Non-profits in the land of profit

Another task completed during my stay was the MC orientation for our Beijing staff. Two of our four staff started in September and the third when I arrived. These three are also new to non-profit work. And as I was to learn, non-profits are a new, and sometimes hard to grasp concept in China. Aside from the nuts and bolts of the MC HQ office, I wanted to emphasize such catchy concepts as "transparency", "accountability", and "team work".





During the post-Q&A session, one of my coworkers asked what he should tell his friends when they ask him about MC. They do not understand how non-profits work. There's no profit? Well, then we must be a front for secret operations. It seems suspicious. From the discussion that followed, it appears that China is only beginning to accept the idea of "charity" work. As my colleague Guo Xin explained it to us, the west has traditionally had a religious culture to foster the ideas of "it is better to give than receive" and "give back to society" etc. China, with its Buddhist heritage and political climate, does not have that same cultural ideal. But times are changing. Ten years ago, NGO work was nearly absent but now there are large numbers of local NGOs and the presence of international ones as well - though it is very difficult to register in the country and keep a low-profile to be allowed to stay.