Free venue available for NGOs

By Liang Meilan

A spacious 750-square-meter activity center recently opened at the north end of the basement of Workers Gymnasium. Run by the creative company iRENA, the center is free to use for NGOs.

Decorated as a large meeting hall, the place can hold more than 200 people. There are 100 chairs, six sets of sofa, microphones and projectors.

The company began providing the venue in February, and it is booked through April. NGOs should try to reserve the space 15 days in advance.

Inside the basement next to the meeting hall is an installation called Sunshine in the Dark, allowing visitors the chance to experience how the blind perceive the everyday world.

The creative space aims to raise awareness of the city’s blind. Another purpose is to give employment to the blind.

Ticket sales help cover the costs of the meeting hall.

Committed to becoming a socially responsible company, iRENA is in the business of empowering creative designers and organizations. Regarding the use of its meeting hall, it has just one requirement: that NGOs come up with creative ideas while in their meetings.

Where: Workers Gymnasium, 1 Gongren Tiyuchang Bei Lu, Chaoyang District

Tel: 6551 8509

Ticket for Sunshine in the Dark: 120 yuan, 60 yuan per person for groups of 10

NGO leads domestic fair trade campaign

By Liang Meilan

Last Saturday, some 40 people teamed up at Sculpting in Time Café to witness the anniversary of the mainland’s first fair trade wedding, held last year on Hong Kong’s Lamma Island.

The ceremony featured cupcakes, coffee and tea made from raw materials provided by fair trade organizations.

Fair trade, common in the West, seeks to promote sustainable livelihood for people in the world’s poorest regions by employing them to make goods for those who are able to pay a little extra for them.

“But China has yet to catch on to the practice,” said Chen Lecong, who organized the fair trade wedding. She is among the pioneers of fair trade in the Chinese mainland.

Chen runs a fair trade NGO that helps marginalized producers develop creative products. Even more ambitious, she has devoted herself to laying down strict standards for a fledgling industry that constantly faces skeptics and the specter of mistrust.

Wedding supports fair trade

At the anniversary party, Chen and her husband, together with fair trade practitioners, recalled that except for the diamond ring, all items used at the wedding – from the cake to invitation cards – were fair trade products.
 
“I was delighted to share my fair-trade lifestyle with my family and guests,” Chen said.

Fair trade is a social movement that builds trade relationships to give reasonably higher wages to producers in exchange for elevated social and environmental standards in poorer countries. In particular, the focus is on importing handicrafts, coffee, honey, wine and chocolate from developing countries.

As to why Chen decided to have a fair trade wedding, she said: “I was shocked when I read a slogan on the main page of Think Fair, a fair trade fashion company in the UK, which said, ‘Don’t buy an ebay bargin dress made in Chinese sweatshops, get one of our homegrown designs!’”

Unable to find a fair trade dress on the market, Chen decided to create one. She found a deaf fashion designer, who in turn helped find a migrant sewer in Guangzhou.

“I insisted on paying the sewer a reasonable price to make the deal fair, so the designer raised the price from 1,200 yuan to 1,800 yuan,” Chen said. “Still, I was content.”

Is China Ready for Online Donation Platforms?

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http://collectiveresponsibility.org/en/china-ready-online-donation-platforms

While reading the recent news that Shanghai based Social Venture Group (SVG) will be launching their most recent project, a website called China Charity Gift to facilitate donations to seven China based charities. It was a project that I know they have been working on for a while now and while taking a sneak peak at the Beta site, I thought that site was really well done, and had the potential to grow into a really nice platform for SVG (and its partners).

For a couple of days following that, I while thinking of the potential of the site, I found the question “Is China ready for online donations?” stayed with me.

It was not a question that was linked (directly or indirectly) to the site itself. It was wider than that. That, while China certainly has the people (it is the largest online market in the world), the resources (it is one of the few cash flush countries in the world), and the issues in need (pick an issue.. any issue), it is also a country whose history with a short history of what I like to call “engaged” philanthropy (see: The Genesis and Impact of Poor NGO Transparency in China for more on this).

