to the building of the form of broadband Internet connections and funding for
GK-Selecta Village in Cainta, where 96 families now live. its management information system to help GK manage
Concepcion was later joined in the development of the its affairs more efficiently.
village by most of the employees who generously Another company that is strongly associated with GK
contributed their time and effort to help build homes for is Shell Philippines, which invited GK founder Tony
the poor. “And in the weeks, months, and years that Meloto to be the face of its hope-and-dreams campaign—
followed, as they baked under the heat of the sun and “Malayo ang Mararating”—back in 2004. This was a
sweated it out together to pour cement and plaster walls, deliberate effort by Shell “to make CSR relevant to the
that old family feeling came back to life.” aspirations of a people to rise from poverty, to protect the
To cut the story short, participation in GK environment, to improve health and education, and to
engendered renewed feelings of goodwill between provide livelihood and a better quality of life for our
management and the employees. This led to fresh ideas citizens” (Meloto, 2009). After initially rejecting the idea
and strategies that emerged in quick succession. Among of appearing in a high-profile multi-media campaign,
the brilliant ideas that came up in one of their Meloto was convinced by friends who thought that this
brainstorming sessions is the Selecta 3-in-1 ice cream. will enhance GK’s credibility and recall. Meloto
The idea was a hit among Filipino families who wanted recounted:
ice cream but could not afford to buy three different
flavors. In 2006, with the appropriate innovation, Television, radio, print, and the over a thousand
advertising, and distribution strategies, Selecta became Shell stations around the country would carry
the country’s leading ice cream brand, and has enjoyed our dreams to millions all the way to the most
double-digit growth rates since then. “We really became remote areas for six months. It would also mean
number one because of GK,” Concepcion said. “We more people donating land, mayors inviting us to
became a team.” their towns, more volunteers, more corporations
sharing Shell’s concept of CSR, a more
Co-branding model invigorated army of caretakers, and more hope
Since Gawad Kalinga has become a powerful brand for the poor.
name because of the credibility it has built over the years,
association with it creates value for the company. Thus, GK’s partnership with Shell is as strong as ever. It
companies attach their names to GK villages that were donated two villages on prime properties in Batangas
built through their financial support. City, where Shell employees helped build homes, schools,
Globe Telecom, for example, helped build the Globe- livelihood centers, and supported programs that benefited
TM GK Village in Bagong Silang, the birthplace of over 200 families in the area. The company also provided
Gawad Kalinga. According to Gerardo Ablaza Jr., support to GK villages in Tarlac, Leyte, and Quezon, and
member of Globe Telecom’s board of directors and set up five training farms in Bicol, with at least 20 more
member of GK’s board of consultors, “[our company] farms to follow.
cannot truly succeed if our nation fails. And we cannot
create sustainable value in our company if the B. Government (public sector)
communities in which we operate are mired in poverty. In 2002, some 2,000 volunteers from Singles for
That is why we partnered with GK.”3 He added that, in Christ built in three days 16 GK homes in Dumaguete
the first six months of Globe’s partnership with GK, a City, Negros Oriental. Impressed by what she witnessed,
total of 1,200 employees (roughly one-fourth of the entire President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo challenged GK to
organization) had volunteered of themselves, having been build 1,000 homes with P30 million from her presidential
inspired by the GK vision. Ablaza said that the extensive fund. In spite of its lack of experience in building at such
volunteerism of Globe employees “enriched our a scale back then, GK succeeded in building the houses in
relationship with GK and elevated our engagement 70 sites throughout the country within a year.
beyond mere sponsorship to a true partnership.” President Arroyo’s highly-publicized initiative served
Globe’s major competitor Smart Communications as a major boost for GK, which began to attract leaders
(member of the PLDT Group of Companies) is also a from both sides of the political fence, including
long-standing partner of GK. It started out by helping opposition leader Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who
build GK villages in Manila, Maguindanao, and Quezon provided P40 million from his Countryside Development
Province, and then it set up seven villages in various parts Fund for schools, livelihood centers, sewage and
of the country, including Cebu, Iloilo, and Nueva Ecija. pathwalks. Support also came from other senators.
According to Manny Pangilinan, chairman of the board of Hundreds of governors and mayors have since joined the
bandwagon.
