This article is a reflection on DominosEdu’s journey in promoting philanthropy education in China.
To describe the current state of youth philanthropy in China would require an essay. In a nutshell, it’s very much like a vacuum. Schools don’t teach it; parents don’t know how to do it; and most nonprofits can’t even accommodate adults volunteers, let alone kids. ( If you would like to dig deeper, you may refer to our previous post on Why Don’t Individuals Give in China? ）
As a result, youth have minimal opportunities to participate in service projects and receive little support along the way. Most youth either have no philanthropic experiences or flock to organized activities, such as charity sales and teaching rural kids.
Philanthropy education is a brand new concept in China. Dominos Philanthropy Academy (DominosEdu) set out on this journey of philanthropy education almost four years ago. It has not been easy. We have learned a lot along the way. Let me start with our failures.
We did a pilot project in 2018 to teach an introductory philanthropy course to Sixth Graders at a public school in Shanghai. The program was very successful, and everybody loved it, from the principal to teachers and students. However, we found it extremely challenging to train teachers to take over the course. None of the teachers in the entire department had any volunteering experiences or knowledge of social issues and therefore did not feel confident enough to teach the course.
If schools were not ready, could NGOs or community partners fill the gap? We partnered with NGOs to pilot several service-learning projects. We quickly learned that it was difficult to match youth’s broad passions and interests with NGOs’ limited options and capacity.
Then, Can we teach youth to start their own project so they don’t have to rely on external support? We piloted philanthropy clubs on campuses and in the community. The youth investigated community needs, designed their plans, and implemented the plans. Again, the pilot projects were successful, but we found it hard to scale up because most youth had no experience with social issues. It takes a lot of guidance and handholding to make the program work.
Until we landed on the youth grantmaking initiatives.
Youth grantmaking has become a global movement. Numerous studies have proved that through the grantmaking experience, youth gain a deeper understanding of social issues, become better decision-makers, feel more comfortable sharing their perspectives, improve leadership skills, and become better-engaged citizens.
I’ve wanted to promote youth grantmaking in China since 2018. I attended MCFYP Leadership Summit in Michigan in the summer of 2018 and was completely blown away. However, grantmaking is a new concept and a rare practice even for foundations in China. It took us nearly two years to finally find a partner to pilot the program.
In the winter of 2019, we launched China’s first youth grantmaking program. The success of the pilot project opened up a whole new world for us. We recently wrapped up two more youth grantmaking projects, each testing some new approach or model — one incorporating SDG learning into the program, and the other being the country’s first school-based grantmaking program for middle school students.
The success of the three projects exceeded our expectations. All parties involved loved the program, whether they were youth grantmakers, NGO partners, parents, and the school principal.
Reflecting on the journey and the success of the projects has made me realize youth grantmaking is the holy grail we have been searching for when promoting philanthropy education in China. It’s a practical way to break through the barriers and limitations of teaching youth philanthropy in China today. At the same time, it has far-reaching significance in cultivating a new generation of givers in China. In addition, it helps to address some of the serious problems in China’s contemporary education.
First, it provides an opportunity for youth to engage in charitable activities without relying on NGOs for access. And it doesn’t require youth to have prior knowledge or experiences to participant in the program.
At the same time, in order to be a good youth grantmaker, they must learn about social issues, the big picture of philanthropy, and the grantmaking process. It’s a process of active learning by doing. This is precisely the kind of philanthropy education we want.
Second, youth can make a real impact on supporting China’s social sector by providing actual funding, even if it is small, to struggling NGOs.
To understand the implication, we need to point out that NGOs in China have limited funding sources, mostly from government procurement and corporate donations. Too often, these funds go to well-established programs or programs that support government priorities. Smaller programs and programs that do not align with government priorities are hardly seen and struggle for funding, even though they are doing critical work on the ground.
So far, all grants from our youth funders have gone to programs that do not receive sufficient government support. At the same time, youth are risk-takers. They are not afraid to support pilot projects that could not have got funding from either the government or corporations. Such financing is clearly crucial for China’s fledgling social sector.
In such small ways, youth are making a significant impact on philanthropy.
Third, youth grantmaking can help spread the practice of grantmaking and foster a new generation of intentional givers.
Grantmaking is a new concept and practice in China. Of the more than 8,000 foundations in China, less than 1% of them are grantmaking foundations. The rest are all operating foundations. (Why don’t foundations make grants when nonprofits are in desperate need of funding? It is a profound question that is beyond the scope of our discussion here. Two other posts can shed some light on this question. Why Don’t Individuals Give in China? and Can Giving Circles Break Down Barriers to Philanthropy in China?)
By exposing youth today to the practice of grantmaking and the idea of giving intentionally and impactfully, we believe they can grow up to be better supporters of the social sector.
In addition, we have observed that youth in the program have spread new concepts of giving to their parents and friends through fundraising, project presentations, and public check presentations.
Does engaging youth in grantmaking help break down the social, cultural, and mental barriers to grantmaking and help renew giving in China? I think the answer is yes.
Finally, youth grantmaking may help address some of the serious issues facing education and youth development in China today.
Chinese educators and parents are struggling to find ways to engage today’s youth. Increasingly, Chinese youth say they are “bored”, “worthless”, or “powerless.” Many parents complain that their children are self-centered and lack a sense of gratitude.
These problems are not unique to China, but schooling and parenting have become more challenging and complex when this generation of young people does not have to study for food or shelter. Youth in China are already asking questions about values and purpose, and are not getting adequate support in the process because previous generations are still searching for, and may not have found, their own answers.
Research has shown a positive relationship between adolescent involvement in philanthropic activities and a high engagement in school and life. Our own experience with youth definitely supports such findings.
There is nothing more empowering than convincing youth that they have the ability to give and make an impact. Such opportunities abound in the grantmaking process – when they give their money and talent, when they inspire others to donate, when they realize they know more about philanthropy than their parents and peers, when they are treated as equals by NGO leaders during site visits, and when they hand over the check to NGOs.
It’s also liberating for youth to reflect on their own experiences and find personal connections between their values, the issues they care about, and their choices of grantees.
Youth grantmaking can not solve all the problems of education in China today, but it does provide a valuable option for youth to better connect with themselves, with others, and with society, which is much needed but not enough in China.
Although the direction is clear, the way forward still leaves us with more questions than answers. We still have to address the challenge of not having enough teachers/trainers.
Over time, I believe today’s youth grantmakers will make a positive change in China’s philanthropy.