The Red Cross Society of China Jet Li One Foundation Project: a nonprofit charismatic organization that mobilizes small donors in China

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THE RED CROSS SOCIETY OF CHINA JET LI ONE FOUNDATION PROJECT: A
NONPROFIT CHARISMATIC ORGANIZATION THAT MOBILIZES SMALL
DONORS IN CHINA

by
Jin Huang
________________________________________________________________________
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS)

August 2010

Copyright 2010 Jin Huang

ii
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank all the people who have inspired and encouraged me in
completing the Master‟s degree. Without their support, the successful completion of my
study could not have been achieved.
First, my deepest gratitude goes to my thesis chair, Professor Michael Parks, for
his expertise, guidance, and support. Throughout the whole process of my graduate study,
Professor Parks always believed in my ability. It was a great honor for me to write my
thesis under his guidance. I would also like to extend my appreciation to my thesis
committee members, Professor Jennifer Floto and Professor Jay Wang, for their patience,
professional advice, and support.
I am sincerely grateful to all my wonderful friends in the United States and China.
Special thanks go to Nancy Nien-Tsu Chen, Rita Chang, Ting-Yun Cheng, Wenting Liu,
Ying Liu, and Dou Hu. I thank them for their warm contributions to the completion of my
thesis.
Finally, my biggest thanks go to my family in Hunan, China. I owe the world to
my mother, Leying Fan, and father, Huaide Huang, who have always been there at every
single moment with encouragement, belief, and love.

iii
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ii

List of Tables v

Abstract vi

Chapter One: Introduction 1
The Philanthropy Landscape in China 2
Law and Regulations on Nonprofits 2
Tax Deduction on Donations 5
Records of Corporate and Individual Giving 7
Increasing Government and Institutional Support 8
Birth of the Red Cross Society of China Jet Li One 10
Foundation Project
Founding Story 10
Vision and Mission 12
Operational Structure 14
Personnel Structure 16
Function 17
Philanthropy Awards 17
Philanthropy Forum 18
Disaster Relief 21

Chapter Two: Collaborative Projects 26
“Make Charity A Habit”: Advocacy For Small Donations 27
Fundraising Strategy 29
Donor Analysis 29
Donation Methods 32
Comparison Between One Foundation and 35
GlobalGiving.com
About Global Giving.com 35
Similarities 36
Differences 36
Attractions to Small Donors 37
Charismatic Organizations 38

Chapter Three: Media Campaign Analysis 40
News Story Campaign 40
Publicity 44
Premiers and Ceremonies 44
Interviews, News Programs, and Entertainment Shows 45
International Conference and Forum 46
Fundraising Events Organized by Corporate Partners 47
Launch of Special Edition Products with Corporate Partners 49
Participatory Communication 51

iv
Fundraising Partnership 52
Routine Communication Activities 53
Potential Communication Problems with Small Donors 54
Recommendations 56
Key Relationships 56
Key Messages 57
Incorporate a Subgroup of Small Donors 58
New Campaign Proposals 58
Sponsor Academic Research on Nonprofits 59
Sponsor Students to Volunteer at the Nonprofit 60
Organizations Honored by One Foundation Philanthropy
Awards
Host “One Day A Month” Public Education Campaign on 61
Charity Work at High Schools
Conclusion 63

References 66

v
List of Tables
Table 1: One Foundation‟s Expenditures on Disaster Relief from 2007 22
to 2009 (In RMB)

Table 2: One Foundation‟s Cumulative Income and Expenditures in 23
2008 (In RMB)

Table 3: Items Of One Foundation‟s Expenditures on 5.12 Sichuan 25
Earthquake in 2008 (In RMB)

vi
Abstract
China‟s continuous economic prosperity has produced affluent social resources
and idle capital for organizations and individuals to nurture the country‟s philanthropy
sector. Additionally, a series of deadly natural disasters cost the Asia-Pacific region
countless life loss and property damages. All these factors raised the importance of
establishing a nongovernmental philanthropy mechanism in China to complement and
facilitate the central government‟s works in the public service sector. Jet Li, an action
movie star, founded the Red Cross Society of China Jet Li One Foundation Project at the
end of 2006. In fewer than four years, the nonprofit organization has become one of the
best-known charitable groups in China.
This thesis first examines China‟s historical and present philanthropy landscape,
focusing on the regulatory environment, government attitudes, and tax incentives. After
portraying the political economical background, this thesis analyzes One Foundation in
terms of its founding history, function, and structure, then offers a descriptive study of its
communication strategies and tactics, which reflect the small-donor fundraising strategy,
as well as the role of the charismatic organization adopted by the Foundation. Strategic
suggestions are recommended by the author at the end, based on the strengths and
weaknesses of the current communication practices of One Foundation.

1
Chapter One
Introduction

Operating a self-sustaining nonprofit organization in China is not simple. A 2009
New York Times article noted a three-tiered hierarchy in the Chinese philanthropic
landscape, placing governmental charity organizations at the top, a few registered
nongovernmental organizations in the middle, and a great many unregistered grassroots
nonprofits at the bottom (Makinen, 2009). Because of the country‟s tight policies,
thousands of grassroots nonprofits cannot afford to register with the government and,
therefore, have long been marginalized in public discourse, as reflected by their lack of
coverage by mainstream mass media. Meanwhile, some of the deadliest natural disasters
in history provoked interest in practicing philanthropy among the Chinese general public
and private companies.
The problematic hierarchy system and potential public support created
opportunities for establishing visionary nonprofits in China. Jet Li, a Kung Fu movie star
originally from Mainland China, founded the Red Cross Society of China Jet Li One
Foundation Project (hereafter called One Foundation) at the end of 2007 after his family
survived the 2004 Indonesian tsunami. From a macro perspective, One Foundation
matches social resources with grassroots nonprofits by acting as an intermediary. The
foundation will inject a force of energy and innovation to the hierarchical philanthropy
landscape in China if it can succeed in channeling donations, resources, and attention to
overlooked grassroots nonprofits.

2
From a humane perspective, One Foundation hopes to nurture sustainable
philanthropic habits among the Chinese public by advocating recurring small donations.
A key strategy is to gain support from donors and partners by centering media campaigns
on Jet Li, the charismatic leader who possesses a well-connected social network and a
reputable public image.

The Philanthropy Landscape in China
Law and Regulations on Nonprofits
In the 1950s, many nonprofit organizations appeared first as “government-
organized nongovernmental organizations” (GONGOs), whose main feature was their
close ties to the Chinese government. Not until the 1990s did the more standardized
nonprofit organizations enter public discourse. Friend of Nature, the first environmental
nonprofit group to register with the PRC Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA), began
operating in 1994. The government issued the first regulations on nonprofits in the late
1990s, apart from a 1993 law on the Red Cross Society of China (Erie, Livdahl, Khoo, &
Li, 2009). MCA approves, regulates, and sets procedures on nonprofits in China. It also
categorizes nonprofit organizations into three categories: social organizations,
nongovernmental nonenterprise units, and foundations.
Social organizations are law-abiding nonprofit groups voluntarily formed by
Chinese citizens to achieve the common will shared by members (The Central People‟s
Government [CPC], 1998). Nongovernmental nonenterprise units are law-abiding
nonprofit groups run on nonstate-owned assets by enterprise and institutional units, social

3
groups, and individual citizens to provide social services (CPC, 1998). Foundations are
nonprofit entities run on asset donations received from individuals, legal entities, or other
organizations to serve the public welfare (CPC, 2004). According to the latest statistical
report of MCA, 424,780 registered nonprofit organizations existed in China as of 2009,
235,000 of which are social organizations; 188,000 are nongovernmental nonenterprise
units; and 1,780 are foundations (The Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People‟s Republic
of China, 2009).
All nonprofit organizations are quasigovernmental (Social Organization, 2008)
because of a unique double-responsibilities feature of the management system in China.
Each nonprofit organization is required to report to two supervisors: a registration
administration unit and a practice administration unit.
Registration administration units are comprised of civil affairs departments of the
state and provincial council (Liu, 2010). Their major responsibilities for nonprofit
organizations include registering the establishment, change, and cancellation of
organizations; conducting annual examination on organizations; and imposing
administrative penalties on law-breaking organizations (CPC, 2004).
Practice administration units are comprised of departments of the state and
provincial council or official organizations authorized by the state or provincial council
(Liu, 2010). Different from the other arm, practice administration units are mainly
responsible for operational affairs, including checking upon organizations before their
registration of establishment, change, and cancellation; providing guidance to
organizations in following the Constitution, law and regulation, and national policy;