3
From “Globe and the GK Way,” written by Gerardo C. Ablaza, Jr., as In the next few years, GK collaborated closely with
published in Builder of Dreams, pp. 225-227 several cabinet secretaries, including Vice President Noli

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 de Castro. Through their support, according to Meloto years to feed at least 500,000 people for life.6 These
(2009), “whole communities with houses, schools, water model farms are supported by corporate partners such as
systems and farms were built for typhoon and fire victims, Selecta, Globe, Shell, and Wyeth Philippines.
urban informal settlers, rebel returnees, soldiers, and other Another innovative program is GK Mabuhay, which
marginalized sectors of society.” promotes GK sites as tourist destinations. This is a result
of the collaboration between GK and DOT. GK villages
Good governance model have become a cultural attraction in themselves, owing to
Even when Meloto was discouraged by friends from the fact that they were built with the people working
working with politicians, he realized that “it would be together as members of the community.
difficult to achieve scale and help more people if we did Under this program, GK villagers welcome visitors
not deal with government.” The important thing, he said, with warmth and hospitality brought about by their
is for GK to be clear about its position: GK must not renewed sense of hope. Both GK and the DOT call this
judge politicians or beg for their help, but must support campaign the “new face of community tourism.” Taking
them so that they can become effective as public servants. center stage are the Mabuhay Ladies, a group of women
Today, GK’s work has expanded rapidly thanks to residents who were chosen to be tour guides in the GK
the support of mayors and governors in hundreds of local communities that were opened as travel destinations. The
government units (LGUs) throughout the country.4 DOT conducted workshops for the Mabuhay Ladies,
Among these supportive local executives is Camsur giving them practical guiding tips and techniques on how
(Camarines Sur) governor Luis “LRay” Villafuerte Jr., to be effective tourist hosts and good communicators.7
who has transformed his province into a leading tourist The concept of community tourism, according to
destination in the country. One of the innovations he DOT Secretary Ace Durano, is fairly new. This has been a
introduced is the setting up of bed-and-breakfast facilities sought-after activity among the more adventurous
in GK villages in Camsur. travelers, who choose not just to travel but to take part in
According to Villafuerte, he learned about community concerns. “This travel-for-a-cause stance has
community building the GK way, i.e. “to share the best of been supported by the DOT through its other partnerships
Camsur with those who have the least, and to build self- with socio-civic groups,” Durano said.
sustaining communities we can be proud of.” He knew
that before setting up infrastructure and introducing C. Other groups and individuals
livelihood programs in his province he had to work on the In 2005, Gawad Kalinga launched GK1MB or Isang
confidence of his province mates. He said: “Before I even Milyong Bayani (One Million Heroes) in the Philippines
thought of building roads that would interconnect the (called One Million Builders in other countries). This
farthest and poorest barangay, I had to reach out to a vast seeks to raise one million volunteers not only from the
majority who had long given up on development.” To Philippines but also all over the world. The idea is for
Villafuerte, GK served as an inspiration. “I have learned volunteers to provide their talents, skills and time, at least
to invest in hope, and am encouraged to seek opportunity four hours a month to assist in GK communities.
despite the odds and to be on the opposite side of Professionals in various fields are also given the
traditional politics.”5 opportunity to share their skills and expertise for six
months to two years of full-time service in GK
Service expansion model communities.
For several government agencies, partnership with This campaign has generated interest not only in the
Gawad Kalinga allows them to fulfill their public-service country but also from Filipino communities abroad. For
mandates more effectively. Worth noting are the the roughly 9 million Filipinos working overseas, there is
partnerships of GK with the Department of Agriculture longing to connect with the homeland, and GK has struck
(DA), and the Department of Tourism (DOT). a chord in the hearts of many of our countrymen or
The partnership between GK and DA took the form kababayans (Habaradas, 2009).
of Bayan-Anihan, the food-sufficiency program of Gawad
Kalinga. Bayan-Anihan aims to eradicate hunger by Expertise sharing model
empowering families in GK communities to produce their For Primo Andres and the doctors belonging to the
own food. University of Santo Tomas Medical Alumni Association
Under this program, GK families would each be in America (USTMAAA), their involvement in GK
given a 10-square meter lot where they could start a resulted into a showcase village in Towerville, San Juan
vegetable garden with okra, tomatoes, eggplants, and del Monte, Bulacan, which is visited by their alumni
kangkong for their daily consumption. Launched in 2009,
the program seeks to launch 2,500 farms in the next three
6
From “Gawad Kalinga launches food-sufficiency program”, written by
Patricia Esteves, retrieved from http://bayan-anihan.com/gawad-kalinga-
launches-food-sufficiency-program/, updated on June 15, 2009.
