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Marketization and Its Discontents: Unveiling the Impacts of Foundation-led Venture Philanthropy on Grassroots NGOs in China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2020

Weijun Lai  and
Anthony J. Spires
Weijun Lai*
Affiliation:
Shenzhen University, China.
Anthony J. Spires
Affiliation:
The University of Melbourne. Email: anthony.spires@unimelb.edu.au.
*
Email: laiweijun.szu@hotmail.com (corresponding author).
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Abstract

Although the Chinese state has an outsized influence on shaping civil society in China, extant literature has generally overlooked the increasing role of the market in its non-governmental organization (NGO) development. This paper examines the marketization of Chinese civil society through an ethnographic investigation of funding relationships between domestic Chinese philanthropic foundations and grassroots NGOs. Two case studies of foundation venture philanthropy projects show that businesspeople, through their intensive involvement in foundation-led funding programmes, are introducing strong market influences to the non-profit sector. Notwithstanding the attraction of foundation funding, many NGOs decry the negative side effects of non-profit marketization. We argue that NGOs in this context risk being transformed into social product providers and resource-chasing machines, detracting from the self-directed social missions that many NGO leaders see as their original calling. These observations on emergent NGO–foundation relationships also reflect participants’ increasing uncertainty about the direction of Chinese civil society development.

摘要

摘要

一直以来，“国家-社会”关系框架在有关中国非营利组织发展的研究中长期居于主导地位，而市场力量对中国非营利部门的影响遭到忽视。基于其本土公益基金会与草根 NGO 之间资助关系的民族志研究，本文着重探讨中国非营利组织发展的市场化面向。对两个基金会公益创投资助项目的案例考察表明，通过直接参与公益基金会资助实践，中国企业家群体正在将一套市场化价值理念强力推行植入非营利部门内部。不过，大量草根组织对非营利市场化的消极后果保持高度警惕。文章指出，面对基金会资助的资源约束及其背后企业家群体的强势影响，中国非营利部门存在被导向过度关注社会产品供给及组织资源追逐的风险，并对其原有社会价值及组织使命形成功能疏离。文章有关基金会与 NGO 资助关系的观察，进一步揭示了中国公民社会发展的不确定性。

Keywords

NGOsfoundationsventure philanthropymarketizationcivil societyChinaNGO基金会公益创投市场化公民社会中国
Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 245 , March 2021 , pp. 72 - 93
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Copyright
Copyright © SOAS University of London, 2020

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