Elizabeth Walker Sobhani, Managing Director of Lotus Consulting Asia, based in Beijing, was one of the authors of the first report on Chinese money donors behavior funded by the Skoll Foundation as part of a project with Half the Sky and Chun Hui Children that was officially launched on Dec. 2nd 2014. A US-China Team with 4 experts conducted the research and report, “Catching the Rising Tide—Chinese Donor Strategies and Implications”. Half the Sky has a long track record of success in China, and has extensive systems for measuring its programs and progress. This first of its kind report reveals five distinct behaviour-based donor segments: Affluent Chinese Individuals, Chinese Companies, Early Foundations, Multi-National Companies (MNCs), and Mature Foundations. These segments varied significantly in their motivation (driving decision criteria) and degree of sophistication (governing investment strategy). The key findings about donors’ behaviour are the following: the most common reasons for philanthropic giving in China are to give back to the community and the realization that a gift can make a difference; donor’s expectations and needs evolve as they learn more about an organization, and as their philanthropic budgets grow; donors with more advanced philanthropic strategies (MNCs and Mature Foundations) seek a more systemic impact or to address the root cause of a problem.
Jenny Bowen, the Founder of Half the Sky, and her team were also inspired by the project and report. Jenny said “Storytelling has always been at the heart of Half the Sky’s work. Stories about how children flourish when giving the nurturing care that is essential to healthy development. Stories about how nannies, Teachers, and foster parents are inspired to make a difference.” You can download the report from the China Development Brief English version and Chinese version.
