Charity considers ways to restore credibility
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China Daily, October 19, 2011
In its latest effort to regain credibility after a slew of corruption and malpractice scandals, the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) is said to be finalizing guidelines for any future cooperation with companies.
Commentators have speculated that the proposed guidelines will provide a framework for cooperation between charity organizations and their corporate partners, recommending clear boundaries be established, risks avoided and transparent supervision implemented.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, based in Geneva, Switzerland, recently sent a lengthy guidance document to the RCSC, Wang Rupeng, secretary-general of the organization told Oriental Morning Post.
"I heard there was a document sent from the International Federation of the Red Cross. But so far, the Red Cross Society of China has not yet issued its response," a woman with the Shanghai branch of the RCSC, who asked to remain anonymous, told China Daily.
However, the RCSC has already stepped up its auditing and information disclosure and its efforts to partner with the private sector, she added.
Huang Zhen, a law professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, said that charity organizations should play an active role in supervising any cooperation with private companies to ensure the projects are in keeping with the charity's philanthropic ends and to avoid companies making money in the name of charity.
Any profits made through collaboration should be re-invested in charity work, and adequate information disclosure should be guaranteed, including year-end reports, tax files and project implementation, he added.
Liu Zhouhong, deputy secretary-general of the Narada Foundation, a Beijing-based private charity foundation, said Narada is cooperating with the Center for Nonprofit Organizations' Law at Peking University in a research project reviewing the experiences and lessons of partnerships between charities and the private sector in China.
A report will be released in mid-December, offering advice to charity organizations on how to avoid risks, select partners and provide greater accountability, Liu said.
Hopefully, a consensus will be reached on the ground rules for transparency and the philanthropic purpose of such cooperation, he said.
The RCSC's woes began in June with the Guo Meimei scandal.
Despite the RCSC denying any connection with her, public anger soon led to allegations of widespread corruption and misused donations.
In July, the RCSC released information online about the donations it received for the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Yushu county in Northwest China's Qinghai province on April 14, 2010.
