I’m in
Beijing this week, and on Tuesday I had the distinct privilege of spending time
with Xu Yongguang at the Narada Foundation,
one of China’s first private foundations.
We have written about the emergence of China’s private foundations as
well as Narada previously
on this blog. I’d recommend reading that
post for some background on the landscape of private foundations in
China.
One of the values that SVG shares with Narada is a focus on helping Chinese grassroots nonprofits organizations to thrive. Narada sees itself as a “supporting” organization, helping with funding and programs for capacity building for grassroots groups in China, who are often overlooked by the general public and the corporate sector for funding and assistance.
Mr. Xu
and I spoke of the current landscape for these small nonprofits and what it
will take for the sector to grow. I took
notes on some key takeaways from the time, which was rich with insights:
On the relationship
between private foundations and NGOs in China. Mr. Xu noted how the development path of
private foundations and NGOs in China has been exactly flipped from the
West. In the West, private foundations
grew out of an existing maturing NGO sector, whereas in China, government
foundations appeared first on the scene, even before there were NGOs for them
to serve. These government foundations
were created to advance the charitable causes of the Chinese government. The flipping of this order still has a large
impact on the way foundations in China, both private and governmental, operate
today.
Two Criteria for
Growth of Grassroots NGOs in China. The first is being able to
attract top talent, which has been particularly difficult as there is still a
stigma attached to working in the nonprofit sector here. Second, traditionally most charitable efforts
have focused on building “hardware” (facilities, infrastructure, things that
you can see and touch). However, Mr. Xu
believes that the biggest needs now that grassroots NGOs must address are
“service” or “software” related, focusing on building and serving needy people,
not simply creating infrastructure.
Cultural Barriers
to Attracting Talent. Mr. Xu believes that the
largest cultural barriers to attracting highly qualified people to the sector
is the current importance of wealth and power for China’s young people as they
consider different career paths. While
these may be true in other developed countries, in China it is especially acute
given the lack of economic and political stability that most Chinese families
have experienced in the last half-century.
Most often, a career in non-profit, however meaningful, will not provide
either of those in abundance, and therefore there is a strong cultural aversion
to the sector. It often requires a
deeply personal experience or a particularly selfless religious worldview to
overcome the pull of this cultural undercurrent. Mr. Xu believes that we are seeing the beginnings
of this cultural shift now but it will take time.
Overall,
I was very encouraged by the time, and we’re looking to collaborating with
Narada on a number of fronts going forward!
--
Grace
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