What I Learned from Building a Social Business to Feed Pandas!

Pandas are lovely.  And no, this article is not entirely about pandas but I will mention pandas frequently to hopefully increase viewing!

When I was working at the Calgary Zoo, one of my projects is to bring the giant pandas to the zoo.  I remembered that Dr. Clément Lanthier, President, and CEO of the Calgary Zoo, used to have stickies by his desk with issues that kept him awake at night and one of them read in all caps: BAMBOO. 

Indeed, bamboo had been a nightmare for all visiting pandas (a.k.a. honorary Chinese ambassadors in countries that China likes at the time).  It was easy for a politician to show up at an event, sign some paper and shook hands for pandas to come to a country.  It was an entirely different matter for zoos, often non-profit organizations, to burden the rest of what could only be best described as a “financial and logistical ordeal”.  A zoo in Australia almost went bankrupt because of it and many others are still struggling to keep up.

Out of thousands of species of bamboo, I was NOT surprised to learn that pandas only eat six that are native to the high mountains of Sichuan province, China.  To feed their carnivore stomach (they stop eating meat completely out of laziness), every panda needs to eat at least 50kg of fresh bamboo every day half of which were discarded due to various unknown reasons to us (just like how we wonder why our children don’t eat mushrooms!).   Hence, as much as how the panda program had been so successful in funding important protected habitats and conservation initiatives in China, bamboo had been an issue for all the hosting zoos.  For one, those species of bamboo aren’t native outside of China.  Many zoos who are able to grow their own would have to introduce a large plantation of foreign species of bamboo which they need to control very carefully and destroy after the pandas are gone.  Some resorted to scavenging in people’s backyards.  For Canada, those weren’t even viable options as the dry and cold Canadian climate would kill bamboo instantly.  

Before our pandas came to Calgary, they spent five years in Toronto Zoo eating bamboo that was shipped by charter flights from Memphis Zoo (also hosting pandas and owning bamboo plantations) via FedEx on the same day.  By the time, it’s Calgary’s turn, the bamboo source in Memphis diminished.   

On one trip to Chengdu, Clément and I met with a local entrepreneur who happened to own assets in Canada and was traveling between Chengdu and Calgary at the time.  We mentioned the possibility of shipping bamboo from China.  This was unthinkable until Calgary got a direct flight connection to China via Hainan Airlines.  This stroked a chord with the local entrepreneur.  Bamboo was all they have in some places just a few hours outside of Chengdu.  These communities have a population that’s aging, with an average age of 50, but still very capable.  Most people of the younger generations have gone to bigger cities to seek jobs as the communities only have bamboo.  The people left behind parents, grandparents, and children used to harvest bamboo shoots, a local delicacy, to sell as food and make a living.  Harvesting bamboo shoots damage wild bamboo forests as, despite the high renewability, they still need to grow to be mature bamboo.   Some villages started to have a problem of flooding due to deforestation not to mention the grave impact on wildlife.  

So, what if we ship bamboo from panda’s birthplace? Was it such a bold idea?  Turned out, it was just the solution that would work for pandas, people, forests, and the environment.  Although pandas like shoots, they mostly consume mature bamboo that can be sustainably harvested.  In fact, harvesting mature bamboo at the right time of the year is better for the forest to grow stronger.  Bamboo as panda food was sold at a premium.  The better economic outcome would encourage villagers to give up digging bamboo shoots hence changing their relationship with the mountain, from exploitation to nurturing. The local community would benefit from increased income and if the business could sustain, this economy may even attract some young people back.  When we looked at the shipping route, we were able to work with Hainan Airlines who also had a hub in Chengdu to reduce the shipping duration to within 36 hours to ensure the freshness.  Instead of chartered cargo shipments, Hainan Airlines used the belly cargo of existing commercial flights.  This insured the lowest carbon footprint.  They were also giving us a significant discount from their corporate responsibility fund to support the initiative.  For the first time in history, pandas overseas were able to enjoy bamboo from home that is sustainable for the environment at the same time.  It’s no small feat, but we pulled it off. 

Unknowingly to us at the time, we really had started looking at designing a social business based on the problem at hand (connecting pandas abroad and local people) and evaluating the desirability, feasibility, and viability of the business.

