China Effective Philanthropy Multiplier is an open platform for scaling up philanthropic products. Since its establishment, the Multiplier has been scaling up effective philanthropic products and solving social problems efficiently and accurately at scale through measures such as grantmaking, connecting resources, capacity building, promotion of brands and experience sharing.
It was initiated and jointly developed by influential NPOs, businesses, and media - Narada Foundation, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, One Foundation, China Merchants Charitable Foundation, Xinhua Philanthropy, Tencent Foundation, Shanghai United Foundation, Amity Foundation, JD Charitable Foundation, Non-Profit Incubator, SEE Foundation, Leping Social Entrepreneur Foundation, ThoughtWorks, TJA Foundation, China Foundation Center, Anna Chennault Foundation, and Sina Weibo Philanthropy.
After two years, the Multiplier has delivered substantial results in scaling up philanthropic products, built up its brand identity in the philanthropy and nonprofit sector, and demonstrated its ability to pool resources.
By October 2018, the Multiplier contracted with 53 effective philanthropic products, representing education, environmental protection, elderly care, disability care and support, vulnerable group aid, gender equality, and community development, and 40 partner hubs in different provinces, municipalities, and regions. Forty-one road shows on the philanthropic products were carried out in 22 provinces (including autonomous regions and municipalities) and involved over 4,600 NPOs. The philanthropic products have gained 2,857 new implementation partners (including registered social organisations and unregistered philanthropy teams) and 9,071 new partner schools since they joined the Multiplier. On average 500 new partners start to implement our products to benefit locals in need monthly since the establishment of the Multiplier.
Scaling Up Philanthropic Products
In 2018, the Multiplier facilitated the scaling up of philanthropic products in five aspects - evaluation and certification, capacity building, brand promotion, fundraising support, and roadshows, and set up model products for scaling up.
（1）Evaluation and Certification
In 2018, the Multiplier sought out philanthropic products with the intention and potential for multiplication that were recommended by experts, specialised foundations and organisations, and partner hubs while collaborating with project contests in the sector to secure the sustainable development of the products. 137 applications were received this year, 47 more than last year.
The secretariat of the platform optimised their due diligence investigation of the applications, conducting group interviews, random document reviews, and on-site surveys, and created a due diligence investigation team of 27 specialists and relevant management standards. Sixteen products were selected in 2018, and six withdrew from the Multiplier later. By the end of 2018, 53 philanthropic products are in the process of scaling up through the Multiplier.
（2） Capacity Building
In 2018, targeting the most urgent scaling up needs of NPOs, the Multiplier carried out online and offline training in relation to three topics - fundraising, productization, and monitoring and evaluation - encouraged peer study groups actively, empowered our brand makers, and financially supported their scaling up.
In May 2018, our the 2018 Brand Maker Fundraising Camp covered a series of topics including fundraising strategies and types of fundraising products, fundraising product design, fundraising resource extension, and fundraising and transmission. It was attended by over 30 brand makers.
In September, the Multiplier's training on the productization of philanthropy shared with 26 brand makers systematic knowledge on the value of products and productization, product managers and product teams, productization methods, and product design framework by requesting the definition of products, the role of product managers, and the most common problems in productization in this sector.
To involve more NPOs, the Multiplier has been actively developing online training courses. We held two online courses on lean startup and product design methods with our founding partner ThoughtWorks and created two online courses on monitoring and evaluation with MonEval, a consultancy specialised in this field. Both received positive feedback.
For our partners who have already made some progress on scaling up, it is essential to communicate with and learn from peers. The Multiplier started to create peers study groups and explore to maximise their effects.
The primary challenge of the scaling up of effective philanthropic products has always been insufficient funds. In 2018, the secretariat of the Multiplier continued to provide unrestricted funding to six high-potential products which achieved good progress on scaling up as well as granting special learning funds and professional service matching funds for all our brand makers to help them scale up with improved skills and professional services.
（3）Brand Promotion
In 2018, the Multiplier further established its brand identity as a leading professional platform that promotes the scaling up of philanthropic products. We also facilitated the branding of its effective philanthropic products.
