CSR

Taobao, China's premier online marketplace, recently launched a philanthropy channel (link in Chinese) which brings together the various ways in which the organization is already involved in or facilitating charity work. These include:

• Hosting online shops for NGOs such as the China Children and Teenager's Fund, International Fund for Animal Welfare, and China Charity Federation. Most of these NGOs sell goods to earn money for supporting their work, but some are more creative: the China Green Foundation sells e-trees for 5 yuan each (link in Chinese).
• The Magic Bean initiative, which helps disadvantaged mothers earn money by giving them a computer and funding to open their own shop on Taobao.
• Accepting online donations for the Magic Bean project and One Foundation.

The opening ceremony of Intel's "New World" Innovation Award for Non-Profits was held in Beijing yesterday, attended by dignitaries from Intel, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, CBS Interactive and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, as well as representatives from NGOs and the media. The award seeks to recognize and promote innovative use of ICT in nonprofit projects.

All NGOs that are registered in China, or recommended by a registered NGO, are eligible for nomination. Awards ranging from CNY 40,000 to 120,000 are offered in three different categories: innovative applications of technology, development of reusable technology solutions, and a "pioneer" category for projects that show great potential in an early stage. Winners will also receive ICT training from Intel and attend a learning forum. Only completed or currently active projects are eligible, and the prize money must be spent on organizational capacity development. Total prize money of CNY 1 million is on offer.

The deadline for nominations is March 5, 2010. Between March 6 and 10, thirty finalists will be chosen based on online votes and a panel of judges. After a new round of voting and interviews with the judging panel, sixteen winners will be announced in mid April.

We are very excited about this award, which is sure to stimulate discussion about ICT in the nonprofit sector, and look forward to being inspired by the winners. If that is the case, we have every reason to hope that the award will become a regular event.

More information is available from the official website: http://gongyi.sohu.com/s2010/10xinshijie (link in Chinese).

An announcement on the NGOCN website (link in Chinese) invites Beijing NGOs with an interest in ICT to attend the opening ceremony of the Intel "New World" Award. Since there are only 20 seats reserved for NGO representatives, people interested in attending the ceremony are asked to register for the event in advance, via the NGOCN website.

The "New World" Award, which will run from January to April this year, seeks to identify nonprofit projects which use ICT in successful and innovative ways, in areas such as organizational development, knowledge management, financial management, or project management.

The 15 winners (link in Chinese) of HP's "Technology Illuminates the Future" competition for young entrepreneurs were officially announced last month. Winners include small businesses from throughout China, as well as a non-profit group (Bridge of Future) and a growers collective.

According to a recent article (link in Chinese) in the China Philanthropy Times, the winners are already receiving training and professional one-on-one support in areas such as I.T., management and marketing. As one HP manager points out, "A lot of people think it's okay for microenterprises and small businesses to use only low-tech tools. But the reality is that many of the enterprises who have successfully grown from small to large have done so with the help of effective I.T. practices".

The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is gaining momentum in China, but some companies have merely equated it with philanthropic donation. We are glad to see HP exploring ways to use its unique expertise and services to foster and encourage innovation.