The resulting collaboration not only resolved the panda diet issue at the Calgary Zoo but also helped local communities to make a better living and the forest to grow better from sustainable harvest.

Today, this bamboo business created from the idea of feeding the Calgary Zoo pandas continued to flourish providing bamboo based on the same model to pandas visiting European and American zoos.  

Building a social business could be daunting. However, when the problems and conditions satisfied the desirability, feasibility, and viability of the market, it could also come together and become successful very rapidly.  The most important lesson for me is to be bold and ask a lot of questions.  Businesses depend on critical partnerships and those partnerships won’t come by if you don’t ask and explore with a common goal in mind.  Another lesson is thinking about solutions that not only help your problem but perhaps a shared social problem at the same time.  Social business comes out of unexpected circumstances all the time.  As entrepreneurs, it could be as easy as connecting the dots. In this case connecting panda, bamboo forest and people!

Why Traditional Nonprofit Model is Doomed and Social-Profit Sector Must Emerge

The September 2019 issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review presented a fascinating study on why business should co-create solutions with the low-income communities (academically termed BoP which is the “Base of the Pyramid”) in developing countries rather than the traditional transfer approach that takes a patronizing white colonial guiding view on International Development (Cocreating with the Base of the Pyramid, London & Jäger 2019).

I found a striking parallel between the transfer approach towards BoP and the framework with which the traditional nonprofit model operates in North America. Social problems that often have a lot to do with the base of the pyramid (BoP) in a developed country are largely the responsibilities of the social sector currently consists largely of nonprofit organizations. These organizations were governed by volunteer boards from members of the business community to provide their “expertise” in the business world to nonprofit.  In other words, it is a “transfer approach” as referred by London and Jäger. However, it’s common knowledge for those of us who actually work in nonprofit organizations that often time board governance is more distractive than effective. The only assets that the board could effectively offer is their networking power to fundraise. On the other hand, many nonprofits in North America heavily rely on government grants and private donations. These “free” money also come in with a price. That is, the nonprofit becomes limited to utilizing the fund raised to build its own capacity or seek innovation.  Dissecting these problems deeper with three lenses: Power Dynamic, Economic, and Innovation, we quickly can see how this model is becoming obsolete and need to make ways for the new social-profit sector to emerge.

Power Dynamic Lens

The relationship between nonprofit and government/businesses is that of charity and patron. Therefore, businesses and governments have way more say in setting agendas in the social sector.  With a transfer approach from the private and government sector to the social sector, the solution is often symptom-focused and rather turning a blind eye to the root cause of a systematic problem that’s currently benefiting private sectors. Nonprofits are left powerless because they rely on their patrons for “free” money and advice. In a social-profit model, the government and businesses become customers instead of patrons. The shift of power dynamics will facilitate system change that the social sector wants to see. 

Economic Lens

The technological revolution in the past decades brought faster communication into the world and knowledge becomes less controlled and authorized by the elite. Generations of people from more diverse backgrounds and armed with these new mindsets are empowered to make changes faster in the world and they intend to do so. They want to be more engaged in decision making and using market power to benefit society. They soon realized that the BoP not only has economic power but also has assets that could turn the outcome into profit. As Shaun Loney rightfully pointed out, nonprofits are giving out lucrative outcomes while social enterprises evaluate and sell outcomes (Loney, The Problem Solver’s Companion, 2019). While the transfer approach does not recognize the value of the BoP market, a co-creation approach blends nonprofit with for-profit by leveraging network, leadership and knowledge assets of the nonprofits and sound business practices to grow sustainable businesses, create markets and solve a social problem at the same time.  

Innovation Lens 

Today, innovation is essential to the survival of any organization. Innovation requires an environment that’s creative, collaborative, and risk-taking. The social sector should thrive on innovation to resolve social problems. Instead, the nonprofit model stifles innovation with a scarcity mindset as donors and funders are often too focused on efficiency not building capacity. The social-profit approach emphasizes business acumen, borrowing lean and agile management while creating human-centred innovative solutions for social problems. 