This short history of “engaged” philanthropy, in the context of online donation platforms becomes important from three perspectives: donor, benefactor. and platform.

From the donor’s perspective, the issue I see what will donor expectations be when they arrive at the site, and what can sites do to most effectively meet those expectations. Keeping in mind the fact that “engage” philanthropy is still relatively new, and that the average donor was previously only able to channel their money through a handful of organizations (usually through an envelope) or a drop box, this platforms (and the others that are sure to follow) could present a new problem to the donor. The problem of too much choice.

It is an issue that I find on a regular basis now when speaking to individuals who are looking to donate time and money to a “cause”. They want to help, are often at a loss for where to start, and when asked “what is an issue you are passionate about”, a common reasons is the shrug of a shoulders… and that goes double for some of the wealthy who have dumped millions of RMB into some very public funds.

So, what was once a problem of having little or no choice at all, with less than ideal impact, is not a problem of having too much choice and an uncertainty of how to measure impact. It is a set of conditions that has created a new gap where donor expectations are growing in ways that are not necessarily in line with the realities of the market. That, in their search for firm ground, they are in some ways taking steps in the wrong direction and failing to understand the true purpose/ needs of the organization or issue they are looking to engage themselves in which, can at time, lead to a bad investment, investment experience, or both

So, the first hurdle I see for these sites (which I don’t think the SVG will have a problem with) will be to understand this gap, and build their infrastructure in such a way that the gap reduces in size to a what becomes baby step. Infrastructures that provide information on an issue, highlight the role of the partner, show a donor how far their money goes, and then (over time) releases project specific reports that close the loop for donors.

Second to that, there is the risk of these platforms to the benefactor, a risk position where there are two areas of exposure. The first, directly faces the donor and is related to the shifting expectations that donors will have from their online “engaged” experience, and more specifically that “engaged” donors are now expecting a lot more from those they are donating their money from: higher levels of transparency, reporting, impact, and scale.

New, and at times immature, expectations that place strings on the donations. As a recent survey by China Charity & Donation Information Center highlighted, when they found 90% of public was not satisfied with current levels of NGO transparency. That unlike before where a donor may not have necessarily cared about the benefactors follow through on the donation, or the impact of the donation itself, donors these days are more than happy to express their frustrations in various forms.

It is a risk that translates into more work for the NGOs who participate as (1) they will have to build a level of trust and credibility with site users and that will translate into (2) benefactors having to do more administrative work to open up to a level that meets the market needs. Two facets that are themselves manageable in the most mature markets, but in China where online discussions can quickly heat up, these two things can become a major handicap for an unprepared organization.

Finally, from the issue of the platform, where I see a couple of interesting gaps is how these the platforms themselves will grow, develop followings, develop stable sources of credible projects, and how they will serve to education and retain their donors. And with online donations having the potential to become the most valuable tool for NGOs looking to raise funds from China’s 200+ million online users, the major risk here is that the tool’s shine wears off and donors once again fail to engage at any sustainable level.

For me, it is quite clear that while this uncharted niche that real potential in China to develop into a trusted platform where donors and benefactors meet, it will be important to make sure that these platforms are able to provide the information, projects, and transparency that donors need to make decisions they are comfortable with.. and return to the next time they are looked to be an engaged citizen.

I wish the SVG team all the best in their launch next month, and I look forward to seeing how this platform (and others like it) will play apart of (or change) the philanthropy landscape in China.

NGO giving the gift of smiles

By Liang Meilan

Around the world, approximately one in every 600 children each year is born with a cleft lip or cleft palate. Surgery can easily correct the problem, but at about 1,500 yuan, it’s not affordable for many people in developing countries.

The charity organization Operation Smile is working to change that by procuring donations to pay for corrective surgery.

