Philanthropy center launched in Beijing

A new strategic philanthropy center was launched in Beijing on Wednesday.

The center, established by the China Foundation Center, an information service platform for charitable foundations in China, aims to conduct strategic charity research and promotions.

"As China passed its charity law in March, philanthropy in China has been booming … Unprecedented opportunity is coming," said Cheng Gang, president of the China Foundation Center.

He said the new center will conduct research on precise, professional and effective philanthropy, maximizing the effectiveness of foundations.

According to the China Foundation Center, China has 4930 foundations. Last year, those foundations' assets exceeded 110 billion yuan ($16.84 billion) and their charitable expenses were more than 32 billion yuan.

Cole Wilbur, former president of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, one of the wealthiest foundations in the United States, shared his experiences of philanthropy at the launch event.

He said it was essential to understand two definitions in philanthropy: help and change.

Help means providing goods to locals after an earthquake, while change refers to improvement more fundamentally, such as improving buildings' after the earthquake, Wilbur said.

Philanthropy should be carried out not only to provide help, but also create change, he added.

Zhang Ruiying, executive director of the new center, presented its plan, including a deepening dialogue among stakeholders, evaluating charitable programs and initiating youth leaders' programs.