Invoking the Spirit of Giving - Challenges of Chinese Nonprofit Organizations
by Zhong Xin
A big challenge for China's nonprofit organizations (NPOs) today is how to deal with their lack of funding. There are three different main sources of their income: government subsidies, membership fees and public donations. A nationwide survey on NPOs compiled by Tsinghua University in 1998 found that only 2.2% of their financing comes from public contributions. The amount of funds raised from private donors is much lower in China than in the U.S., the United Kingdom or France. Still, China does have a philanthropic tradition. Therefore, Chinese NPOs need to determine how to motivate ordinary people to donate and how to draw people's attention to the fact that giving is a good thing. Here are some examples of how fundraising has been done:
The "One Bowl of Rice Movement" in Hong Kong
In 1941, when the Second World War was in full swing, Song Qingling, Sun Yat-Sen's wife, initiated the "One Bowl of Rice Movement" in an effort to raise funds for the so-called "International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives" ("Gung Ho"). The new movement was intended to support the Chinese troops in mainland China by helping injured soldiers and refugees. Funds were solicited by selling ten thousand food tickets in Hong Kong. Each ticket cost 2 Yuan, an amount which at the time would buy several vegetable and meat dishes. But those who bought a ticket would only eat a bowl of fried rice at a designated restaurant. The amount which was saved in this way was then handed over to the "Gung Ho". News about the "One Bowl of Rice Movement" spread quickly among people of all social classes in Hong Kong.
The Oxfam Trailwalker of Hong Kong
The "Oxfam Trailwalker" is one of Hong Kong's largest fundraising events of its kind. To raise funds participants walk the 100 km Maclehose Trail across the mountain ranges of the New Territories in the name of one or several donors. Applicants need to find sponsors who pledge to donate at least HK$6500. The race takes two days and team members can succeed only if they cheer each other on as a team. Many people in Hong Kong support this event and the number of participants increases year by year. As a result, the amount of funds raised at this event keeps rising, too. In 1997, more than HK$ 11 million were raised by 2804 participants. In 2004, 10,000 participants raised HK$ 20 million.
The Tzu Chi Foundation's "50 Cents A Day"
The Tzu Chi Foundation is a famous Buddhist non-profit organization. According to estimates it receives 100 million individual donations annually. It was founded by a Buddhist master named Zheng Yan, a nun who had seen a woman die in hospital from a miscarriage because she could not afford treatment. Zheng Yan went to the bamboo grove behind her monastery and cut thirty bamboo cups, which she distributed among 30 followers, telling them to put 50 cents from their daily grocery shopping money into the cup. In this way, these people were able save 15 dollars every month. Even though 50 cents seem to be a small amount, this kind of collecting money has a big impact on people's awareness of what giving and fundraising is all about. It encourages people to get involved in charity and public welfare.
What is it that makes these three fundraising activities successful?
All three methods involve ordinary people. Charity and public welfare are popularized so people become aware that giving is important. All these fundraising methods share common features: first of all, they promote a healthy lifestyle. Participants do something health-related - eating healthy food, exercising and doing good while eating less.
Second, all of them encourage ordinary people to participate. For fundraising activities it is much better to involve common people in acts of philanthropy than to depend on the generosity of a few rich people. Even though donations of the wealthy can be fairly large and their good deeds can be especially beneficial, one person doing a lot of good a few times has less of an effect than many people doing a little good repeatedly over a long time.
A third common feature of these fundraising methods is that they start with things which people do anyway in their daily lives: eating, walking, shopping. Connecting fundraising activities with common daily chores helps to remind people to do good on a regular basis.
What can nonprofit organizations in China do today?
Fundraising activities should be as healthy as possible. If a fundraising event is a healthy and useful exercise, a lot of people will want to participate.
Fundraising efforts should aim at common people. One person doing good is not as good as a whole lot of people doing good. The goal of fundraising is not just to collect a certain amount of money. It is also important to establish long-term relationships with ordinary people in order to encourage generosity. It is not all that important whether people give a lot or a little. Only if ordinary people are convinced that they are responsible for public welfare and should contribute to the public good, a sustainable fundraising strategy can be established.
Fundraising activities should have some connection with people's daily lives. Charity is not just a matter of temporary involvement. Also, its point is not to salve one's conscience. Rather, it means a repeated effort to get people involved in public welfare. That is why fundraising should become similar to a daily routine, for example encouraging people to donate a certain amount of money on a monthly or daily basis.