Scott Snyder, 29, is the program development manager of Operation Smile China. To raise awareness of his organization, he and his colleagues collaborated with Wokai, a microfinance NGO, to host an event at Face Bar on Tuesday.

Snyder started working with Operation Smile as a mission coordinator organizing medical missions in Virginia five years ago. He was sent to missions in countries including South Korea and Cambodia in his first year. Later, he worked in a regional office in Vietnam.

He was a political science major who wanted to pursue a career in law or politics, but what he saw working for Operation Smile fueled his passion for humanitarian work.

“The job is meaningful especially because we get to see the transformation of a child,” Snyder said. “The social stigma of having a cleft lip is extremely high. To be able to change that and make sure these kids can live longer lives is a very important part of my work.”

Incidences of cleft lip and palate are higher in Asia than other regions, at about one child per 500. There are two causes for the disease: lack of nutrition and genetics.

Snyder said ongoing recent research shows environmental pollution may also contribute to the disesase.

Last year, Snyder was named program development manager, and his first task was a weighty one: to conduct Operation Smile China’s 20th anniversary celebration later this year and draw up a plan for the company’s future in China.

As program development manager, Snyder must multitask. The most important part of working in China is fundraising. Most of the company’s funds comes from Hong Kong, but since the establishment of a charity hospital in Hangzhou in 2007, where children with cleft lips are sent for care, the need to raise money on the mainland is more urgent than ever.

NGOs shortage of talents, money makes missions impossible

By Zhao Hongyi

Thanks to a decade of government support, China is starting to see its own non-government organizations (NGOs).

Many expect that they will play an important role in promoting social justice, progress and distribution of wealth. But these new purveyors of goodwill and relief are struggling to balance their budgets and attract qualified professionals.

Zhang Xiaonian was a university graduate who left campus this summer. As part of his undergraduate degree in social sciences, he spent two months working as a volunteer at an AIDS Village in Henan Province.

With his past experience and strong academic background, he was a shoo-in for a job at an NGO.

But since September, aside from a feeling of achievement, his job offered little recompense.

“Beijing is simply unlivable on a 1,500-yuan paycheck, and the future of this organization is murky,” he says.

Currently he is planning to return to Shandong Province. He already took the National Public Servant Exam.

Making money to do good – A social business tries to help more non-profit organizations

By Annie Wei

A charity party was held at Opposite House in Sanlitun on October 13, attracting 80 guests.

The organizers, Piech Asia Enterprises (PAE) Design Talent and PAE Halo, suggested guests donate at least 150 yuan to the Halo Fund, which supports nonprofit organizations working on critical issues in China.

This was also the launch party for the organizer’s Socially Conscious Lifestyle Brand. Limited edition Halo messenger bags were auctioned off, with proceeds going to the fund.

More than 8,000 yuan was raised, a positive sign for the six-month-old PAE Halo, the philanthropic division of Piech Asia Enterprises (PAE), whose mission is to help build more efficient non-profit organizations in China.

“PAE is not a non-profit organization,” said Ellen Luo, the managing director of PAE Halo. “It’s a social business.” It is registered in Hong Kong but operates in Beijing. As a wholly foreign-invested company, it pays taxes as required.

In China, social business is a fairly new concept compared to other kinds of philanthropic organizations like NGOs.

NGOs – funding difficulties

Beijing has the most NGOs in China because it has so many government authorities, media and potential sponsors.

However, running an NGO is not easy. To register an NGO in China, one has to first find a government sponsor. Without registering, NGOs cannot accept domestic donations.

Even successful NGOs such as One Foundation, founded by actor Jet Lee and considered the most resourceful NGO, encounter difficulties. One Foundation recently announced that it may suspend activities. Although it can collect public donations under the supervision of China Red Cross, it does not have an independent account, leading donors to doubt its financial transparency.
 