Seeing what’s wrong with the traditional nonprofit model through the three lenses explain the two biggest trends we are experiencing in the philanthropic sector: Diversity and emergence of a blended solution. Diversity of not only the base of the pyramid but also the top of the pyramid puts the traditional concept of philanthropy in question. Changed mindset brought forward different ways of financing solutions to social problems. The emergence of impact investment and social impact bonds are two examples. The expectation for the nonprofit to become more sustainable and self-sufficient is also higher. Many nonprofits started to use a blended model but most are still resistant to the paradigm shift. There are still plenty of people in nonprofits who think profit is evil. However, these major trends are resulting in diminishing donors as well as calls from funders for financial diversification and collaboration. Although I don’t think it’s time to call use the name Social-Profit Sector yet as the system still needs to change first, the shift from nonprofit to social profit is inevitable. It’s not a question of if but a question of when.

The Work of Art in the Age of Social Media

To me, Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction was a one of the most influential essay about modernity and art.  When talking about the popularity of mechanical reproduction of a master piece of art, Benjamin noted:  “…even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: Its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. … By changing the cultural context, the mechanical reproduction diminishes the original art work (original vs. copy); thus, the aura, the unique aesthetic authority of an artwork, is absent from the mechanically produced copy”.

It was also nearly twenty years ago, as a student in Paris during the summer of 1997, I truly understood the significance of time and space in relationship to the appreciation of art.  For example, the impressionist movement represented such a revolutionary paradigm shift (from the elite to the “mandane” - the everyday life and people) during that era which made their art, completely independent of their techniques, to bear unique historical and social values.   

In search of what Benjamin called “the aura” of the original masterpieces, I set out to show art to my 10 year old son Marlon on his first trip to Paris.  I found it interesting that what motivated Marlon most about seeing Mona Lisa was the fact that I bought him a T-shirt with Mona Lisa dabbing on the previous day in Monmatre and he was determined to do the dab with the T-shirt in front of the “real” Mona Lisa.  

As it turned out, our quest for the “real” Mona Lisa was not an easy one.  After nearly missed our appointed entry time to the Louvre due to long wait at the women’s bathroom, we roamed the halls and chambers of Le Lourvre for an hour before we found the signage to the Mona Lisa who had been moved for the third time in the past few years (maybe in an effort for better crowd control).  Slowly, a crowd started to form like the rush hour traffic of Beijing and as we proceeded we were joined by other “tributaries” and soon found ourselves almost unmovable in a river of people. 

The Dab

For another hour, we went through crowded escalators and mazes made with stentions to finally reach the Mona Lisa in a glass box with a mob of people holding up their phones in the front.  Marlon quickly did his dab in a few strategic locations and felt sufficiently satisfied for the time being.  

I wondered if anyone had experienced or pondered on experiencing the “aura” of the Mona Lisa: the true reason we were all here to see the painting instead of buying a mechanical reproduction or staring at a photo of the same production. I certainly did not as I didn’t have a chance to get even close and I was very preoccupied on including Marlon and the Mona Lisa in the picture so that we could get out of there as soon as possible.

What I found interesting though was the act itself.  In a way, Marlon was the artist doing an authentic performance art piece by creating and documenting the experience of the Mona Lisa and the mocking of the Mona Lisa with the dab for the audience who would witness the experience through social media.  The ritual of seeing the Mona Lisa is an art in itself that are unknowingly experienced by everyone there. Such ritualization is in itself a manifestation of the “aura” and authenticity of the art work.  As Benjamin himself pointed out: “We must expect great innovations to transform the entire technique of the arts, thereby affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about an amazing change in our very notion of art.” 

 @thanksforbeingu 

For today’s generation,  the grand museums in Europe that store the greatest art pieces are perhaps can be simply regarded as the Instagram of the past.  For those of us who grew up in a pre-social media era, our experience of museums have also changed.  While I do appreciate the experience of visiting beautiful museums with beautiful arts and artifacts, I found myself no less inspired by art I saw on Instagram.  Despite of all the museum I went to this month in Europe, I was most inspired at this time by @thanksforbeingu on Instagram - a Korean crayon artist doing amazing work using simple colour crayons.  

I wonder what would Walter Benjamin say about the Work of Art in the Age of Social Media. Certainly, Instagram is the new “museum” in this age in time where creativity blossoms within all of us.  I believe that the impressionists would embrace the democratization of art by social media and Van Goh would probably be famous before he died had he gotten an Instagram account!