4
conducting annual preliminary examinations on organizations; assisting registration
administration units in punishing the law-breaking behaviors of organizations; and
providing guidance to organizations with account settlements (CPC, 1998).
According to MCA, a nonprofit organization is only eligible to apply for
registration with the registration administration unit after it receives approval from a
practice administration unit in a relevant field for sponsorship or supervision. This hurdle
is a major one to most grassroots organizations. A practice administration unit does not
necessarily benefit from its relationship with a nonprofit organization; however, it bears
an amount of responsibility and liability to the organization as a result of the affiliation.
As a study examining the Chinese law and regulation on nonprofit indicates, though there
are no legal provisions that subject a sponsor to fines and other punishments, the
sponsoring organization vouches for the nonprofit‟s credibility and is responsible for its
actions and activities (Erie et al., 2009).
To a certain degree, the “dual responsibilities” feature creates “disincentives” for
a practice administration unit to agree on sponsoring a nonprofit organization (Erie et al.,
2009, p. 36). Subject to double supervision and scrutiny (if a nonprofit is lucky enough
to finally register) makes starting a nonprofit business more difficult than starting a for-
profit one (Boss, 2009). According to a well-known Chinese TV presenter and studio
manager, the government‟s control over charity results in low efficiency and
dysfunctional distribution among Chinese nonprofit organizations (cited in Tang, 2006).
In addition, nonprofit organizations must meet capitalization requirements for
approval. The minimum capital for a social organization is 100,000 RMB and for a

5
foundation is 20 million RMB. Some (Tang, 2006) claim that the threshold is too high for
start-up nonprofits in China.
Tax Deduction on Donations
Jianlin Wang, a philanthropist, suggests that making donations in China does not
necessarily generate positive feedback (as cited in Tang, 2006). Wang ranks 13
th
on the
Hurun 2009 Philanthropists List as Chairman of the Board and President of Dalian
Wanda Group Co., Ltd, a Chinese company that invests and operates in commercial
properties, luxury hotels, cultural industries, and chain stores.
According to the Enterprise Income Tax Law of the People‟s Republic of China
(CPC, 2007), tax exemption is only allowed when the amount of donations on social
welfare is within 12% of the enterprise‟s annual profits. If the donation amount exceeds
the quota, the extra amount will not be approved for tax exemption. According to the
Individual Income Tax Law of the People‟s Republic of China (CPC, 2008), tax
exemption is allowed on donations to education and other social welfare services, which
should not exceed 30% of the individual‟s taxable income.
In addition, the PRC Ministry of Finance, State Administration of Taxation, and
Ministry of Civil Affairs jointly issued a special announcement dedicated specifically to
issues around tax exemption on expenditures of donations towards social welfare. This
announcement narrowed “expenditures of donations on social welfare” to donations made
only to the selected registered foundations, charity organizations, and other nonprofits
that fit Rule 4 of the announcement, which consists of four strict criteria. Most grassroots
nonprofits are therefore unable to provide donors with legitimate receipts for tax

6
deductions. As an example, a Chinese freelancer and columnist once hosted a fund-
raising program for a patient. All the contacted entrepreneurs agreed to donate only if the
event were sponsored by a governmental charity organization that could issue donation
certificates for the donors to claim a tax deduction for their companies (Ben, Feng &
Chen, 2005).
Besides the limited tax deduction, select nonprofit organizations can give a full
tax exemption to their donors. According to the announcement, every registered and
qualified nonprofit organization can apply for certain rights. But among the 23 lucky
ones, only three (The Lifeline Express Foundation, Sun Zhifang Economics Science
Foundation, and Song Qingling Foundation) are nongovernmental organizations loosely
related to the government, with key Chinese politicians still serving on their boards—
compared to the other 20 organizations founded by government agencies. Notably, the
Red Cross Society of China, including its regional branches and special projects, enjoys
the same tax exemption or deduction rules among all member organizations. (Note:
specific rules may differ depending on the project).
Tax exemption on donations should be a direct incentive that motivates people to
support nonprofits—and apparently the Chinese government already has such policies in
place; though far from perfect, these policies are enough to protect the basic rights of
donors. However, few people ask for tax-exemption treatment after donating, because
either they are not aware of such policies or they do not want to apply because of
complicated procedures. An official at the Disaster Relief Department of the Ministry of
Civil Affairs claimed that once he made a small donation to the China Charity

7
Foundation. It took him two months to go through 10 bureaucratic procedures to reclaim
his tax on it. Liguo Liu, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, agreed that the
existing enterprise and individual income tax laws do not encourage charity donation—
but he expects promotional laws in the future to help improve the system (as cited in
Tang, 2006).
Records of Corporate and Individual Giving
Gates (1996) coined the term “the Chinese tributary mode of production (TMP)”
to describe a relationship in which the central state extracts taxes and relief supplies from
the private sector. Traditional merchants would turn in personal wealth regularly to
replenish the state treasury, of which a certain amount of money would be spent on social
welfare. These merchants only want to pay for a stable business environment that would
not be easily picked on by government forces. However, the money-in-exchange-for-
political-peace became the primitive model of Chinese corporate philanthropy that
centered on government, instead of nongovernment and nonprofit groups.
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing Academy of Social Sciences,
and Renmin University jointly conducted a national survey of 2,870 Chinese private
firms in 1995. The study shows that 87% of respondents made some charitable
contributions. The median amount of the cumulative contributions was 10,000 RMB
($1,163), which represents 1.2 to 1.4% of these firms‟ pretax profit. Compared to
corporate giving in the United States at the same time, the percentage of giving in China
was two to four times greater at comparable asset levels (Ma & Parish, 2006).

8
The results show that Chinese private businesses were in fact very generous to
charities in the 1990s (Ma & Parish, 2006). During this period, the emerging
entrepreneur class began to actively participate in building the social welfare by donating
to local governments and quasigovernment agencies (Dickson, 2003; Fu, 2000; Kahn,
2003; Shune, 1998; Xin & Zhang, 1999; Young, 2002).
The national survey suggests that entrepreneurs had better opportunities to be
appointed to higher congress positions after they made large donations. Wishing for the
same advantages as their merchant ancestors, entrepreneurs in the 1990s hoped to receive
social and political benefits in exchange for giving (Ma & Parish, 2006).
In terms of individual giving, this case study briefly cross-referenced the “2009
China Rich List” and “2009 China Philanthropist List” by Hurun Report— a reputable
publishing and events group that tracks changes among the richest population in China
(Hurun Report, 2005)-- to gain a generative understanding of the current individual
giving landscape in China.
Twelve people from the Top 50 Richest List are also on the Top 50 Philanthropist
List, with a total donation of $860,750,000 U.S. that accounted for 43.10% of the total
giving received from the top 50 philanthropists; around 37% of those is from the top 100
philanthropists. The most popular charity causes are education, disaster relief, social
welfare, health care, and poverty alleviation.
Increasing Government and Institutional Support
In March 2005, the PRC government work report mentioned that it would support
charity. It marked the first presence of “charity” on an important national document.

9
Later in 2005, the PRC Ministry of Civil Affairs issued A Guide to China’s Charity
Development.
Many indications encourage charity on one of the current government‟s main
agendas: the building of a Harmonious Society. The national strategy aims to narrow the
gap between the rich and the poor, to redress the uneven access to education and health
care services, and to build better emergency response mechanisms (Makinen, 2009).
Shenzhen SEC in 2006 and Shanghai SEC in 2007 issued the Guide on Social
Responsibilities for Publicly Traded Companies, which mandates publicly traded
companies to produce and publish annual corporate social responsibility reports. Until the
end of 2009, companies traded at Shanghai SEC issued 213 CSR reports and companies
traded at Shenzhen SEC issued 158 CSR reports (Wu, 2009).
As Jet Li puts it, Karma enlightened his life like an electric bulb suddenly being
switched on. But the light can never be turned on without the prerequisite of generators
and wires (Jiang, 2009). The early explorations of nongovernment philanthropists,
increasingly open-minded government, more globalized business deeds, and a rising
philanthropic awareness among the public all laid the ground for the establishment of
One Foundation. Modern times called for a nonprofit leader in China and Jet Li assumed
that role.