Most foundations or NGOs are registered in Hong Kong and rely solely on overseas donations. But getting funding abroad is getting more and more difficult.

“When you try to apply for funding to eliminate poverty in China’s rural areas, they think you must be kidding to suggest China needs money raised in other countries,” said Li Zhiguo of VSO, a UK charity that sends volunteers to work abroad with full financial support.

Most of VSO’s funding is from DFID, a UK government department responsible for promotion and the reduction of poverty.

As China generates more and more money, “DFID thinks China has the potential to rise enough to solve its problems,” Li said.

Wuhan NGO prepares to search for Wild Man of Shennongjia

By Li Zhixin

The Hubei Savage Investigation and Research Society (SIRS) is raising funds to recruit explorers from all over the world to search for the oft-sighted “Wild Man of Shennongjia,” China’s Bigfoot, on a scientific expedition to the forested area of northern Hubei Province covering 320,000 hectares.

The society will primarily investigate the Shennongding-Nantianmen-Banbiyan belt in the Shennongjia National Nature Reserve, the Yanziya-Guizhuyuan belt in Shennongjia Forestry District and Qiaoshangxiang village in Fangxian County. 

Wang Shancai, secretary-general of SIRS, said three to five teams will explore the areas. Candidates must be skilled survivalists with exploration experience, photographers and videographers are also needed.

“We plan to recruit 30 to 50 people, and each team shall consist of no less than 10,” he said.

The society is raising 10 million yuan from private sources to support the investigation. “The investigation and search will probably last three to five years,” he said. “As soon as we get enough money, we will start training our team members.”

He said the best time to conduct the investigation is between May and November.

Wang, 75, is a paleoanthropologist. He has been following and collecting information about the Wild Man for more than 30 years.

Since the 1970s, many local people have claimed to have sighted the wild man in the area. From 1976 to 1981, the Chinese Academy of Science had carried out three scientific expeditions during which they found strange fur, footprints and excrement that did not belong to a gorilla, orangutan, chimpanzee or gibbon.

However, Duan Qigang, a sociologist, says the Wild Man is fiction.

“What I worry about is this is publicity speculation. Once the local officials find that hyping the event can promote the development of tourism, taxpayers will probably share the cost,” he said.

Despite doubters, Wang remains convinced of the wild man’s existence. He said companies and individuals with economic strength have showed interest in cooperating.

“Although I cannot jump to the conclusion that the Wild Man is in Shennongjia, our exploration and investigation will get as close as possible to the truth,” he said.   

“We are not merely looking for the Wild Man. We will also inspect and catalog various rare wild animals and plants in the area,” he said.

Abused children may go untreated as NGO’s funds evaporate

By Liang Meilan

Abuse is among the five top killers of Chinese children, according to a UNICEF report. Yearly records show as many as 4,000 are severely injured by abusers each year.

Despite a Law on the Protection of Minors in the 1990s, abuse remains extremely prevalent throughout the country.

The grassroots Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Center in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province has been providing free medical treatment to abused children since 2006 and educating society about the lasting damage of child abuse and how to prevent it.

But like many grassroots NGOs, the center is desperately short on money – especially since its 1-million-yuan fund granted by an international organization evaporated last year.

For now, its plans to go national remain frozen.

Cheng Cheng, who recently turned 18, is one of the young women most recently aided by the center.

Born in a remote village in southern Shannxi, her story of abuse began at age 11 when she was trafficked to work as a slave at a restaurant in Xinjiang after years of neglect by her mentally disabled mother.

What she had expected was a promotion turned out to be a move to a “hair salon.”

The brothel by night redefined abuse as patrons were allowed to do anything they wanted to the 14-year-old girl for a price. One of the most torturous episodes was when one John squeezed the plastic head of a hair dryer into her vagina for his own amusement. Cheng was left with extensive damage to her urethral canal and anus.

“When we first saw her in 2007, her vulva had extreme, open ulcers near the urethra and anus,” said Zhang Congyu, a staff member at the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Center who assisted in Cheng’s treatment.

