Talk to the Founders of NGOCN (III)

By Jasmine, Jointing.Media, in Hong Kong, 2011-11-20

The joy of planting seeds of philanthropy

“After a few years of practice, I am reflecting on why international NGO poverty alleviation programmes are not effective,’ says SecondBee, sharing his insights on public service in his blog. Too many resources are invested in one or two villages, and the results are not obvious or replicable in a small pilot, making it difficult to scale up to government. If this is the case, why not change the strategy and make project results a secondary goal and prioritise talent development? The greatest strength of international NGOs is that they bring new ideas and ways of working to China. They should play to their strengths and use their projects as a means to an end – to develop leaders for the local public interest sector through their projects – in order to achieve geometric benefits.

Many donors who support international NGOs don’t readily accept this shift in goals. SecondBee says: ‘Traditionally, their orientation towards NGOs is still largely focused on charity, poverty alleviation and the like. It is particularly important to see some tangible results, such as a school being built, [so that] they see the money they donate as fruitful.

Commenting on the current rise of public welfare entrepreneurship among university students, He think that NGOs should not have too many concepts, otherwise it is easy to become a slogan. As it is difficult for students to find a job, they should first think about how to support themselves. After their livelihood is guaranteed, they should contact more points through the public welfare platform, and then see if there is a possibility of public welfare entrepreneurship. In any case, it is good that someone is willing to start a business. Only when more people start their own businesses, and there is an atmosphere of not being afraid of failure in business, will this society become more and more dynamic.

In his opinion, students’ social entrepreneurship has certain advantages, such as the low cost of failure; students are bold and fearless; new ideas, dare to break the conventional thinking. The disadvantage is that they have no experience. The Rural Volunteer Programme, which he was in charge of at the beginning, was also an opportunity to help students think about their own direction – whether to work in an NGO, start a business in an NGO, or return to business.

According to a scientific study, the 30-39 age group is the most creative period for most people. It was during this time that SecondBee met NotFish and devoted much of their spare time to setting up NGOCN, which has grown with NotFish from his early 20s to his 30s, the brightest years of his youth.

JM: Where does your passion for philanthropy come from?

SecondBee: A sense of existence, of self-worth.

JM: How do you feel about life?

SecondBee: To save more money and buy a big house, which is not fundamentally different from what most people think.

JM: What is your goal in doing charity work?

SecondBee: To find the right people and lead them to charity. At that time there were two phases of the Rural Volunteer Programme. Two of the three people who participated in the first programme are now working in NGOs and one is doing charity work in her spare time. In the second programme, the five people who participated in the field interviews have all participated in public welfare work and the result is good.

JM: How do you define the place and importance of pro bono in your lives?

SecondBee: Everyone’s situation is different, but most people can’t give up their old jobs to do pro bono work. So philanthropy is just a part of life, a complement to work. This is the only way to mainstream and normalise philanthropy. Of course, people are at different stages in their lives and their focus will be different. Some people can dedicate several years of their lives to public service and look back on it as a great experience. It’s also good to be able to bring that experience back into your work and life and influence people around you.

Talking to SecondBee from dusk until the restaurant closes, I sense that he values his friendship with NotFish. A common vision brought two people from different backgrounds together to practice public welfare through NGOCN. Although this friendship is not as magnificent as Yujian’s clothesline, not as poetic as Bo Ya Ziqi’s, and not as deep as Guan Bao’s friendship, it is still enviable.

Some people say that NGOCN reflects the growth of grassroots public welfare organisations in China; some say that NGOCN’s positioning has not been clear enough, so it has run into a bottleneck; some say that NGOCN has neglected to build relationships with local governments, which has slowed down its own development. ……

The development of any organisation cannot be separated from its environment and will inevitably be shaped by the times. Whether it is a commercial organisation or a charity, it reflects the present, but it is also the history of the future. Perhaps what we can do now is just an accumulation or an attempt in a certain direction for those who come after us.

The same goes for NGOCN. After all, they are the first mover.

(The End)

Translated by DeepL

Edited by Wind