10
Birth of the Red Cross Society of China Jet Li One Foundation Project
Founding Story
From a child martial arts champion in Mainland China to a Hollywood A-list
movie star, and now as founder of a Chinese nonprofit foundation, Jet Li states that he
found the true meaning of life after his family survived the devastating 2004 Indonesia
tsunami, the largest in the recent century.
After dropping out of the 3
rd
grade, Jet Li was uneducated academically but
exceptionally experienced in life. Despite living in the relatively narrow scope of a
closed economy, Li was able to travel around the world at a young age by competing and
performing martial arts abroad. Playing one of the monks in Shao Lin Temple, an epoch
Kung fu film that showcased the exquisiteness of Chinese martial arts for the first time,
transformed Jet Li from a teenage athlete to a rising movie star.
With an attractive appearance and brilliant physical skills, Li quickly became one
of the brightest action actors in the Hong Kong film industry in the „80s and „90s. He
portrayed almost every realistic or legendary heroic character in Chinese history in the 30
films shot during that period. In 1998, Jet Li knocked on the door of Hollywood by guest
starring on Lethal Weapon 4, a blockbuster featuring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. His
short but mysterious appearance wowed American audiences; hence, Warner Brothers
offered Jet Li a lead role on Romeo Must Die, an intense action movie with a romance
between mafia members. Li had embarked on his journey to stardom in the international
entertainment industry.

11
Jet Li has received numerous awards during his 20 years of acting, including Best
Actor on the 27
th
Hong Kong Film Awards, the Oscars in Asia, Best Actor on the 13
th

Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, the Golden Globe Award in Asia, a nomination
for Favorite Male Action Star on the 27
th
People‟s Choice Awards, inclusion in the “Top
101 most powerful figures in entertainment industry” by Entertainment Weekly in 200,
and was even voted one of the “Sexiest Men in the World” by People magazine in 1998.
Amidst the glamour and fame, when Jet Li converted to Buddhism is unclear. He
revealed that he first started contemplated the true meaning of life when he reached his
mid-30s. Drawing from his own and others‟ experiences, Li stated he discovered that the
abundance of material goods in life could not satisfy the endless desire growing inside of
him. He saw that he was stuck in a bottleneck in the exploration of one‟s inner world.
The 2004 Indonesian tsunami was a watershed experience in Jet Li‟s life. The
disaster compelled him to realize how close danger is, how short life can be, and how
many people are badly in need of help. Jet Li was enjoying a family vacation with his
wife and two daughters on the Maldives, a peaceful and relaxing island country in the
Indian Ocean. He was playing hide-and-seek with his four-year-old daughter on the
white-sand beach when suddenly a wall of sea waves began to rapidly surge toward the
seashore. Realizing it was a tsunami instead of a regular rising tide, everyone rushed to
land in panic. Jet Li lifted his daughter above his head on one arm and dragged his
daughter‟s nanny, who was already choking on water, with his other arm; he stumbled
toward higher land through the waves that almost reached his neck. Li then quickly ran
back to his hotel to check on the safety of his younger daughter— however, he lost

12
contact with his wife because she was separately visiting another resort at that time. After
hours of searching for her with the help of others, the couple was finally reunited (Liao
2006). After being rescued, Li told his wife that he was reborn a new man, ready to give
back all he had to society.
Jet Li had first started a foundation in the United States in 2000. Leveraging his
star influence, he collected enough donations from his western movie fans to help an
American girl receive kidney surgery. Beyond the happiness of realizing the dream of a
child, Li also felt more concern because there was no such end to all the problems
mankind faced. Each cause requires attention, such as AIDS, environmental protection,
education, and healthcare. How could a foundation solve them all?
Since then, Li has been actively seeking a more effective solution to maximize the
contributions of a nonprofit. Li spent two years speaking with NGO scholars at higher
education institutions, leaders of the United Nations, industry experts, consulting firms,
and government officials in the hope of reinventing a successful western model that
would best suit the philanthropic landscape and political environment in China.
Vision and Mission
At the end of 2007, Jet Li wrote down the mission of One Foundation: to promote
a participatory philanthropy culture; to build an open, transparent, and sustainable
philanthropic platform for all public service providers; and to provide humanitarian
assistance for various natural disasters (“About One Foundation,” 2009). Serving as an
intermediary in China, One Foundation bridges philanthropic investors (big and small

13
donors) and nonprofit organizations that mainly concentrate on environmental protection,
education, poverty alleviation, healthcare, and disaster relief.
Instead of committing to a single charity cause, One Foundation takes a leadrole
in integrating and distributing scattered social capital to specialized nonprofits selected
from the entire philanthropic industry. Strategizing from such a macro point of view, One
Foundation acts as a central government department of philanthropy, a role urgently
needed in China.
The special policies and regulations examined previously are the roots of the
existing Chinese philanthropic landscape, in which players are separated into three tiers.
At the top are charitable organizations supported by the government; in the middle are
registered nongovernmental organizations that have governmental departments as
sponsors or supervisors; at the bottom are more than 300,000 grassroots nonprofit
organizations that failed to register with the government (Makinen, 2009).
Numerous grassroots nonprofits have long been marginalized by the public
discourse, as reflected by their lack of coverage by mainstream mass media and the
absence of modern philanthropic customs among Chinese citizens. If One Foundation
fulfills its promises to channel resources and attention to the booming nonprofits, the
hierarchical philanthropic landscape in China can then expect an injection of energy and
innovation.

14
Operational Structure
Founded as a global nonprofit organization, One Foundation operates differently
among offices in Mainland China, Hong Kong, America, and Singapore due to various
regulations and laws. Both the Singaporean and American offices run as independent
legal entities that are less influenced by government agencies. Leveraging its mature
charity industry status, One Foundation sets up an education base in Hong Kong, where
the average donation rate per person is much higher than in Mainland China, according to
several studies, to train professional workers for grassroots nonprofits in Mainland China
(Chen, 2009).
In Mainland China, One Foundation has four representative offices: Beijing,
Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Chengdu (for the Sichuan earthquake). To invent the best way
to raise and allocate donations, the One Foundation in Mainland China has a complex
operational structure.
One Foundation originated as a partnership with the Red Cross Society of China.
In December 2006, a strategic alliance between Jet Li, a Red Cross Ambassador, and the
Red Cross Society of China was formed: “the Red Cross Society of China Jet Li One
Foundation Project,” referred to as One Foundation. One Foundation is advised by the
Red Cross Society but allowed to work “independently to purse its philanthropic mission
and agenda” (“About One Foundation,” 2009).
Under the alliance, One Foundation is able to legally solicit funds from the
Chinese public because it is a special project that belongs to a public fund, the Red Cross
Society. All donations are deposited into the “Jet Li One Foundation” account under the

15
structure of Red Cross Society of China, which is fully in charge of funds allocation and
distribution, depending on need (“Jet Li and One Foundation,” 2007). The lack of
independent legal personality deprives One Foundation of financial control over its funds,
the usage of which can only be suggested and monitored.
After thorough study of the foundation law in China, One Foundation discovered
an innovative regulatory method that allows it the qualification both to raise funds
publicly and to have greater financial freedom. In October 2008, the Shanghai Jet Li One
Foundation, a nonpublic fund, was registered as the executive agency of One Foundation.
The identity of nonpublic funds is critical and has a twofold meaning: One Foundation is
an independent legal entity now, which means it has full financial control over funds
distribution; on the other hand, the Shanghai One Foundation can only receive donations
(privately) instead of raising funds publicly (“Investigation into Celebrity Philanthropy,”
2010).
The capital flow within One Foundation is as follows: the Chinese public makes
donations to the Jet Li One Foundation Project of Red Cross Society of China, the public
fund registered in Beijing. All the donations are then handed over to the Shanghai Jet Li
One Foundation, the nonpublic executive agency; finally, the Shanghai Jet Li One
Foundation makes independent decisions on funds distribution. In this way, the Red
Cross Society of China can only monitor but not control the funds raised by One
Foundation. Although seemingly complicated, this operational structure of a nonprofit
organization is the first of its kind in China, which indicates a looser and more flexible
philanthropic policy environment that allows and encourages regulatory innovation.

