Going Beyond Passion and Dedication: The Struggle Towards Professionalization Among Grassroots Philanthropic Organizations in China

Grassroots philanthropic organizations (GPOs) have emerged in China in large numbers. Previous studies tend to focus on these organizations’ interaction with the government, particularly their experience with the unfriendly NGO regulation system in China, while leaving their daily operation, and their process of development out of the discussion. The current study looked at GPOs in China at a particularly important stage of their development: when they face increasing internal and external challenges and could no longer remain informal. Through studying southern China GPOs involved in rural education promotion (n=44), we show that rather than the unfriendly registration system harming the development of GPOs, organizations have been enjoying their informal way of operation, including lack of legal identity. They focus on their relationship with the rural students, the cohesion within the organization, and the feeling of being able to help. They often have little desire to register or formalize until various internal and external changes, such as the growth of members and the expansion of programs, challenge the sustainability of the organization. At this point, GPOs do not naturally formalize. They first try all they can to maintain their usual way of operation, until the idea of professionalization is introduced to them by outsiders. Such a foreign idea may cause much confusion among the members, resulting in disagreements about the organization’s future. Under different situations, GPOs will choose different paths. Some will professionalize, and become paid staff NGOs; some will remain informal and wait for better opportunities; some will take a clear stand to resist future attempts of formalization; and some will dissolve or break into different organizations. Government policy only starts to influence GPOs once they decide to seek registration.