Company kindness

• Source: Global Times
• [14:02 July 13 2010]
• Comments

Yuan Yue. Photo: Courtesy of Yuan Yue

By Hou Shuqi

When Yuan Yue was growing up in Jiangsu Province, the two poorest families in his village, one Christian and one Buddhist, were the ones who did the most for other people. They patched holes in the village roads and helped with the upkeep of the communal areas.

They weren't paid. Sometimes, they used their own money to pay for repairs, Yuan said. These families left an impression on him. He gave them food and clothing and tried to help them out when he could. Although Yuan has since become one of China's most recognizable businessmen, he has also maintained a habit of doing charitable work, something he hopes he can instill in China's privileged youth.

Yuan, who founded one of China's top market research firms, Horizon Research, and also hosts the popular financial talk show Brain Storm, believes that China's youth ought to develop a similar habit. Last year, he branched out from business to create the nonprofit organization, National Collegiate Social Entrepreneurship Action (NCSEA) to help university students create their own charitable organizations so they can fulfill their own potential and get more exposed to the real world, he said.

"In our society, parents invest heavily in university students, but their productive capacity is comparatively weak," Yuan told the Global Times.

"Philanthropy is a good way to harness their untapped potential, help them get involved in society and learn how to deal with people effectively. What we do is push students into society. And in the process of helping others, they can explore themselves and more fully understand what they are capable of," he said.

The need for philanthropy

As China's per capita GDP has grown, social problems have become more pressing. China's development has already entered the stage in which nongovernmental organizations (NGO) are becoming increasingly important in solving societal problems that the government can't handle on its own, according to Horizon Research. Compared to developed countries, China's nonprofit sector is tiny. In the US, nonprofit organizations employ 11 percent of the workforce, whereas in China, NGOs employ 0.3 percent to 0.4 percent.

Traditionally, the people who work for NGOs in China are those who have suffered the societal problems that the NGOs are trying to solve. "There are few well-educated people in China who want to make philanthropy a lifelong career," Yuan said. "But for the philanthropic sector to develop, it needs to attract more highly educated and capable people to work full-time in this field."