Adapting and Diversifying Digital Philanthropy: The Hybridized Fundraising Landscape for Gender NGOs in China

• In Event: Social Media and Digital Philanthropy

Abstract

In the past decade, Chinese tech giants like Tencent and Alibaba, along with their mega digital platforms, have had a profound impact on Chinese philanthropy. They have created a dynamic digital philanthropy landscape with an abundance of philanthropic products (Song et al., 2023). However, there is an ongoing debate among critics regarding whether the prosperity of online platforms has genuinely expanded opportunities for grassroots social organizations or if it has further restricted the space for organizations whose missions may not align readily with the state's interests. Amid this significant transformation of Chinese philanthropy, this study focuses on the fundraising practices of gender NGOs as case studies. It seeks to understand how grassroots NGOs are adapting to the evolving digital philanthropy landscape in China and what strategies they employ by harnessing digital platforms. By considering gender NGOs as key actors navigating this changing landscape, the study sheds light on their resilience and adaptability under the backdrop of an increasingly stringent regulatory environment following the 2016 Charity Law.

While the initial aim of online crowdfunding was to enhance the visibility of grassroots NGOs' projects and increase the efficiency and transparency of government or semi-governmental civil organizations (e.g., the Red Cross), current literature reflects mixed views on charitable activities conducted on digital platforms under platform governance (Hu & Guo, 2016; Shi & Yang, 2016; Lu et al., 2018). Scholars have proposed two theoretical perspectives on how the prevalence of digital philanthropy shapes the development of NGOs: the empowerment perspective and the marketization perspective. The empowerment perspective suggests that the presence of tech giants and their digital platforms will enhance the overall capacity of the Chinese nonprofit and philanthropy sector (Lu et al., 2018). Conversely, the marketization perspective argues that an overreliance on tech giants' digital platforms may compel grassroots organizations to conform to neoliberal market principles, further eroding their limited autonomy and hindering civil society development (Lai & Spires, 2021; Lu, Guan, & Dong, 2022).

Drawing on qualitative studies of ten gender NGOs' digital philanthropy projects on the 99 Charity Day, as well as other government-approved fundraising platforms and digital groups, this research highlights the hybridized fundraising strategies developed by these gender NGOs in the post-Charity Law era. Gender NGOs encompass a wide range of non-governmental social organizations addressing gender-related issues, including women with disabilities, migrant women workers, sex education, domestic violence prevention, LGBTQ+ rights, AIDS prevention, and more. Historically, Chinese gender NGOs heavily relied on foreign resources, but the 2017 Overseas NGO Law rendered foreign channels unavailable. The preliminary findings reveal two distinct strategies employed by gender NGOs based on their long-term objectives and available resources to diversify their fundraising practices: 1) crafting policy-aligned projects on digital philanthropy platforms and 2) cultivating empathy in hybrid digital spaces. This study provides valuable insights into the impact of digitalization on grassroots NGOs operating within a tightly regulated authoritarian regime characterized by capricious platform governance.

References

Hu, M., & Guo, C. (2016). Fundraising Policy Reform and its Impact on Nonprofits in China: A View from the Trenches. Nonprofit Policy Forum, 7(2), 213–236.

Lai, W., & Spires, A. J. (2021). Marketization and Its Discontents: Unveiling the Impacts of Foundation-led Venture Philanthropy on Grassroots NGOs in China. The China Quarterly, 245, 72–93.

Lu, S., Deng, G., Huang, C.-C., & Chen, M. (2018). External environmental change and transparency in grassroots organizations in China. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 28(4), 539–552.

Luo, W., Zheng, W., & Long, Y. (2022). Relational Work and its Pitfalls: Nonprofits’ Participation in Government-Sponsored Voluntary Accreditation. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, epub.

Shi, Z. & Yang, G. (2016) New media empowerment and state-society relations in China. In: deLisle, J., Goldstein, A., & Yang, G. (eds). The Internet, social media and a changing China. Phil, PA: University of Pennsylvani Press, 71-85.

Song, Q., Lee, C., & Han, L. (2023). The platformization of digital philanthropy in China: State, tech companies, and philanthropy engineering. China Information, 37(1), 123–143.

Author

• Ling Han, Gender Studies Programme, The Chinese University of Hong Kong