16
Personnel Structure
One Foundation employees 22 full-time employees (up to date until February
2009), whose salaries are way below the average pay of corresponding positions in
corporations. Like the Chief Operating Officer, a Yale graduate with over 20 years of
overseas working experiences (“Weiyan Zhou”), most One Foundation executives are
sharp businessmen with global backgrounds. Zhou worked as the marketing director of
Kodak and then Longins in China. Until now, Amy Zhou, the CEO of One Foundation,
has not accepted any form of pay; Zhou is a full-time volunteer. One Foundation‟s
employees seem to be driven by philanthropic beliefs in addition to the traditional
monetary incentives.
Despite offering low or “zero” salary, however, One Foundation does not run on
volunteers like many nonprofit organizations. According to anonymous employees of
One Foundation, the functions firstly determined its roles as fundraiser and intermediary,
instead of organizations that need to carry out grassroots activities. Therefore there is less
need for One Foundation to recruit volunteers. Secondly, using only full-time staff
maintains a high level of professionalism and stability (“The Truth about One
Foundation,” 2009).
As third-party partners to One Foundation, Deloitte and KPMG audit the revenues
and outgoings of funds; Kaiyu Consulting Service writes the financial statement; Bain
China consults on long-term strategies; and leading public relations and advertising
agencies like Ogilvy provide professional media planning services (About One
Foundation, 2009).

17
According to Zhou, “the housekeeper spirit” (“Weiyan Zhou, CEO of One
Foundation,” 2009) is one of the unwritten credos of One Foundation. Employees are
constantly reminded of managing the collected donations like dutiful housekeepers of
their masters‟ properties. In addition to instilling a moral obligation, One Foundation
adopts regulatory methods to prevent embezzlement. From time to time, employees at
key positions are transferred to offices at different locations so they are less likely to
participate in the kind of corruption and bribery that is part of a long-established
relationship between employees and local merchant partners.
Function
One Foundation conducts three pillars of work to realize its missions:
philanthropy awards, philanthropy forums, and disaster relief. Though not listed as a core
function, collaborative projects with other nonprofits are also formed by One Foundation.
Philanthropy Awards
One Foundation Philanthropy Awards consist of two grants: philanthropy stars
and future philanthropy stars. Based on “credibility, professionalism, execution and
sustainability,” One Foundation will select no more than 10 grassroots nonprofits to
receive the grant of philanthropy stars each year. These organizations should possess
efficient management systems, large operational capabilities, transparent financial
systems, long-lasting sustainability, and influential social impact. Each philanthropy star
organization will receive a grant of 1 million RMB from One Foundation (“About
Philanthropy Grants,” 2010). Since 2008, 15 nonprofits whose specializations range from
education and poverty alleviation to mental and physical health have received these

18
grants. The grant of Future Philanthropy Stars was established in 2009. For this award,
One Foundation will select no more than five original, sustainable grassroots nonprofits
that possess the potential and capacity to become leaders in Chinese philanthropy
industry. Instead of a cash grant, One Foundation‟s partner Tencent.com, a Chinese
instant message service and online game provider, will provide Future Philanthropy Stars
with 1 million RMB worth of training and administrative support over a two-year period.
Key staff from the five future philanthropy stars organizations attended their first training
session coorganized by One Foundation and some community service centers in
Shanghai in February 2010. Four instructors from Beijing and Shanghai taught trainees
on volunteer management, agenda arrangement, and plan execution. The session was also
open freely to staff of nonprofits residing in or near Shanghai. In the end, 60 nonprofit
practitioners from 30 organizations graduated from the session with practical knowledge
that could be applied to their daily work (“Mission 2010,” 2010).
Philanthropy Forum
Hosting an annual philanthropy forum is another key function to which One
Foundation is committed. Through the one-day meeting, the Foundation gathers key
stakeholders, who include representatives from corporations and nonprofit organizations,
scholars, and government officials, to discuss philanthropic issues and to predict the trend
of charity work in China (“Introduction of One Foundation,” 2008). As a critical method
to realize the foundation‟s mission, the forum builds a platform for opinion leaders to
exchange thoughts on the best practices of philanthropy work in China.

19
On October 31, 2009, 600 guests attended the first One Foundation One Family
annual conference at a five-star hotel in Beijing (“One Foundation 2009 Annual
Meeting,” 2009). The meeting agenda had a threefold mission: reporting achievements of
One Foundation in the past year; holding six seminars on different philanthropic topics
that cover venture philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, efficient disaster-relief
mechanism, environmental protection, the professionalism of charity workers, and the
role of media in charity (“One Foundation 2009 annual meeting,” 2009); and presenting
this year‟s Philanthropy Awards.
Moderated by famous Chinese hostesses from Phoenix TV, a popular Hong
Kong-based private broadcasting company, 50 distinguished politicians, scholars,
entrepreneurs, and media representatives made VIP presentations. Supportive speeches
from such high profile and authoritative figures showcased what a grounded social
network and sound reputation One Foundation had. For example, Changjiang Guo, Vice
President of the Red Cross Society of China, opened the forum by speaking highly of
One Foundation‟s mission and achievements (Guo, 2009); Zhenyao Wang, Director of
Social Welfare and Charity Development at PRC Ministry of Civil Affairs, showed One
Foundation government support by calling it “the most participatory” (Wang, 2009)
nonprofit in mainland China; Khalid Malik, United Nations Resident Coordinator in
China, elaborated on why the U.N. firmly stood by One Foundation (Malik, 2009); and
Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, shared with attendees on how he
founded Grameen Bank to lend microcredit loans to poor Bangladeshi people (Yunus,
2009).

20
The award ceremony of One Foundation Philanthropy Grants was held after the
forum on the same day. Representatives from winning nonprofits accepted their grants on
stage; executives from selected corporate partners commented on their collaborations
with One Foundation; Chinese actress Li Sun, one of the celebrity volunteers, debuted
her new song to show her support; children from some of the grassroots nonprofits aided
by One Foundation also put on performances to express their gratitude. Several times
through out the ceremony, smiling wholeheartedly, Jet Li took bows with his hands
clasped together in front of his chest, a Buddhist hand gesture to express gratefulness and
blessings.
Publicity for One Foundation is usually drawn from entertainment news venues,
as this paper will discuss in later sections. But the first philanthropy forum received
“serious” attention mostly from mainstream media that cover politics, business, and
social affairs. Two of the most-watched state broadcasters, Beijing Television (BTV) and
Dragon TV (the provincial television station of Shanghai,) recorded and aired the forum
(including the award ceremony at night); five Web sites provided online coverage; and 26
reputable Chinese publications with large circulation numbers, including 21
st
Century
Business Herald, The Economic Observer, Global Charity, New Weekly, China Business
Journal, and so forth wrote feature reports on the events.
However, public scrutiny is the flipside of media attention. On the Internet, the
Philanthropy Forum raised wide queries on whether or not One Foundation overspent
administrative expenses on extravagant dinner parties. In response to the accusations,
One Foundation immediately revealed the financial details of the forum. Out of the

21
2,500,000 RMB spent on the first annual forum, 2,000,000 RMB was from corporate
sponsorships. One Foundation only used 500,000 RMB from donations (“Doubts on the
3
rd
quarter administrative expenses,” 2009). In terms of the regulations on limiting
nonprofits‟ administrative expenses to no more than 10% of their overall expenses the
same year (Ministry of Civic Affairs, 2009), One Foundation explains, during the period
when the forum was held, the quarterly administrative expenses were 19.76%, which
exceeded the limit. However, the accumulative administrative expenses were only 4% of
the accumulative total expenditures, which still follows the Regulations on the
Management of Foundations.
Disaster Relief
More than responding to domestic natural disasters, One Foundation is one of the
very few Chinese nonprofits that actively participate in global disaster relief. From 2007
to 2009, the Foundation donated 300,000 RMB to two oversea disaster reliefs: the
Myanmar Tropical Storm and the Italy earthquake (See Table 1, below). It is the first
Chinese nongovernmental organization to provide humanitarian assistance for the 2009
Italian earthquake and Haiti earthquake, for instance. One Foundation works hard to live
up to its promises of building a global family.

