Chinese charities don’t enjoy the best reputation worldwide. Mention the words ‘charities in China’ to people and it is synonymous with corruption, conjuring up ideas of managers who further want to line their pockets, staff who siphon off funds and celebrity do-gooders who aren’t all that they seem.  With the 2011 Guo Meimei Red Cross scandal – the story of a 20 year old female employee claiming to work for the Chinese Red Cross who was pictured living the high life of luxury, posting pictures on social media sites of her lavish lifestyle – along with the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake disaster where it was discovered that the money wasn’t reaching  the victims of the disaster; it’s no wonder that people have little faith in the charity organizations that claim to be helping their fellow countrymen.

So what exactly are the differences between charities and NGOs and what is the public stance? Are there any good charities out there making positive waves in the community?

Photo: GSK

What are charities and NGOs?

Generally, the meaning of a charity is a company who helps by providing assistance, support and raises money for the good of the public. They often have limited amounts of cash and rely on the good nature of the general public to aid as much as possible in their endeavors to make the world a better place. According to http://www.diycommitteeguide.org/, a charity is defined as:

“An institution which is established for charitable purposes only and is for the public benefit.”

Whereas NGOs or Non-Governmental Organizations are what they say on the tin: an organization that is not affiliated with the government. They operate independently. However, the two are very similar and there are very few differences between them. An NGO is defined as:

 “ an organization that is neither a part of a government nor a conventional for-profit business. Usually set up by ordinary citizens, NGOs may be funded by governments, foundations or businesses.”

Public perception

The public perception in China of charities is relatively low, however it appears to be marginally improving according to the CCDIC (China Charity and Donation Information Center), itself an NGO who on September 25 2013 published their 5th annual report about China Charity Transparency – a report that looks at the disclosure of information amongst the country’s philanthropic groups.

 It stated that information was collated on 1000 of the country’s registered charities to assess their transparency with scores being given on a scale of 1-100. The average result was 43.11, an increase of 33.1% on 2012 levels, but still abysmally low. Only 29.6% of the 1000 charities ranked above 60 in satisfaction levels (up from 20.4% in 2012). That means that only 30% of Chinese charities currently meet acceptable international criteria for transparency and information disclosure.

Although these figures are embarrassingly low, it would seem that in the face of public scrutiny and questioning, these groups are beginning to slowly mend their ways. Over 70% of people surveyed by the CCDIC agreed that progress had been made whilst only 20% were satisfied with the results, so there is still some way to go.  

The fallout from these scandals has impacted so hard that a separate report-again issued by the CCDIC- found that donations in 2012 totaled just $13.3 billion. To put it into perspective, that equates to 4% of the donations collected by charities in the US in that same year.

Organizations making a positive impact

1) International Network for Bamboo and Rattan
Headquartered in Beijing, this mission of this organization is “to improve the well-being of producers and users of bamboo and rattan, while maintaining a sustainable resource base by supporting innovative research and development.” Founded in 1995, this is actually an IGO-an Inter-Governmental Organization- working between 38 countries. Their projects include:

• Tackling climate change through weakening its effects using bamboo to protect forests and store carbon

• Providing opportunities for environmental sustainability through soil erosion reduction and use of bamboo wood in paper and pulp industries

• Alleviating poverty by developing the bamboo industry in the regions where it grows and creating opportunities for local people to develop their own small bamboo production and treatment businesses

• Using bamboo as an effective and alternative method of construction due to the growing worldwide shortage of conventional building materials

• The development of the international bamboo trade by focusing on trend analysis, import policies and product innovation

If you are interested in working for this worthwhile cause, INBAR has jobs and vacancies available as well as internships and volunteer positions for those who are willing to donate their time and effort. For further information, check out their website at http://www.inbar.int/.

2) Morning Tears Alliance
The motto for this charity is “Rebuilding Worlds for Children of Imprisoned Parents.” Founded in China in 1998, this international not-for-profit organization aims to raise awareness of the issues faced by children from broken homes across 9 countries.

Through a variety of programs and using research and statistics, they raise awareness about how children’s lives are affected when one or both parents are sent to prison. For example, their website mentions that studies show when a father goes to prison the mother remains the principal caregiver 90% of the time, however when this is reversed and the mother goes to prison, this figure drops substantially to just 25% of fathers remaining the principal caregiver. Definitely some food for thought.

There are a variety of ways to donate and you can contact them via their website at http://morningtears.org/ 

3) The Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation and The Dragon’s Heart Foundation
Famous Hollywood actor Jackie Chan has dipped his toe into the world of charitable endeavors by setting up not one, but two, foundations that were originally started to  provide scholarships for the young people of Hong Kong. Founded in 1988, The Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation is a worthy cause that provides medical services and aid to natural disaster victims.

Over the years, the generous actor has broadened his scope to found The Dragon’s Heart Foundation in 2004 which provides urgent aid to children and the elderly living in remote areas of mainland China. This assistance includes educational support, such as books, fees and uniforms as well as building more than 24 schools in rural areas. For the elderly, the foundation provides donated warm clothing to combat the harsh winter weather as well as wheelchairs and other items for the incapacitated.

The Dragon’s Heart Foundation was expanded to include a European arm in 2011. 
For further information on how to get involved or lend your support and donate, visit http://jackiechan.com/charity.htm.

Ultimately, whether you want to help save the environment, carry out work in the community or help the underprivileged in society, there is something for everybody to choose from and plenty of legitimate causes that go unnoticed each and every day. Hopefully these unsung heroes can go some way to repairing the damaged reputation and removing the bitter taste left in the mouths of the Chinese people by the more unscrupulous among them.

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