Our Difference is Our Superpower

ãba waθtéč,  hello in Stoney First Nation language. It also means every day is a good day and a new day.  I was surprised that it took me twenty four years since my arrival in Canada from China to get an opportunity to learn “hello” in the language of this land.  

This was Social Venture Institute, a two-day conference for one hundred social entrepreneurs from Alberta and British Columbia to come together and build a community of social causes through bonding and sharing. The conference also weaved in stories from Thomas Snow, a professor of Indigenous Studies at Mount Royal University and Chris Hsiung, a documentary film maker exploring Alberta’s history by capturing indigenous stories on camera.

I was amazed how I resonated with the indigenous cultural values of family and story-telling and their similarities with Chinese culture. 

We are in a way all different and similar at the same time.    

Thomas Snow told us that when he was a child, he was very shy and disliked public speaking.  As one of the very few indigenous children, his class always looked at him to say something about his culture but he never did.  He said he regretted not sharing whenever he could because having those cultural heritage was such a privilege and every time we spoke up, we could help educating others to understand the culture and create empathy, a powerful tool against ignorance. I too had the same experience not speaking up, when someone made a disrespectful comment, nodding and dismissing the feeling of discomfort with silence to “fit in”.  

Cultural and racial differences aside, haven’t we all experienced that moment of not speaking up because of a mental illness, a different sexual orientation, an addiction, or anything that made us different.

What I didn’t know at the time was that by not speaking up, we were festering ignorance, something that’s just as scary as an active act of discrimination.  

So here I am, speaking up.  

Earlier this year, AFP Calgary & Area teamed up with Women’s Work Institute to create a #solveathon: the first step of an innovative approach to tackle IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) related issues by surveying members and co-creating solutions instead of the traditional approach for members to passively receive the information by way of reading or being lectured.  Hence, the #solveathon Insights Report before you today was informed by AFP members with their active participation.   As the IDEA Chair for AFP Calgary & Area, I am incredibly proud of all the participants (over 100 fundraisers all together) from Alberta, other provinces of Canada and parts of the United States in this process over a relatively short amount of time.  

We have many passionate voices like this survey respondent who said: 

“This sector is facing significant changes. In order for fundraisers to thrive as we face the challenges ahead, we will need people with different backgrounds, experiences and identities bringing their best ideas to the table. We will have a greater chance of success if we can work together toward common goals. Success, in our sector, means working toward building a better world for all. “

On the other hand, the report also confirmed ignorance, or a perception of “false problem”:  

“among fundraisers located in more politically conservative regions, respondents are more likely to believe inequality of opportunity does not exist in the profession, that it is a "false" problem. They assert the profession operates as an unbiased meritocracy. If they concede discrimination exists, they believe it favours female fundraising professionals because the profession is staffed predominantly by women. Furthermore, they do not believe that diversifying representation in fundraising would have any effect on the effectiveness and impact of the profession. “

From my experience being a fundraiser from a  diverse cultural background and an advocate of diversity,  I had observed two forms of ignorance amongst fundraising professionals:  1) the “diversity issue” is taken care of by tokenism, checklists, or by the diversity person/committee so that we don’t have to do anything about it nor contributing to the conversation; and 2) diversity is a “false problem” and professionalism (what Stanford Social Innovation Review would term “white professionalism”) is the only standard. 

Ignorance will only threaten the survival of our nonprofit organizations as many of today’s disruptions and changes were rooted in the fundraising eco-system and practices being designed around white male philanthropists.  As power and wealth shift, diversity is not just about having someone from diverse culture to sit in a committee, board, conference panel, or program. Diversity is about fundamentally changing our practices and creating an adaptive system and process.   In other words, we all need to be part of it.  

If you are diverse in anyway, I encourage you to take action by speaking up and joining in the conversation.  That difference we have, be it cultural or in any other ways, is our privilege and our superpower.  Speak up, as change can only happen with action!