22
Table 1
One Foundation’s Expenditures on Disaster Relief from 2007 to 2009 (In RMB)
Disaster Donation (RMB)
2007
Yunnan Pu'er Earthquake 100,000
Shandong Flood 100,000
2008
Southern Province Snowstorm 1,100,000
Myanmar Tropical Storm 100,000
Sichuan Earthquake 28,050,000
Southern Province Flood 1,000,000
Sichuan Earthquake Aftermath 2,750,000 (in resources)
2009
Italy Earthquake 200,000
Southern Province Flood 200,000
Yunnan Earthquake 160,000 (in resources)
Taiwan Morak Typhoon 4,841,184
Source: One Foundation‟s work reports from 2007 to 2009. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from
http://www.onefamily.org.cn/

23
One Foundation faced its toughest test since it started operations, when the May
12, 2008 Sichuan earthquake occurred. The 8.0-magnitude earthquake caused 69,197
confirmed deaths and 374,176 serious injuries, and resulted in 18,222 missing.
(“Wenchuan Earthquake,” 2008). It is the deadliest earthquake in China since the 1976
Tangshan earthquake, with a death toll of more than 240,000 people (“Casualties of the
Wenchuan Earthquake,” 2008). Joined by numerous other rescue forces, including
government agencies, domestic and international nonprofits, companies and individuals,
One Foundation solicited and distributed a huge amount of donations to the emergency
disaster relief in Sichuan (See Table 2, below).
Table 2
One Foundation’s Cumulative Income and Expenditures In 2008 (In RMB)
Categories Cumulative Donation
Income
Cumulative
Expenditures
Balance
Causes other than 5.12 Sichuan
Earthquake
23,563,301 6,150,434 17,412,866
5.12 Sichuan Earthquake 116,891,706 78,492,073 38,399,632
Total 140,455,006 84,643,508 55,812,499
Note. Source: 2008 年度财务管理报告. (2009, January 21). [Annual financial report in 2008].
Retrieved from http://www.onefoundation.cn/html/33/n-433.html

Instead of dwelling on short-term disaster relief, One Foundation quickly began to
plan on rebuilding postdisaster areas (See Table 3, below). The establishment of the
Sichuan earthquake disaster relief command center (temporary) in Chengdu office
marked One Foundation‟s embarkment on postquake restoration and reconstruction work
(Zhang, 2008). Medical service, education, environmental protection, and poverty

24
alleviation are the four major categories One Foundation focuses on in reconstruction
(“Work Report,” 2008). Since October 2008, One Foundation opened up a special section
on its quarterly work report to provide updates on the process of postquake rebuilding.

25
Table 3
Items of One Foundation’s Expenditures on 5.12 Sichuan Earthquake in 2008 (In RMB)
Items of expenditures on 5.12 Sichuan earthquake Expenditures
(in RMB)
Goods and materials for emergency relief (food, necessities, tents) 20,892,589
Mobile toilets for emergency relief 393,000
Reconstruction of health centers and schools in Shanxi province 5,000,000
Reconstruction of health centers and schools in Gansu province 5,000,000
Reconstruction of health centers and schools in Sichuan province 10,000,000
Psychological support program for post-disaster children at Sanjiang (Sichuan) area 346,078
Career program for minority women at Aba (Sichuan) area 1,696,000
Children welfare house at Aba(Sichuan) area 6,202,700
Garbage sorting station at Pengzhou, Sichuan 10,000,000
Staging housing project in the affected areas 2,801,228
Children health care project 1,231,500
Technology poverty alleviation program in the affected areas 2,400,000
Microcredit program at Qingchuan, Sichuan 8,001,300
Green elementary school project 4,370,431
Travel expenses of staff and volunteers 126,407
Printing, mailing and administrative expenditures 30,840
Total expenditures on 5.12 Sichuan earthquake 78,492,073
Note. Source: 2008 年度财务管理报告. (2009, January 21). [Annual financial report in 2008].
Retrieved from http://www.onefoundation.cn/html/33/n-433.html

26
Chapter Two
Collaborative Projects

One Foundation sometimes initiates collaborative projects with third-party
nonprofits for a specific charity so that the strengths of both sides can complement each
other. One Foundation can provide substantial financial and social capital, whereas the
nonprofit partner can focus on practicing professionally within its specialized area. To
raise the awareness of mental health among college students, One Foundation funded the
establishment of “Sunshine in Your Heart Care Center,” operated by the Red Cross
Society of China Mental Health Project in November 2007. One Foundation distributed
580,000 RMB to build 58 centers in Chinese universities equipped with self-
improvement books, counselor trainers, and volunteer counselors (“The Official Launch
of Sunshine in Your Heart,” 2007). At the launch party in Beijing University, Jet Li
invited popular Chinese movie and TV stars to support One Foundation by speaking
about their charity beliefs, which are of course shared by One Foundation.
In addition to supporting regional grassroots nonprofits, the Foundation puts
emphasis on collaborating with reputable international nongovernmental organizations.
The Climate Group, a global environmental-protection group cofounded by Tony Blair,
established a joint program with One Foundation to promote clean energy, particularly
solar LED, among the rural villages in China. One Foundation provides financial support
to the program in its start-up phase, but will build a sustainable financing model that can
be run by professional financial institutes (“Solar LED Joint Project,” 2009).

27
“Make Charity A Habit”: Advocacy For Small Donations
Chinese society has long considered the government the one-and-only key social-
welfare provider because it lacked self-motivated nonprofits, voluntary organizations,
and private businesses to fill in the void of welfare on purpose (Croll, 1999). Therefore
philanthropy or charity is a rather abstract definition that seems unapproachable and
remote to many Chinese people who are relatively poorly educated on the necessities,
utilities, and feasibilities of philanthropy. When One Foundation launched its refreshing
and ambitious vision, “One Foundation, One Family: Make Charity A Habit,” the public
was intrigued. The vision places equal value on small and big donations on the basis that
charity should not be an exclusive power of the rich. According to “Introduction of One
Foundation”:
If each person donates at least one RMB each month, our individual donations can
be transformed into a much greater fund. When we combine our charitable
strength, we can make sure that the most vulnerable members of our global family
will receive the help they need. (2008)

Jet Li did not invent the idea of small donations. In fact, Steven H. Goldberg
argues in Billions of Drops in Millions of Buckets that the phenomena of long-tail
economics caused the popularity of small donations among nonprofit organizations
(2009). The insights of Anderson, inventor of the long-tail theory, suggest that the
relatively large number of products in the tail are as important as the small number of
“products” in the head to the cumulative revenue for all products sold. A niche market is
outshining the traditional hit market (Anderson, 2008).
Similarly, a large number of small-cap nonprofits, whose revenue is less than $5
million, and mid-cap nonprofits, whose revenue is between $5 million and $20 million,

28
began to rise, which is a trend facilitated by Internet and social networking sites.
Therefore the competition for funding, human resources, media attention, and other social
capital among nonprofits of all sizes became fiercer (Goldberg, 2009). Philanthropists
now face a competitive nonprofit field comprising numerous social needs, various
solutions, and a large number of seemingly interchangeable organizations (Schervish,
Havens, & Herlihy, 2006). Goldberg believes that the fundraising method of small
donations can best benefit niche nonprofit players in the current landscape of the
democratization of philanthropy. No longer dominated by rich donors, the philanthropic
field is now filled with numerous start-up nonprofits that can solicit and distribute
scattered funds in small amounts on the online marketplace (Schervish et al., 2006).
However, unlike his western counterparts, Jet Li approached the method of small
donations from a personal perspective, rather than being drawn by the economic theory
behind it. Li attributed why small donations should be popularized to three moral
obligations that each of us should perform: fulfill duties, share responsibilities, and
express gratitude. (Li, 2009) The rationale behind of One Foundation‟s key messages is
that we play many roles during different stages in life, as children, in job positions, and as
parents. All of these social characters require us to fulfill our duties and responsibilities.
As members of one family, everyone on the universe should be responsible to one
another. Therefore, instead of relying on others to do it, we need to take up our own share
of the responsibilities that, no matter how small the contributions may be, fall on the
shoulders of all mankind. Hence, the effort committed by each family member supports

29
One Foundation. Expressing gratitude to supporters, whether small or big donors, is a
core value at One Foundation.
Instead of a nonprofit that receives the biggest donations, One Foundation, Li
hopes, will become a nonprofit with the most participants (Chen, 2009). The foundation
aims to “bring out mass participation in philanthropic giving and volunteerism” by
building a “sustainable, professional and trustworthy” (“Introduction of One
Foundation,” 2008) platform for donors and nonprofit organizations, driven and led by
the collective efforts of scholars, government officials, business entrepreneurs, media,
celebrities, and opinion leaders.

