Brooke Avory, Manager, Partnership Development, BSR

Last month, when a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the western part of Sichuan province—about 1,500 kilometers from where I live in Beijing—I found out not through the TV news, not through Weibo, but via a text message from a local foundation, You Change. The message included the mobile number for the foundation’s vice secretary general should I want to get in touch.

Sign of the times? Maybe. But it also demonstrates how much China’s philanthropy landscape has changed, particularly since Sichuan’s much more devastating earthquake that claimed 70,000 lives in 2008.

A few days after the recent earthquake, I attended a Cheong Kong Graduate School of Business event that brought together leaders from companies and NGOs to discuss “innovative” approaches to philanthropy in China. With the earthquake top of mind, speakers and attendees were absorbed in discussions about how China can more effectively use its growing philanthropy field to respond to natural disasters, even as it develops a lasting culture of support for times when there isn’t a crisis but there is an acute need. 

While the discussion covered a lot of ground, I found three points intriguing:

More people are donating to private organizations over GONGOs: In contrast to the 2008 earthquake, the public is choosing to support private foundations rather than government-affiliated organizations (GONGOs) such as the Chinese Red Cross. Just 24 hours after last month’s earthquake hit, One Foundation, an organization established by Jet Li, had received CNY22.3 million in donations, compared to only CNY140,000 given to the Red Cross. While the numbers had leveled out somewhat several days later, public mistrust of GONGOs, stemming from transparency scandals in 2011, is still a problem in China. To restore the public’s faith in the system, we need oversight mechanisms for NGOs.

Companies are taking a more strategic approach to philanthropy: Over the past five years, companies and individuals have begun moving beyond philanthropy and donations to pursue more strategic approaches to giving back. Companies are contributing their core expertise or resources, such as through pro bono volunteering, to customize their approaches to social investment.

The public is getting more involved: As indicated by news reports about the oversupply of volunteers going into Sichuan, the public interest in giving back is stronger than ever. To improve alignment between demand for resources, be it from companies or individuals, and supply of help, we need two things: First, the government must relax its restrictions on channels for giving and support to allow more NGOs “of choice” to receive donations (a policy unlikely to change soon). Second, and perhaps more feasible, is a resource-matching mechanism that will channel help to where it is needed most.

Perhaps my most interesting observation from this discussion is that events like natural disasters have a way of uniting people around a common cause. Whether this spirit can be sustained as a part of everyday life in China is an open question. Here, I believe the media can play a role in fostering social values and encouraging both corporate and individual responsibility. We need more articles that challenge the public to reflect on the kind of China they want to be a part of and spur positive action. And we need media coverage that both highlights when business takes the lead in societal contributions and holds accountable those actors with less reputable behavior. This kind of activity will help cultivate and sustain the kind of active, responsive civil society we see in times of disaster.