Get AFP Banff Compass #solveathon Insights Report 

https://community.afpnet.org/afpcalgaryareachapter/career/new-item6

A Time of Crisis and Opportunity: A Look at China’s Nonprofit Sector in 2018

 Shanghai, China

Away from the bustling Central Business District in Pudong and the grandeur of the Bond, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) nestled in the relatively quieter district of the former French Concession with its colonial charm and walled streets lined with London plane trees.   SJTU is one of the oldest universities in China established in 1896 and has been known as “the MIT of the East” since the 1930s.  It is here, in December 2016, an Institute for Philanthropy Development was established, a first of its kind to provide professional guidance for charity organizations right after China’s first charity law coming into effect in September that same year.  Therefore, it was quite an honor for me to be invited to the SJTU campus on a hot July day by the Institute for Philanthropy Development and Chinese Association for Fundraising Professionals (CAFP) as the first guest speaker, on Canadian Fundraising Landscape and Trends, for its “Money Talk and Tea” series, a networking and learning session for local fundraisers. 

China’s philanthropy sector hit another growth spur after the implementation of the charity law in 2016.  Government dominance in the sector were diversified by more and more private foundations.    However, it continues to struggle with public trust issues even after consolidating internet fundraising to only 13 online platforms.  In December 2017, a unique campaign called “Same Birthday” went viral and raised over RMB2 million just over couple of days.  Through the Tencent Wechat (Chinese equivalent of Facebook) platform, the campaign asked donors to donate RMB1 yuan to support a child on the same birthday of donor.  366 children was chosen to be sponsored from Zhen Xiong County in rural Yunnan Province.  Donors could view the information of the sponsored children.  Soon, some donors found same photos of children posted for different birth dates and a child’s birthday was advertised as February 29 which did not exist.  Within a week, controversy snow-balled.  Public was not only questioning incorrect information but also donation fund management and privacy violation for the children featured in the campaign. A much “commercialized” successful fundraising campaign exposed many aspects of ethical concerns for the fundraising community and an urgent need to address them. 

Before our “Money Talk and Tea” (MTT) session, I met with David Sun, Assistant to the Dean of Institute for Philanthropy Development at SJTU and Erin Ye, Secretary for Chinese Association for Fundraising Professionals for lunch.  “Have you heard about the Metoo thing and perhaps we should talk about how Canadians are dealing with it this afternoon”, Erin asked me.   As lunch progresses, I learned that there had been a series of sexual harassment allegations of well-known leaders, or as some called pioneers in the nonprofit sector.  The public generally had higher expectations for the nonprofit sector so people are truly worried that the image of sector was tarnished. 

As a “tourist” visiting families in China, I have never heard about this on the news, keeping in mind that news was limited to Chinese censored news only on all channels.  No foreign news reports and websites like facebook or even google could get through the Chinese internet firewall.  I soon realized that with Chinese media censorship, true information could now flow through public media. Rather, information went around on Weibo (Chinese equivalent of Tweeter) and Wechat among circles of “friends”.  Even these channels were eventually censored.  By the end of the lunch, Erin told everyone that the government already started deleting posts on the sexual allegations, only two days after the first news broke.   

“The Metoo thing will set us back for years on public trust”, Erin worried.   I wasn’t sure how to respond.  In Canada, the nonprofit sector was not represented by a few people but an array of charitable organizations.  Nonprofit leaders are often less known by public hence the sector bears little risk if someone is exposed by Metoo movement.  It is obvious that the Chinese public puts nonprofits in more scrutiny then anywhere else.   

Beijing, China

There is no doubt that the nonprofit sector in China is facing a public trust crisis.  Just a few days before the Shanghai MTT session, I was invited to attend a group discussion in Beijing by nonprofit leaders, academics on philanthropy, foundation funders and law makers on Chinese Fundraising Ethics.  The discussion was based on the newly published AFP International Statement of Ethical Principles in Fundraising.  It’s great to see that the AFP document was used as a guiding principle and a base to shape the ethical statement for a burgeoning new nonprofit industry.  I feel truly proud to belong to a group of professionals whose experience and best practice could help in advancing philanthropy in other parts of the world. 

