China Philanthropy

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the SVG Team!

Click here for SVG's holiday e-card that went out to many of our friends & partners.  On behalf of the SVG team, we wish you & your loved ones a meaningful and bright holiday season!  

-- Grace for the team

SVG's latest newsletter- Doing Good

Have you read the latest issue of "Doing Good," SVG's newsletter on grassroots nonprofits in China?  Each issue is a labor of love for us, as we get to share about all the interesting happenings we are seeing in the sector.  We hope you enjoy this issue and give us your feedback!

Click here for the English version of our newsletter.

-- Grace

Dispatches From Sichuan

This article is also in SVG's recent newsletter, which can be downloaded at www.socialventuregroup.com.

Six months after the May 12th earthquake that hit Sichuan, I had the chance to return to Chengdu and conduct research there for a period of time on behalf of an SVG client.  Being not as seriously damaged by the earthquake, Chengdu has quickly recovered from the disaster and there are now no obvious traces of the earthquake in the city.  However, residents are still talking about and sending assistance to the nearby affected areas.  It seems that almost everyone I talked to is is trying to contribute in some way, either through volunteering or through donations.  The most tangible change is that that many nonprofit NGOs have emerged, including international NGOs, government-run organizations, NGOs from other parts of China and new grassroots disaster relief groups in Sichuan.  Most of these organizations are using Chengdu as their base of operations and are providing different earthquake relief or reconstruction efforts in Sichuan.

又谈“慈善”与“公益”

“慈善”和“公益”在中文语境里常常被混为一谈。在没有加入SVG以前，我对此也是一知半解，虽然我不认为两者是等同的，却又说不出个所以然来。最近在上师大的一位老师的推荐下在读资中筠教授的《散财之道》---又名《财富的归宿》，又让我想到了“慈善”与“公益”。这本书虽然只是介绍美国现代公益基金会的，但是对于慈善事业在全球范围内的起源和发展，以及美国基金会之于中国社会的影响，资氏做了极为深刻的剖析，我会在以后的文章里和大家分享。在这里先谈谈对“慈善”与“公益”的理解吧。

Reverse Migration in China and the Simplest/Hardest of Questions

Sam (our Board chairman) sent me this article today in the WSJ about the massive reverse migration that is occurring now as factories are closing and migrants are returning to the rural areas ('China Fears Restive Migrants as Jobs Disappear in Cities').  I encourage you to take the time to read it as it not only highlights a slow reversal of one of the largest human migrations in history, but it also is a foreboding message about brewing social unrest in China.  Quite simply, what do you do with millions of unemployed and unskilled migrant workers who return to their farms, farms which were more or less already gainfully employing those who hadn't left?   Where can you gainfully employ them, and what value can they bring to China's current economy?

The Impact of the Earthquake on Volunteerism and Giving

Graham Thompson alerted me to this article in yesterday's South China Morning Post detailing some of the changes we are beginning to see in attitudes towards volunteering and giving, post 5-12 earthquake.  

I would agree with the sentiments expressed here, and the picture in my mind is of small green grass shoots sprouting up after a winter freeze.  We are beginning to see the start of what we hope will be the springtime of grassroots charity and NGO work in China.  The earthquake has certainly catalyzed public interest in the sector.  What remains to be seen is the long term effect that the quake will have on giving.