The center, located at Xi’an Friendship Hospital, pledged three surgeries for Cheng.

Sun Village

Sun Village is a non-governmental charitable organization that has provides foster care and education for children of convicts who have been jailed for more than 10 years.

Charitable services include special education, psychological counseling, rights protection and vocational training. Over the past ten years, Sun Village has helped more than 2000 children in Beijing, Xi’an, Jiangxi, Qinghai, Xinxiang of Henan and Long County in Shanxi.

Most of the children are from the western provinces in China, which are among the poorest. There are estimated to be about 600,000 Chinese children with parents in prison.

Many of these children’s parent are in prison for domestic violence. In some cases, the father may have killed the mother. Many of them come from poor and difficult backgrounds and might otherwise be living on the street.

However, because these kids are not either disabled or the children of recognised “heroes” (who have presumably performed some service for which the authorities are grateful), they are not eligible for any real government funding, despite facing apparent destitution.

Many of the kids have serious psychological issues. They exhibit aggressive behaviour. There is a professional psychologist who sees them 1x a month. Most of those aged under 10 years are not aware that their parents have been jailed for serious crimes.

We went there to donate about RMB4,000 (US$590) left over from the fees from a salsa course run by a friend and were taken around by Gao Feng, an energetic guy who worked for 20 years in the People’s Liberation Army, who finished up as a tank regiment commander and now considers himself to be a “global volunteer”.

A boisterous guy who understates the length of time he has been working on his (pretty good) English language skills in order to impress foreigners, he’s a good ambassador for the place, which seems to be exceptionally well-run.

Typically, the “NGO” field is quite tricky to operate in in China because the government is wary of any organisation outside the Party. The words “Non Governmental Organisation” are not music to Communist Party ears. But Sun Village clearly provides a great service to the state by basically doing part of its job for it.

And it seems to be flourishing, using a smart hybrid commercial/sponsorship approach. It gets a paltry RMB50,000 (US$7,400) each year from the Chinese government. It is registered as a business with the Ministry for Industry and Commerce (if I remember right), rather than with the Ministry for Social Affairs.

The organisation rents land that it farms commercially to raise money and seems to be pretty good at attracting sponsorship internationally. It has a profile both nationally and internationally. We went on a weekend and the place was stuffed with visitors.

There’s a form you can fill in on its website to sponsor a child and many of the dormitories have plaques on them indicating that they were paid for by one or other international organisation. A lot of freshly-planted trees had been sponsored by the Crowne Plaza hotel.

Our group aimed to play some games with the kids. Viewing the number of visitors they had to deal with, I was a bit sceptical that the kids would be terribly enthusiastic but they did their best. They got through translated guessing games (“what am I? I have 3 legs…”) and an aborted effort to run races holding a spoon in their mouths with a nut balanced on the end and finally we all had fun with a cowboy game where we had to mime shooting one another. Nice trip.

http://www.tomspender.com/

NGO auctioning off model of countyard gate for preservation

Siheyuan front door/Photo by Peter Carney

By Liang Meilan

The Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP) is introducing a new twist to local fund-raising by auctioning off a clay model of a courtyard gate at its cocktail party tomorrow.

The event, to be held at Three Shadows Photography Art Center in Caochangdi, aims to raise funds for the center’s Cultural Action Network (CAN) volunteer program, which trains members how to assess at-risk cultural and historical sites across the country. 

“The [volunteer] network will raise awareness of the value of heritage sites, document the current state of cultural heritage protection across China and provide early warning of impending threats,” Zhang Pei, the center’s project officer, said.

“These reports will be the basis for CHP action when working with the Chinese media, government and citizens to improve heritage preservation in each community,” Zhang said.

The model gate to be auctioned off – considered a collector’s item – is the work of 20 local and foreign artists who each put his or her stamp on the piece.