Three problems out of many stuck out for me from the discussion. First, although the Statement of Ethics was used as a self-disciplinary principle for individual fundraisers, it inevitably needed to be adapted as a recommendation for nonprofit organizations in China as many unethical behaviors were conducted on an organizational level.  For example, commission-based compensation was still an acceptable practice by some Chinese nonprofits not realizing such practice would undermined organizations in the long term.  It was also common that political parties were pressuring party members to make donations.  Second, there were many gaps in law that related to fundraising practices.  Tax receipt existed but because Chinese citizens didn’t do tax themselves, rather it was done by employers, many donors did not see their tax deductible applied due to the lack of knowledge from the finance department of employers.  There was also no mechanism to encourage financial transparency on costs and reporting.   Last but not the least, there was a need to have some ethical standard for some donors and beneficiaries to eliminate possibility of personal gain as a result of fundraising activities including publicized pledges that’d gone unfulfilled or using donation as a way of transferring fund among family members. 

Shanghai, China

The first MTT talk was successful.  Some thirty fundraising professionals showed up to learn about Canadian Fundraising.  To my surprise, the usual “biggies” i.e. Universities and hospitals were not there at all nor in any other CAFP events according to Erin and David.  Hospitals creating foundations to fundraise for themselves seemed to be unheard of or even frowned upon.  “Secondary education institutions don’t consider themselves to be charities”, David informed me, “they rarely look beyond their own alumni”.  Funded mostly by the government, Arts organizations also weren’t charities.  Similar to the session I did in Beijing, most attendees were from foundations.  Perhaps in China, most of the philanthropy came from wealth and originated from funders looking for needs instead of grassroots organizations.  This top-down approach presents a unique problem: fundraisers are not passionate about the cause, sometimes not knowing what is the “cause of the day”. 

Calgary, Canada

At the end of August, I received the first draft of China’s first Statement of Ethics in Fundraising practices as result of our July discussion.  It not only included a statement for fundraisers but also provided ethical recommendations for nonprofit organization itself, internet fundraising platforms, donors and beneficiaries. A second MTT talk was held last week with fundraising professionals sharing experience in preparation of the Tencent 99 Giving Day coming up on September 9, a successful online giving campaign equivalent to Giving Tuesday.  With a small but very dedicated group of professionals, China’s nonprofit landscape is changing fast.  Despite censorship and government control, Chinese fundraising professionals are able to push philanthropy forward and make a difference in the governance and legislation of the nonprofit sector.  Perhaps there is hope for democracy in the space of civil society. 

At home in Canada, Crazy Rich Asians is all the rage.  As a fundraiser, I see wealth as an opportunity for philanthropy.  Asia is certainly becoming the next wealth centre of the world.  It was exciting to observe and experience the ups and downs of an emerging nonprofit sector but more fulfilling to participate and feel a sense of responsibility to nurture and encourage a culture of philanthropy and a consensus for ethics and best practices.   


Melody Song MA CFRE
Originally from Beijing China, Melody Song has over 15 years of experience as a fundraiser specializing in identifying, cultivating, and soliciting major gifts from and stewarding relationships with prospects of the Asian/Chinese community in Canada and overseas.  Melody is a former board member of Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA), a member of Association for Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and a frequent presenter at AFP Calgary Chapter, APRA Canada, and APRA International.  Melody is fluent in Mandarin and English.  

Brushing Shoulders with China's Nouveaux Riche

The dinner was in a private dinning room on the third floor with high ceilings and grand windows looking out to the dancing lights of downtown- a jungle of glass towers and pedestrian streets bustling at all hours in this massive urban capital of one of China's most populated provinces.  Above the enormous round table that sits twenty was a beautiful modern chandelier which sets the quiet but extravagant tone of the whole decor. The room also came with a private bathroom, bar, and a team of waiters.  Our host, Mr. Zhang was a successful local entrepreneur, impeccably dressed at all time, humble and soft-spoken.  An event had brought us together and we had been enjoying his hospitality for the past day. Although we had organized the main event of the day, our host had assumed the responsibility of taking care of every aspects of our stay simply because he was from the region and despite that we had only met him the night before.  Our transportation was taken care of with a convoy of one mini-bus and three SUVs.  Surely, we had other families in the group that had come to enjoy the same event but each family also brought their assistants hence the need for staff to follow the main group and make necessary arrangements just ahead of us.  We also had an English-speaking tour guide who had hand-made signs for the group and introduced local culture and architecture while we toured the main attractions of the city (another arrangement by our host that came up as a complete surprise to us).   A guest in the group, Mr. Wang, who flew from another city to join us for the one-day event had brought his own wines for the occasion selected from his 20,000 bottle collection back home: three whites and three reds, two of which were on the top 100 wine list in the world.  Wine connoisseurs were rare in China as the banquets in the country were still dominated by shots of pure liqueur or beers.  Mr. Wang made a fuss about how the waiter poured the wine (in shot style) and how some of the Chinese dishes (like soup) and drinks (like almond milk) would disrupt the pallets.  The food was exquisite.  We hadn't even looked at the menu but we had been accustomed to the fact that most Chinese banquet's menu was pre-selected in advance by our host's assistant.  