4 7
From Builder of Dreams, pp. 127-128 From “GK ‘Mabuhay Ladies’ show the way to community tourism”
5
From “Architect of transformation,” written by Luis Villafuerte Jr., as written by Patricia Esteves, retrieved from philstar.com, updated on
published in Builder of Dreams, pp. 254-255 September 28, 2008.

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 whenever they went home to the Philippines. Now there IV. SYNERGY AND CREATIVE LEVERAGING AT
are 11 such villages and a medical clinic / dormitory in WORK
Towerville put up by individual alumni, classes,
fraternity, and group of friends. By actively engaging various groups in its effort to
Dr. Andres and his wife Sylvia have also donated GK build communities, Gawad Kalinga is able to multiply its
villages in both Panabo, Davao del Norte and in Cordon, resources through the concept of creative leveraging.
Isabela. Andres’ testimony probably captures the Meloto (2009) explains that “a dollar of donation for the
sentiments of thousands of Filipinos abroad who have materials to build a house triggered a counterpart value in
also been inspired by GK: “We have achieved our dreams ‘sweat equity’ from the beneficiaries, professional
in our adopted country, the USA. Now it is time for us to services from volunteer architects and engineers, and
look back at the country we left behind but have never dedicated community organizing and program
forgotten nor ceased to love.”8 implementation by caretaker teams.” Others donate
GK has also succeeded in tapping the experience of schools, clinics, and livelihood centers as their
individuals coming from different fields and disciplines, counterparts to the houses.
and in integrating their ideas into its development model. Former Globe Telecom President Gerardo Ablaza Jr.,
Among these individuals are former Environment who is also a member of the GK board of consultors,
Secretary Elisea “Bebet” Gozun, who is now the GK rightly said that “no one company, group or organization
champion for Green Kalinga; DA Secretary Arthur Yap, has the resources or the capacity to match the scale of the
who brought with him DA’s programs, expertise, and GK ambition.9” But with the multitude of donors,
funds to support GK Bayan-anihan; Tourism Secretary volunteers, full-time workers, and the kapitbahayan
Ace Durano and former tourism secretary Tony Gonzales, feeding on each others’ energies, the Filipino people have
who both support GK Mabuhay; and business leaders become more optimistic about the prospects of winning
Manny Pangilinan, Gerardo Ablaza Jr., Edgar Chua, and the fight against poverty.
Washington SyCip, all of whom are members of GK’s
board of consultors.
REFERENCES
Legacy model
For rich and prominent Filipino families that dream [1] Drucker, P. (1995). Managing in a time of great
of a better life for the poor, “legacy GK villages” became change. New York: Truman Talley Books / Plume.
a concrete expression of deep concern for them. Here are [2] Gawad Kalinga (2009). www.gk1world.com.
some of the examples cited by Meloto (2009): [3] Habaradas, R. (2010). The Economic and Artistic
Phinma Chairman Oscar Hilado “returned to his roots Flows of Gawad Kalinga. Conference Proceedings of
in Negros and built a beautiful village for over 500 the 3rd DLSU Arts Congress 2010, February 17-18,
beneficiaries on land provided by the Hernaez-Magsaysay 2010.
family.” Customs Commissioner Tony Bernardo, on the [4] Meloto, A. (2009). Builder of dreams. Mandaluyong
other hand, mobilized his relatives abroad to donate a City: Gawad Kalinga Development Foundation, Inc.
legacy village in Mandaluyong City in honor of his
parents. He also inspired his law fraternity, Utopia, to
raise its own villabe in Paranaque City.
In San Jose, Bulacan, the Aldaba-Lims transformed a
community as a legacy to their matriarch, former social
services secretary Estefania Aldaba-Lim, who was from
the province. She was able to turn over the homes to their
happy beneficiaries before she died.
The spirit of returning to one’s roots drove Danny
Dimayuga’s family to raise a village in Batangas, as did
three branches of the Laurel family. This also served as
inspiration for the Lopezes to build GK villages in Iloilo
and Negros where they trace their origin.
According to Meloto (2009), “there are many more
families that have not forgotten where they came from
and have championed the rebuilding of their towns. We
cannot honor them enough; many others are waiting to
follow their noble example.”

8
From “The ‘Hearts’ of GK,” written by Dr. Primo Andres, and
9
published in Builder of Dreams, pp. 271-273. From Builder of Dreams, p. 227

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