Firstly, within the sector, we communicated contents on impact and scaling up through mainstream media and our own media portals to attract more attention and catalysed discussions on this topic and eventually promoted it as the mainstream topic and a notable trend within the sector. Secondly, the Multiplier increased the impact by actively taking part in major events. We attended the China Charity Fair for the first time in September this year and presented 13 effective products in a specialised exhibition which was well received by the sector. In December, the 2018 annual conference of the Multiplier, Gathering Charity and Connecting Love, was successfully held in Beijing with over 400 partners and peers and received positive feedback and comments.
On the other hand, we actively sought collaboration with media to promote our effective philanthropic products and outstanding practitioners among the general public to raise their awareness of philanthropy and encourage their engagement. The documentary Humans, How to Face Loneliness, co-produced by the Multiplier and Ergeng Media reached over 3.58 million views. LIN Minming, one of the Multiplier’s partners, was recommended to Xinhua Network's China Online, Touching 2018 award and was honoured as the Touching Figure In the Third Quarter of 2018.
（4）Fundraising Support
In 2018, we devoted our efforts to improving the fundraising capacity of the brand makers and linking fundraising resources to help the brand makers to break through the financial bottleneck when scaling up. Our work achieved excellent results in cooperating with crowdfunding platforms, connecting to fundraising resources in the business sector, and the implementation of effective philanthropic products through the funding of foundations.
Firstly, the Multiplier established the initial working methods with crowdfunding platforms. By building partnerships with major philanthropic crowdfunding platforms including the crowdfunding platform Love Alipay, Tencent Philanthropy, Meituan Philanthropy, and Shuidi Philanthropy, the Multiplier allowed several of its products to be displayed on the front page and to carry out individual fundraising to meet their fundraising targets. During the Tencent 99 Charity Day, 22 philanthropic products were funded by over 300,000 people and raised 9.7 million RMB.
Secondly, the Multiplier explored a new mode of implementing products through the funding of major foundations. Four products on child education from One Foundation Child Service Station were listed in the Multiplier. They will be incorporated in 30 to 40 sites of the Yileyuan project and receive up to 50 RMB per child from One Foundation.
Thirdly, the Multiplier introduced resources in the business sector to its products through promoting them. For instance, the Multiplier and JD Foundation motivated donations from various businesses. Jiangsu Yanghe Brewery Joint-Stock Co., Ltd. donated one million RMB to our effective philanthropic product New 1001 Nights to cover all boarding schools in Suqian, Jiangsu Province, benefiting tens of thousand rural boarding students directly.
Moreover, the Multiplier offered one-to-one tutorials to improve the fundraising capacity of our products, serving as a think tank for brand makers in fundraising.
（5）Roadshow
Since its establishment in 2016, the Multiplier has been carrying out roadshows to promote brands, introduce products, catalyse implementation, and connect local resources. In 2018, to improve the efficiency of the roadshows, the Multiplier optimised the roadshow mechanism and curated the Roadshow Guide for its brand makers for more efficient connection to local resources. There were 16 roadshows in 2018 with a participation of over 1,600 NPOs which generated 1,141 partnerships.
The Multiplier received twice as many invitations for roadshow at city and county levels in 2018 as in 2017. There was a visible increase in support from local civil affairs departments and media coverage. Shenyang Morning Post published a special report on the Shenyang roadshow. China Daily and Toutiao reported Fujian Roadshow. Local governments and businesses in Fujian, Shunde, Chifeng, Yangzhou and Suzhou offered targeted fund for the implementation of products and local social organisations also incorporated the products.
Draw Lessons From Experiences, and Develop Different Methods of Scaling Up
（1）Researching the Methodology of Ultimate Scaling Methods, Pathways, and Operating Modes
In 2018, the Multiplier and Global Development Incubator (GDI) carried out Research on Scaling Up Impacts to draw lessons from local experiences in China and develop a more effective support system for scaling up. The project conducted case studies on ten of Multiplier's typical products, visited 30 social organisations nationwide, and eventually produced a methodology framework on ultimate scaling methods, pathways, and operating modes. The research report was highly acknowledged in the sector, and the project received funding from Sany Foundation and China Merchants Charitable Foundation.
Meanwhile, the Multiplier also completed a review on platform transformation theories to clarify its work goals and direction.