Fundraising Strategy
Donor Analysis
Small donors. One Foundation aims to build a public platform based on the
sustainable participation of a large number of small donors through the regular
commitment of a small amount per person. Jet Li believes only by doing so can society
plant the seed of philanthropy, through both big and small contributions that equally
improve the well-being of humankind.
Key messages for small donors in general are to contribute as much as one can to
the charity work being carried on by the many unknown nonprofit organizations in China.
The amount of money or time input does not matter as long as one is willing to make the
commitment. Let supporting charity become a habit or routine of one‟s life. “1 person + 1
dollar/yuan + 1 month = 1 big family” (“Introduction of One Foundation,” 2008).

30
The pool of small donors can be separated into movie fans and nonfans of Jet Li, because
their different characteristics explain and determine their distinctive donation
motivations.
Movie fans of Jet Li. Jet Li has successfully built a large community of movie
fans all over the world. Without question, these fan bases should be the first ones
recruited by One Foundation for donation, volunteering, and publicizing efforts. One
Foundation should mobilize Li‟s fans to demonstrate their loyalties to Jet Li by making
donations, volunteering time in helping to build and maintain the daily operation of the
foundation, and passionately publicizing One Foundation‟s beliefs to their friends,
relatives, and acquaintances. Key messages for them are: “Pour your passion into One
Foundation if you believe in choices and decisions made by Jet Li, your idol and role
model, and sell the philanthropic beliefs shared between you and One Foundation to your
family and friends.”
Nonfans of Jet Li. People who are not enthusiastic about Jet Li, the Hollywood
star, will likely overlook the promises or goals set by One Foundation. Moreover, if
someone dislikes Jet Li for a character he created in a film or from a paparazzi story
reporting on his personal life, s/he will probably develop a strong resistance to the
nonprofit foundation named after Li. For his part, Li always emphasizes his hope that
One Foundation will be able to operate well and maintain success even without his
celebrity influence. It is therefore critical to educate the majority of the general public
that One Foundation has a meaningful agenda devoted to the development of the well-
being of mankind, unrelated to Li‟s personal interests. Key messages for people who are

31
not enthusiastic about Jet Li‟s entertainment career are that the Red Cross Society of Jet
Li One Foundation Project is only founded by Jet Li for the purpose of promoting a
philanthropic culture in China. But the foundation does not represent or belong to Li.
Experienced professionals manage the funds; experts from academia, corporations, and
the government advise the fund distribution made by the foundation; and the public keeps
a close eye on the foundation through the news media.
Corporate partners. Although One Foundation hopes to survive on contributions
made by small donors, large corporate donors are the ones who make the foundation run
at least for now. Corporate donors contribute to 60% of One Foundation‟s funding
through June 30, 2009 (Tian, 2009). Key messages for corporate donors are that One
Foundation warmly welcomes donations from companies that share the same vision of
promoting the standardization of NGOs in China. Key messages for corporate partners
are that One Foundation is glad to provide opportunities for industry leaders to fulfill
Corporate Social Responsibilities effectively through various types of cooperation.
Donation Methods
Small donors. One Foundation raises funds from individuals (including celebrity)
and corporate donors. For individuals, there are five donation methods: credit card, short
message service, online donation, post wire, and bank transfer (“Donation Methods,”
2009).
China Merchants Bank credit card: China Merchants Bank, the most popular
individual financing bank and credit card issuer in China (“China Merchants Bank,”
2010) issued a special “caring credit card” for the One Foundation. The card ties credit

32
level to the amounts of donations and links corporate donations to consumer consumption
using their credit card.
China Merchants Bank has promised to donate 1 RMB to the One Foundation for
each “caring credit card” issued. For every “loving credit card” consumption over RMB
20, the bank promises to donate RMB 0.1. In addition, selected merchants, such as South
Beauty Group, a luxury southern-China-flavored restaurant chain (“About South Beauty
Group,” 2010), and ZenSpa, a Beijing-located massage and beauty care provider, has also
promised to donate a fixed amount of money for each credit card purchase in stores.
Credit card holders agree to make a fixed monthly donation, ranging from RMB 1, 11 to
111, which will be withdrawn from the account automatically by the banks. Besides a
monetary commitment, China Merchants Bank also invites “caring card” holders to
volunteer at least a day at events held by the One Foundation and selected NGOs.
Participants will receive certificates for their time and passion (“Instructions on China
Merchants Bank,” 2008).

Short message service. Cell phone users can donate two different ways through
text messages. The first option is a one-time only donation, which allows users to text the
number of the amount they want to donate to a phone number; another is a fixed monthly
donation, which suggests that users donate RMB5, 10 or 15 per month to the foundation
by subscribing to a service through texting. Users will receive two confirmation messages
separately from One Foundation and the local telecom operator (“Donation Methods,”
2009). In addition to the phone number that is opened for regular donation on the long

33
run, sometimes another line would be added to receive special funds for a sudden disaster
like the Sichuan earthquake.
Online donation. Internet donations to One Foundation are supported by four
popular online payment tools: Paypal, Fast Money, Ali Pay, and Ten Pay. Besides the
official site of One Foundation, several high-traffic Chinese portal Web sites installed
those four payment mechanisms into the donation pages they opened up exclusively for
the foundation. Most small donors favor online donations for the accessibility and
efficiency. In less than a month after the Sichuan earthquake occurred, One Foundation
received a donation of 78,891,700 RMB, out of which 49,108,700 RMB came from
730,000 online donors (Li, 2008). Tencent.com, one of the foundation‟s partners,
generated 50% of those online donations that reached almost 24,000,000 RMB (“One
Foundation Cooperates with Tencent.com,” 2009), which set a world record of the
biggest Internet donation amount (“Jet Li, Founder of One Foundation, Visited
Tencent.com,” 2008). Due to its profound impact, Tencent.com extended the temporary
earthquake-donation platform to a regular philanthropic project that encourages users to
either tie a One Foundation monthly donation plan to their instant messenger accounts at
Tencent.com or to make one-time-only donations to One Foundation through the Web
site.
Post wire and bank transfer. Making donations through post wire to the account
of One Foundation usually takes three months to process. Bank transfers are quicker and
have one account for RMB donors and another for foreign currency holders. Through
bank transfers, however, money goes to the Red Cross Society of China unless donors

34
specify that they want the Jet Li One Foundation project to receive the donations
(“Donation Methods,” 2009).

Corporate donors/partners. For corporate donors or partners, One Foundation
enjoys a reputation of being selective, according to Amy Zhou, chief executive officer of
the foundation. Two basic agreements need to be reached by both the foundation and
corporate: philanthropy and sustainability (“Weiyan Zhou, CEO of One Foundation,
Gave an Exclusive Interview,” 2009). Corporate partners have to build their profit or
revenue on the prerequisite of providing support to philanthropic works. And the
cooperation needs to be sustainable instead of a short-term fever. Partnerships between
One Foundation and corporate are categorized into four types according to the various
levels, scales, and forms of cooperation.
Caring partners. These are companies that make either direct or marketing
donations based on their shared philanthropy belief with One Foundation. Both parties
are required to sign formal donation agreements (“Our Caring Partners, 2009”). To date,
20 companies are listed on One Foundation‟s official Web site as Caring Partners, from
industries such as real estate, beverages, software, automobile, banking and entertainment
to luxury. Compared to plain donations with money or goods, many Caring Partners
prefer marketing donations, which indicates that companies make either one or multiple
donations to One Foundation in return for business opportunities in the form of
sponsorship, coorganizing charity events, or using the logo and image of One Foundation
on promotional activities.

35
Supporting partners. These are companies, agencies, and organizations that
provide their professional services or talents in the field of finance, law, consulting,
media, and so forth to facilitate the works of One Foundation for free (“Our Supporting
Partners,” 2009). Among 13 acknowledged partners, seven are in the business of media,
public relations, and advertising; two in the business of accounting, auditing, and
financing; two in the business of internet and digital support; and one each in the business
of law and consulting.
Promotional partners. These are media groups and associations that provide One
Foundation free promotional platforms and communication channels (“Our Promotional
Partners,” 2009). Forty-one media groups encompass industry leaders in broadcast, print,
radio, news Web site, search engine, social networking Web site, film, outdoor media,
on-flight entertainment, and mobile van advertising.
Charity partners. These are nonprofit organizations or public service groups that
agree to share resources and networks with One Foundation to improve the development
of charity work in China (“Our Charity Partners,” 2009). The majority of these NGOs
concentrate on education, environmental protection, poverty, and healthcare (mental and
physical).

