More Chinese NGOs respond to calls for foreign aid

About 50 Chinese nongovernmental foundations have gone abroad, as more Chinese NGOs are interested in responding to foreign aid, scholars and practitioners said.

Huang Haoming, vice chairman of the China Association for NGO Cooperation, said these foundations have already established either teams, offices, stable projects or fixed funds abroad.

The number of Chinese nongovernmental foundations to have overseas projects has increased to nearly 100, Huang added.

Nearly 300 professionals in philanthropy gathered in Beijing to attend a forum on Wednesday to discuss China's NGO's global engagement.

The forum was held by the China Foundation Center, which also celebrated its 5th anniversary.

"As the Chinese government has shouldered increasing responsibility in responding to global needs in recent years, policy and strategy such as the 'Going Abroad' policy and the Belt and Road Initiative have encouraged more enterprises to go abroad. Consequently, more NGOs would also go abroad," said Deng Guosheng, vice-dean of Tsinghua University's Institute for Philanthropy.

With the rapid economic growth, China's philanthropy business has boomed. As of November, China has more than 4,600 foundations and 600,000 charitable organizations.

Deng, from Tsinghua University, said China's experience could provide assistance to some foreign countries.

"For many countries, money is not the only burden, they also lack experience or effective models," Deng said.

Deng also noticed that the number of foundations going abroad has increased, overseas donations rise and the model shifts.

"The fields and geographic regions that China concentrates to have shifted," Deng said.

"Before, Chinese philanthropy organizations go abroad responding to major disasters. But now, they are also engaged in regular programs such as in education and health fields," Deng said, adding that Chinese foundations mainly contributed to southeast Asian and African regions before, but now have also extended to the United States, European and Latin American countries.

The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) is one of the first groups to go abroad and establish overseas offices.

Since collaborating with other countries since 2005, CFPA has experienced three stages to go abroad, said Chen Hongtao, deputy executive director of CFPA.

The foundation has programs in many countries, including Ethiopia, Nepal and Cambodia.

He sees the milestone of the foundation's globalization as being establishing overseas offices. In July, CFPA established its first overseas office in Myanmar.

Although CFPA has worked in globalization for 10 years, going abroad is a new topic in Chinese philanthropy, Chen said, adding that many Chinese nongovernmental foundations lack experience and resources.

"For example, one of our employees encountered a robbery on the street overseas. International peers handed over purses and faced down on the street immediately. But our employee attempted to fight. Obviously, he had insufficient understanding of the local social environment," Chen said, giving an example of safety issues.

Chen said that now they have a guidebook to practice overseas, thanks to international peer the Asia Foundation.

The Asia Foundation, a nonprofit international development organization with headquarters in California, published a guidebook to support Chinese nongovernmental organizations to go abroad.

"When we first launched, we faced similar problems, such as lacking local staff and understanding," said Ji Hongbo, acting country representative in China, hoping the guidebook would provide experience to Chinese peers.

"Having local understanding is essential to conduct philanthropic work overseas," said Helena Monteiro, executive director of the Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support, adding that being honest and effective, respectful to partners and local culture are also important.