（2）Collaborating with CDR and Involving Grantmakers in Scaling up
Solving social problems via scaling up requires the participation of more stakeholders, of which grantmaking foundations play significant roles. In 2018, the Multiplier and CDR initiated a network for scaling up to raise awareness, and motivate actions on scaling up among funders. The network mainly focuses on knowledge sharing and held three workshops - Research on System Reform of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Venture Philanthropy Practices of the Aiyou Foundation, and Case Studies from Research on Scaling Up Impacts with GDI - that received positive feedback from peers.
（3）Launching Criteria and Developing Standards and Mechanism for the ‘Yicifang' Brand
Yicifang is a brand registered by the Multiplier with China Trademark Office and is designed for the philanthropic products that have scaled up substantially. In October 2018, the Multiplier started the certification process and released a draft of criteria to solicit comments which received wide attention. In November, the secretariat held the first seminar on Yicifang certification mechanism with experts in the field of brand management, law, and risk management. The Multiplier will hold more seminars to complete the mechanism in 2019.
Connecting Resources, and Growing Support Systems
In 2018, the Multiplier, based on the needs of the brand makers, has created cooperating mechanisms with co-founders, strategic partners, and partner hubs to attract and pool resources, and scale up philanthropic products and promote our brand. On the one hand, we join their advantages including high data traffic, diverse channels, funds, and professional services to facilitate the scaling up of our brand makers. On the other hand, we bridge diverse organisations to achieve mutual support, upholding the principle of exchanging services so that each participant can receive and contribute at the same time.
In 2018, several co-founders provided resources according to their expertise for the scaling up of our philanthropic products. Tencent Foundation set up a special section for China Effective Philanthropy Multiplier in the 99 Charity Day benefiting from Tencent's data traffic. The China Merchants Charitable Foundation funded the research project on scaling up and actively participated in the nomination of candidate products.
ThoughtWorks provided the Multiplier with consulting services on work process, Xinhua Net continuously generated reports for the Multiplier. China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, One Foundation, Tencent Philanthropy and Shanghai United Foundation offered their best fundraising experts as trainers of Multiplier’s 2018 fundraising camp. JD Foundation, taking advantage of the e-commerce platform JD.com, motivated donations and support of our philanthropy products from the businesses and generous users.
In 2018, the Multiplier gained new strategic partners - Sany Foundation, Ifeng Philanthropy, Alibaba Cloud Philanthropy on Codes, Meituan Philanthropy, and Ergeng Philanthropy, which provide more resources for the platform including funds for research, publicity, and IT support.
As to our partner hubs, they carried out 16 roadshows in 2018, eight of which were able to solicit full funding from local government. To encourage the leadership of the hubs in their local philanthropy ecosystem, the Multiplier developed a rewarding plan and awarded funds to 12 outstanding hubs.
Initial Effects of Scaling Up
In November 2018, the Multiplier conducted information collection and reviews of 53 products since they joined the platform, monitoring four key indexes for scaling up - the number of counties that implement the product, the number of implementation partners, the number of direct beneficiaries, and the amount of funds motivated. The following chart shows six typical products' growth in these four indexes since joining the Multiplier one and a half year ago, demonstrating their substantial achievements in scaling up.
Case Study
Rainbow Village is a philanthropic product that aids the underage children of prisoners. It received 200,000 RMB unrestricted fund, took part in seven roadshows and capacity building training provided by the Multiplier, and received support in fundraising and publicity which resulted in approximately 4 million RMB in total. Within two years, the Rainbow Village expanded from 7 to 41 project sites. By 2017, the project provided long-term aid to 2,041 children. Five beneficiaries went to university, and three found employment. Eleven former prisoners became excellent volunteers after serving their time.
The positive changes in the philanthropy ecosystem brought by scaling up are demonstrated in four aspects:
●Increase in the supply of effective philanthropic products via multiplication
●Continuous improvement of quality through faster updates of philanthropic products based on broader user feedback during scaling up
●Development of local NPOs and philanthropic teams motivated by capacity building opportunities and resources brought about through brand makers' partnerships with various social organisations at county level
●A more extensive variety of philanthropic services catalysed by new collaboration modes during scaling up