Comparison Between One Foundation and GlobalGiving.com
About GlobalGiving.com
Founded by two former World Bank executives, GlobalGiving is an online
marketplace for nonprofit projects that matches buyers, people with money to give, with

36
sellers, organizations with ideas to share but little funds to operate. Grassroots nonprofit
organizations, mostly in developing countries, post their project proposals on
GlobalGiving for potential donors to browse and select. Donors can support any project
with any donation amount using online transaction tools. As the world‟s largest online
donation marketplace, GlobalGiving has distributed more than $14 million collected from
more than 41,500 donors to over 1,300 projects since 2002 (“GlobalGiving fact sheet,”
2010).
Similarities
Main funding strategy: Small donation. Collecting small amounts from many
donors is a way to “unleash the potential of people around the world to make positive
change happen (“GlobalGiving Fact Sheet,” 2010)” through a type of philanthropy that is
accessible and flexible. On GlobalGiving, donors can contribute any amount via credit
card, check, PayPal and gift registries. In addition to one-time donations, recurring
donations can be selected, which allows donors to support their favorite projects on a
monthly recurring basis with a minimum amount of $10 (“Recurring Donations,” 2010).
Differences
Funding decision makers. GlobalGiving provides a channel for donors to
connect directly to grassroots nonprofit organizations without going through
intermediaries (Woolcock, 2009). Organizations pitch project proposals to potential
donors on the web-based marketplace and donors make the final funding decision on the
amount of donation and project, instead of a group of experts, as in the case of One
Foundation.

37
In fact, having a group of experts make professional funding decisions is a strong
selling point used by One Foundation to convince the public on how trustworthy it is.
When questioned by many why everyone should trust their money with Jet Li, the
defense is Li may not always make the best decision, but it is reasonable to believe that
the collective intellectual efforts of elites from academia, business, politics, and so on
will promise bigger odds at investing in the most deserved nonprofit organizations.
Attractions to Small Donors
GlobalGiving (“About GlobalGiving,” 2010) creates “a transparent, high-impact
giving experience,” in which donors get to choose where they want their money to go.
Small donors favor GlobalGiving because they can review and examine detailed project
plans offered by participating grassroots nonprofits in order to make thoughtful funding
decisions that best match their contributions to their interests. Concrete experience in
choosing and seeing how each dollar can impact local nonprofits attract small donors to
GlobalGiving. In comparison, One Foundation appeals to small donors mainly by selling
the philanthropic belief of “making charity a habit,” which is a conceptual vision that
requires lots of convincing explanations.
And who is to advocate a belief better than trustworthy public figures?
Leveraging his influences and networks, Jet Li, the 47-year-old movie star, invited a long
list of prominent persons to join the big family of One Foundation. Li uses his own
charisma to attract more charismatic characters, including individuals and corporate
brands, to increase the prestige and credibility of the foundation. Establishing itself as a
charismatic organization is One Foundation‟s strategy to win over potential small donors.

38
Charismatic Organizations
Shirley Sagawa and Deborah Jospin refer to highly networked nonprofits that
“people are drawn to in the way charismatic individuals attract followers” as charismatic
organizations (Sagawa & Jospin, 2009). The success of these organizations is mainly
attributed to the presence of a charismatic leader, who drafts the vision, takes risks, goes
against conventional wisdom, and communicates zealously through action and deed,
inspiring others to follow (Conger & Kanguo, 1998; Fiol, Harris, & House, 1999; Weber,
1947).
On the other hand, this type of organization has innate defects. Firstly, a
charismatic leader‟s fixed image and exclusive network may only be good at attracting
certain kinds of donors so the nonprofits will face difficulties in “building the capacities
to diversify their funding” (Shirley & Deborah, 2009). Organizations may only be able to
attract a pool of homogenous donors. Secondly, charismatic leaders are unique
individuals whose knowledge, charm, skills, and networks cannot be reproduced. They
therefore need to perform many tasks that no colleague or surrogate within the
organization can, in which case, the leaders may become “overextended and burned out”
(Shirley & Deborah, 2009). Thirdly, charismatic leaders are not necessarily strong
managers. Their lack of down-to-earth managerial skills may cause them to fail to
address employee needs, to delegate tasks, or to prepare successors, which may all
alienate existing or potential stakeholders.
Continuing to act as a charismatic organization, One Foundation now face risks
from all three perspectives. So far, most small donors of the Foundation are movie fans of

39
Li, which is a weakness that will be discussed further in the fundraising strategy section.
In terms of public figures, Li revealed in an interview that he has exhausted all social
networks built on his 40-year acting career and displeased everyone he ever had a chance
to (“One Foundation or Jet Foundation,” 2009). When asked detailed questions into the
business operation side of the foundation, Li can often give generative, visionary, and
macro explanations that can seem vague.

40
Chapter Three
Media Campaign Analysis
One Foundation has been involved in many campaigns that have had high media
exposure in the past three years. Because this study mainly focuses on how this nonprofit
attracts small donors by taking advantage of being a charismatic organization, only media
activities that incorporate both the charisma (social resources) of Li and the outreach to
small donors are analyzed in this section.
According to different participation levels of small donors, these media
campaigns can be categorized into two groups: “news story campaign,” the ones that can
only be read by small donors as articles, and “participatory campaign,” the ones that
interact with small donors.
News Story Campaign
Commercials. A television commercial is a one-way communication, whose
purpose is to disseminate tailored messages to target audiences. Traditional commercials
normally position audiences as information receivers. Therefore, whether audiences‟
attitudes can be persuaded and consequently changed depends on the power of messages
in advertisements. Especially for fundraising commercials, explaining to TV viewers why
and how to donate and to whom within a limited time is challenging.
One Foundation distributed a series of four launch promotional video
advertisements through online and broadcast channels in 2007 and produced one recently
in 2009. All five ads centered on the foundation‟s official slogan: “1+1+1=1,” which

41
stands for “one person donates one RMB per month equals one big family.” The
explanations on the foundation‟s vision, however, are vague, succinct, and philosophical.
Stage one: Introduce “1+1+1=1,” 2007. The launching ad (One Foundation,
2007) cast a little girl dressed in an oversized white T-shirt with One Foundation‟s logo, a
blue smiley face, and oversized jeans. She paints the number 1 against a white wall
accompanied by her childish off-screen voice saying: “One plus one plus one equals one;
support Jet Li One Foundation Project.” The second video ad (One Foundation, 2007)
recorded scenes from a school playground where basketball games and relay races were
going on. The clips are in black and white and phased out to one sentence: “There is only
one life,” accompanied by the little girl from the first ad painting and reciting the
“1+1+1=1” math equation. The third video ad (One Foundation, 2007) is in the same
format as the previous one, and features black-and-white archive clips from worldwide
disasters, such as earthquakes and floods, but that then phases out to one sentence: “There
is only one earth,” accompanied again by the little girl repeating “1+1+1=1” (One
Foundation, 2007). Jet Li then comes out to explain the origin and meaning of
“1+1+1=1” in the fourth ad, which lasts 30 seconds. With barely any makeup on, a very
real Jet Li appears in a white cap with One Foundation‟s logo and a loose white shirt. He
talks enthusiastically to the camera: “I always think that we are one big family because
we all live on the same planet. Therefore I came up with the idea of letting each one of us
donate one RMB per month to help our own people (family member).” Then he recited
the catchy math equation and repeated the meaning of it with vivid hand gestures. The ad

42
ended with the little girl from the first ad painting the number 1 and repeating the same
off-screen voice again.
Stage two: Report fundraising results and encourage small donation, 2008.
There is a 30-second online video advertisement named “numbers don‟t matter to
philanthropy.” At the bottom of a gray screen rolls a line of subtitles, which contain some
donors‟ names and the amount of their donations. The list starts from big donors who
gave a lot, for example “president Li donated 1 billion RMB and manager Ma donated
5,000,000 RMB,” followed by a stream of small donors who are ordinary people with
small contributions, for example “Miss Tao donated 1 RMB; little Hou donated 1 RMB;
grandma Wang donated 1 RMB” and so on. The center of the screen then plays the theme
of the ad: “Numbers don‟t matter to philanthropy; actions are powerful; please visit One
Foundation‟s official web site to donate your important 1 RMB (One Foundation, 2008).”
This particular ad only airs online at youku.com, a Chinese video website and also one of
One Foundation‟s promotional partners. Through March 2010, the clip has been viewed
4,596 times with six comments and six favorites in two years. To provide readers a point
of reference on the traffic of youku.com, a random “hit of the day” video gains a
viewership of 20,964, 171 comments, and 8 favorites in a day.
Stage three: Strengthen motivation for small donation, 2009. Shaking off the
catchy phrase “1+1+1=1,” One Foundation moved on to communicate a more
explanatory, but still abstract message in its promotional videos: “The earth is our home.
The power of one individual is small, but the power of a family is big. Willingness is
power. One Foundation invites everyone to take care of our home” (One Foundation,

