Or, they could avail of an 'umbrella' foundation called Symphasis, established by Credit Suisse.

Symphasis offers clients economies of scale in getting a charitable foundation off the ground, says Francois Monnet, the bank's head of private banking (Southeast Asia and Australasia). It forms yet another plank in the bank's strategy to penetrate the ultra high net worth segment, defined by the bank as those with US$250 million of net worth, or US$50 million in assets under management with the bank, or US$500,000 in account revenues.

'Many of our clients would like to leave a legacy... The need is expressed but not thoroughly understood in its implementation. We also look at the family dimension. As soon as you engage in philanthropy, you have to define what you stand for, These questions lead to family governance issues,' he says.

Symphasis was set up in 2002 to provide 'user-friendly access' to philanthropic giving. Families will have to donate at least US$1 million, but they will enjoy some degree of flexibility. While projects are selected by a grants committee and board of trustees, participating families can establish their own sub-foundation and name it.

They can pick from a number of pre-selected projects. They can also decide on whether the project is to be supported by income from the grant, or by the capital itself. A client can also sit in the grant committee and have a voice in determining which project to support. Credit Suisse will bear most of the foundation's administration and management costs.

The chairman of Symphasis' Board of Trustees is Flavio Cotti, former president of the Swiss Confederation.

To date, Symphasis has supported nearly 300 charitable projects, with commitments of around $18 million. Some 63 projects are in Asia. Singapore participants, however, are unlikely to be able to get tax benefits from their donations, as under local tax rules, the charities must be an approved Institution of a Public Character (IPC)

'With growing demand, we'll investigate the option to localise Symphasis, not only from the legal standpoint but also from charitable causes. We'll look at it from the Singapore point of view,' he says.

Mr Monnet says the bank's wealth planning division has seen the most success in recent months as the financial crisis has jolted clients into the realisation of the need for legacy planning. 'We've never had so many trust mandates and business around succession planning.'

Symphasis projects span those devoted to health and education as well as ecological goals. For instance, it supports a number of projects in the Philippines, including a three-year project on the Polillo Islands in Quezon Province to bring about a sustainable improvement in the living conditions of farmers and fishermen there.

Another project in Cambodia - called the Hagar Street Children Project - aims to help street children and young mothers.