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Striving to be Pure: Constructing the Idea of Grassroots Philanthropy in Chinese Cyberspace

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Abstract

This paper describes the features of grassroots philanthropy as viewed by the participants. Using content analysis, we show that while the mainstream discourse focuses on efficiency, accountability, and professionalism, the grassroots discourse focuses on the individual aspects, viewing philanthropy as small good deeds, a personal spiritual journey, and something that brings happiness. To avoid making this personal journey impure or less happy, the grassroots philanthropists resist practices such as formalization and professionalization. They also distance themselves from corporates and bureaucracies which they view as corrupt and hypocritical. The grassroots’ discourse has its roots in the traditional Chinese culture, and is also shaped by the realities of the transitioning Chinese society, where citizens are searching for meaning, values, and support. Such a discourse has profound influence on the organizations that embrace the grassroots values and may also impact the development of the Chinese nonprofit sector.

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Notes

  1. Due to the special social and political context in China, many organizations can claim to be private nonprofit organizations. Some of these have very strong governmental background, such as the All-China Women’s Federation, China Disabled Persons’ Federation, and the All-China Federation of Youth. They all claim to be non-governmental and not for profit. It is true that they are providing crucial services to women, children, youth, and the disabled. However, they are either under direct leadership of the Party-sate or have current or retired government officials acting as president. Most of them also employ civil servants and do not have to go through nonprofit registration. They are really public institutions. Some other organizations, such as Soong Ching Ling Foundation, and China Red Cross, also have high level of government involvement. Even though they are not under the direct leadership of the government, they also employ civil servants. They are considered semi-public institutions. Besides, there are also organizations that were set up by government. For instance, the China Youth Development Foundation was created by the Communist Youth Leagues. The China Children and Youth Foundation were created by the All-China Women’s Federation. These are often considered government-organized non-governmental organizations (GONGOs). In addition, there are organizations created by corporations (e.g., corporate foundations), celebrities (e.g., One Foundation, established by Jet Li), prominent scholars, overseas nonprofits, international organizations (e.g., Oxfam, Save the Children), religious institutions, and so on. In a way, to define grassroots in China, one cannot define what they are, but needs to define what they are not. This approach was adopted by some previous scholars (see, for instance, Zhou 2015). In this study, as discussed in the main text, in addition to defining grassroots as the opposite of mainstream, we also adopt a strategy of self-identification.

  2. We used “West” or the “Western countries” to refer to the economically advanced countries which adopt free market economy and a democratic political system (e.g., North America and Western Europe). We acknowledge that this is a Cold War term and that the East–West dichotomy overlooks regional hybridity. However, in many fields, such as management (Ichijo and Nonaka 2006), international relations, intercultural communication (Cheng 2003), and sociology, this term is still being used. To avoid getting into details regarding differences in each culture and society, we opt to use this simple East–West divide. More importantly, the term “West” has a special meaning for the Chinese citizens, as in the past, the term was used to describe those countries who were the enemies of the communist regime. Mao Zedong famously said: “This is a war between two worlds. The West Wind cannot prevail over the East Wind; the East Wind is bound to prevail over the West Wind.” (Mao 1986, p. 775).

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  1. Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin NT, Hong Kong

    Huiquan Zhou

  2. Center for Integrative Studies, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Eileen Le Han

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Zhou, H., Le Han, E. Striving to be Pure: Constructing the Idea of Grassroots Philanthropy in Chinese Cyberspace. Voluntas 30, 709–723 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-018-9950-9

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