The President of my organization and myself were on a four-city, two-week trip in China.  I had built an aggressive schedule around a conference that the President needed to attend.  We had meetings in every city with possible connectors and with two groups of wealthy individuals including this one through the connection of a parent from a private school in Canada.  Like our host Mr. Zhang, the men in our group were all successful Chinese businessman with families living in Canada.  Mr. Zhang was a university graduate in the late 1980s.  China had just gone through the economic reform when private properties and businesses were allowed in the country for the first time since 1949.  After working for a few years in state-owned factories like everyone else, Mr. Zhang took the plunge ("Xia Hai" as it was called in Chinese, literally meaning "jumping into the sea"), quit the government job (which was perceived to be risky and radical in a negative way back then) and became an independent product distributor and entrepreneur.  It was a typical story for China's new class of Nouveau Riche consists of people the like of Jack Ma.  Unlike Jack Ma though who was an English teacher before making it big, the entrepreneurs we met spoke very little English even with families living overseas mainly to obtain resident status.  As it was a Chinese custom to make toast and empty your glass individually with everyone around the table, I had to interpret for my President for the most of the time.  As wine flowed,  we were able to have some of the people we met promise to come and visit us in Canada during one of China's major holidays (the time when Dads visit their families overseas).  Great, another engagement opportunity!  However, will the extravagance and generosity that overwhelmed us translate to philanthropy?  We will have to see.

As a prospect researcher turned fundraiser, I had heard so much about China's new rich that I was so thankful for this first-hand prospecting opportunity.  One of the biggest realization that dawned on me when I was there was that while universities were leading the charge on getting more money from mainland Chinese philanthropists, the majority of the children of the new rich are still young between eight and fifteen. They won't reach university age for another while.  The matter of the fact is that there is no old money in China (private property was illegal before the 1980s remember).  Everyone we met was between the age 40 to 55 and had children late in their life (because China's one-child policy which also encouraged people to marry late and have children late).  

I also noticed that the wealthier our prospects were, the more and higher government title they had.  Most business cards had regional CPCCC (Community Party of China Central Committee) title listed first.  We had some success in fundraising from Chinese State-Owned Enterprise (SOEs) locally through good "Guanxi" (connections) with the Chinese consulate.  I have now reached the conclusion that if you want to fundraise in Mainland China, there is no getting away from maintaining a good and meaningful relationship with the Chinese government as it could help even with individual prospects.  

While we still need to see if the generosity we experienced would turn into dollars for a zoo (where I work), it certainly did for the private schools that the kids were attending.  Since Chinese culture held good education as a crucial criteria for creating a good life for oneself, China's wealthy class would do anything including donating six-figure major gift to get their children "the best" education.  For an educational institutions looking to raise fund from this group, having a good ranking (Ivy league preferred!) is a must. Chinese mainland donors are also not as sophisticated as North American or even donors from Hong Kong, Taiwan or Singapore.  The motivation was less passion for a cause but rather stemmed in the desire to be more socially acceptable, create better relationship, and in the buddhist essence of kind and generosity.  Value alignment and passion definitely come second after their relationship with you.  Just like doing business in China, Chinese like to be friends first even outside of work.  If you are planning your first trip to China,  you should put"making friends" as the first priority as oppose to "socializing the case for support for your organization" or "asking for help".  Everything should be done in a more casual (as oppose to business-like) approach.  Another motivation of giving is simply an attitude of "because I can" or a form of "show off".  I have heard once that philanthropy was compared to luxury goods for Asian donors which made a lot of sense to me after our experience.  Again, who gets the donation depends on the relationship with the potential prospects.  

As dinner was coming to an end, Mr. Zhang's assistant stood up and did a presentation of gifts for each member of the group.  It was obvious that he had put lots of thoughts into it.  The gifts include a pair of art works of traditional embroidery unique to the region and a selection of products from Mr. Zhang's company.  In comparison, our gifts - pins the shape of Canadian animals and maple-wood letter openers,  seemed so small, almost embarrassing.  Luckily, earlier in the day, our Chinese partner had presented a gift bag of customized memorabilias of our day's experience which we felt had made up for it.  Gifting is just as big an item as toasting in a typical Chinese banquet.  Even when planning business meetings, one of our connector had asked me if there should be a gift exchange ceremony. There were definitely times when the hospitality and the gifts were a little too extravagant for the North American comfort level, however, coming from a Chinese cultural background,  I understood that it was important that we honored the host by gracefully accepting them.  

A few days later, we arrived in Shanghai and went to the famous Bund - waterfront area with older financial district on one side of the river and the skyline of the new CBD Shanghai on the other side.  Even on a November week evening, the promenade by the river was full with people.  Streets by the waterfront were lined with luxury brand-name stores.  Skyscrapers from the other side formed a dazzling light show not unlike scenes from futuristic movies such as the Blade Runner and the Firth Elements.  For a while, it felt like you are in the centre of the world.  An old couple walking by us looked at the scene with true wonders in their eyes.  Perhaps in their 60s,  they were still both dressed in the Mao suites - a remnant of the communist days.  Born in the 70s and already went through the economic reform myself that had transformed the economical, political, and geographical landscape of China completely,  I could only imagine the kind of changes that they had experienced.  On the other hand, my experience of the wealth in China was just as surreal.  It is a country that is still undergoing rapid changes. The wealth is new, philanthropic practices are newer.  There are just as many challenges as opportunities.  As we are excited with the possibilities the new Chinese dream presents, we should fist have a solid understanding of the language, the culture, and how people connect in this society as well as how they relate to our society at home.  

White Paper Reveals Key info on Chinese HNWI and UHNWI living in US and Canada

Summary of the Visas Consulting Group – Hurun White Paper:

Immigration and the Chinese HNWI 2014

June 6, 2014 Shanghai

Translated & Summarized by Melody Song based on the Media Release on June 6, 2014

From March 2014 to April 2014, Hurun Report and Visas Consulting surveyed a total of 141 high net worth individuals (HNWI) in various major cities around China. The average wealth of respondents was 42 million RMB (CAD$7 million).  The report reveals for the first time insights on motivation, destinations, and other circumstances related to the decision to apply under the investment immigration program outside of China. 

Key findings of the report are as follows:

On Immigration:

• Quality education for children (21%), clean environment (20%) and food safety (19%) are top three motivations for Chinese HNWI to immigrate.
• The US is top immigration destination for Chinese HNWI followed by Canada despite of the changes in immigration law.   Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver are top three municipal destinations for Chinese HNWI.
• Top reasons to choose US include: easy to get resident status, simplification of the immigration process; top reasons to choose Canada include: easy to get resident status, connection with friends and family who are already there.
•  Respondents’ average immigration investment is 5 million RMB (just under CAD$1 million)

On Overseas Investment

•  Real estate has the largest proportion in Chinese HNWI’s overseas investment portfolio with 43% followed by fixed income (17%) and shares (13%).
• Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver are top three destinations for real estate investment.  40% chooses to invest in single family residence and close to 50% chooses education district. 
• Immigration destinations for Chinese billionaires according to the Hurun Billionaire list 2014 are: 41 to USA whose combined net worth is 9% of total American’s top rich list; 7 to Canada whose combined net worth is 20% of total Canadian top rich list.
• Top 3 study abroad destinations for high school & below are: UK (29%); US (26%); Canada (12%).
• Top 3 study abroad destinations for post-secondary & above are: US (36%); UK (25%); Australia (11%).  Canada is #4 at 8%.

-         Average age for Chinese billionaire respondents’s children to be sent abroad for education is 16.

Download complete report: http://up.hurun.net/Humaz/201406/20140606132402353.pdf