43
2009).” Still featuring, the video shows Jet Li write down the calligraphic form for “one”
in traditional Chinese using a giant Chinese writing brush in the video.
A major problem of these ads is that One Foundation pushes audiences to donate
without specifying what the donations are for— not to mention how are they going to be
spent. Although some parts of these ads tried to explain why, the messages are probably
too vague. The content and contexts portrayed in the commercials vary, from education
and environmental protection to disaster relief and so forth, which may fail to clarify the
foundation‟s specific agenda. In one of the ads, Li explains in his own words what the
foundation is for: to “help our own people (family member).” The message is even more
ambiguous: What does “help” encompass? Who are “our own people”? People in China,
Asia, or all over the world? Audiences may ask: Does One Foundation aim to help
whomever is in need or whatever causes by collecting 1 RMB per person per month?
Small donors need to see every penny as worthwhile or they will not make
donations in small amounts that are normally considered drops in the bucket. When the
goal is set too high and the commitment required is too little, geographically scattered
individuals may have low self-efficacies in believing that their small contributions are
capable of helping realize an ambitious goal. So unless donors are presented with a
detailed agenda of how each penny counts, they will most likely have a low motivation to
contribute. Therefore, instead of vague promises, One Foundation needs to set a concrete
agenda and measurable goals to convince audiences that every donation matters,
regardless of the amount.

44
Publicity
Charismatic leaders in charismatic organizations draw attention and publicity. All
the invisible assets are cutting-edge advantages especially for a nonprofit organization
dedicated to promoting charity among a large group of audiences with relatively little
prior knowledge on this topic. The reasons why One Foundation‟s media campaigns all
center on Jet Li are simple: first, when the reputable movie star speaks, the Chinese
public is more likely to listen; second, if not for the movie star, there would be little
chance for a start-up nonprofit to campaign on mainstream media in China. Jet Li attends
two types of media activities: the ones organized by others and that welcome him to talk
about charity, and the ones organized or sponsored by One Foundation.
The majority of interviewees state that they first knew about One Foundation
through Jet Li‟s television presence on entertainment programs. Since the end of 2006, Li
has taken every chance for publicity to build brand awareness of the start-up foundation.
In two years, it became one of the best-known nonprofit organizations in China. There
are 3,810,000 results about One Foundation on Google China; 7,190 news articles in
simplified Chinese about One Foundation in Google News Archive; and more than 1,000
threads of posts discussing about One Foundation on Tianya.cn
1
. Thanks to Jet Li,
whether supporting or against it, people are talking about One Foundation.
Premiers and Ceremonies
Leveraging his network in the film industry, Jet Li seeks chances to promote One
Foundation at influential movie premiers, ones he did and did not star in. His most

1
Tianya.cn is the most popular Chinese-speaking online community.

45
talked-about presence was at the global premier of Curse of the Golden Flower, an
Oscar-nominated Chinese film directed by Yimou Zhang. Li announced the launching
news of One Foundation at the star-studded, grand entertainment ceremony that was
broadcasted live on television and online globally. In his speech, Jet Li expressed a
shockingly humble attitude through the entire eight minutes by never standing up
straight, but keeping his back and knees bent as a grateful gesture. Looking exhausted, Li
used the word “beg” many times: “beg” the movie distributor to partner with One
Foundation; “beg” all public figures to donate to One Foundation; and even “beg” the
hosts on stage for more time to finish his speech. To Chinese audiences used to the
remote, unapproachable, and sophisticated public figures of celebrities, the performance
of Jet Li, the “Kung fu emperor” was unprecedented.
Interviews, News Programs, and Entertainment Shows
Jet Li and One Foundation “are inseparable” (J. Huang, personal communication,
December 20, 2009). It is impossible to find Li not talking about One Foundation in any
interview since the foundation was started. At a press conference in Shanghai for The
Mummy 3, a Hollywood blockbuster Jet Li guest performed in, he told journalists that he
threatened not to attend any promotional activity if he cannot promote One Foundation
via publicity of the film. Although he claimed the comment was a joke, when Li attended
another press conference for The Mummy 3 in Guangzhou later that week, the theme of
the event went completely “off-key” from the publicity of the film. Li spent the whole
conference talking about his charity instead of promoting The Mummy 3. Li‟s costars,
including Brendan Fraser, sent in videos featuring them canvassing audiences to support

46
One Foundation. Representatives of corporate partners were invited on stage to receive
souvenir T-shirts with One Foundation‟s logo. Li spent time introducing the concept and
donation methods of the foundation. According to a news story that covered the press
conference, reporters had to force film-related questions on Jet Li but he somehow
bypassed them to lead back to the topic of One Foundation again.
Besides entertainment programs, which are the main carrier of One Foundation‟s
news, Jet Li and Amy Zhou, chief executive officer of One Foundation, also have talked
in depth about the business and operational side of One Foundation on some of the most
popular talk shows in China, including An Appointment with Lu Yu, hosted by a famous
Chinese hostess similar to Oprah; Face to Face, an authoritative exclusive interview on
CCTV; Boss Town, a highly rated finance and business talk show and Up Close, an
English exclusive interview on CCTV-9.
International Conference and Forum
To broaden the scope and raise the level of professionalism of One Foundation,
Jet Li actively participates in global conferences on nonprofits, philanthropy, and charity
to learn from others‟ successful experiences and to seek global partnership opportunities.
In September 2007, Li was invited to the Clinton Global Initiative conference held in
New York. One Foundation was the youngest nonprofit to attend the conference and
amongst the few Asian nonprofits that had been invited. Li shared the vision, mission,
and work plan of One Foundation with attendees. Li also talked to Bill Clinton, organizer
of the initiative, one on one. Clinton shared Li‟s vision of “One Family” and even agreed

47
to cooperate with One Foundation in the future (“One Foundation Was Invited to Clinton
Global Initiative International Conference,” 2007).
As goodwill ambassador of the World Health Organization and founder of One
Foundation, Jet Li attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in
Copenhagen between December 7 to 18, 2009 (Li, 2009). Besides joining discussions, Li
bicycled around to advocate a green lifestyle that generates low-carbon emission. Photos
of Li riding on a green bicycle on a snowy night were taken by reporters from Xin Hua
News Agency and used in many articles at major Chinese news outlets. However, most
stories credited Jet Li as an “actor” instead of a goodwill ambassador and founder of a
nonprofit, as referred by Li himself on his official blog about this activity. The bicycle
advocacy was therefore attributed to the personal publicity of Jet Li, the movie star, in
most stories. On the other side, the content of Li‟s conference presence received little
attention. Several online comments on this report were quite negative, one of which is
“Another act to gain media sensation. It‟s not like we Chinese people will care about your
[Jet Li‟s] performance abroad” (Ramilie, 2009). Unfortunately, it is fair to conclude that
in the eyes of Chinese media, on most publicity occasions, the past entertainment career
of Jet Li really overshadows the seriousness of his and One Foundation‟s commitment to
charity.
Fundraising Events Organized by Corporate Partners
Unlike most celebrity foundations, One Foundation does not hold charity dinners
to raise funds. However, leveraging its strong connections with top companies, One
Foundation manages to persuade interested corporate partners to organize high-profile

48
fundraising events themselves and then hand over the raised donations. In this way, One
Foundation is able to solicit funds among prominent rich people and earn media coverage
on star-studded events without spending on administrative expenditures.
Two of the biggest fundraising events held by partners are the 6
th
BAZAAR
Celebrity Charity Night and the Ferrari One Foundation Auction Dinner in 2008.
“BAZAAR Celebrity Charity Night” is an award-winning annual charity event organized
by Harper’s Bazaar China since 2003. It has raised altogether more than 15,000,000
RMB until 2008 (“The 2008 Harper‟s Bazaar China Celebrity Charity Night,” 2008),
which makes it a leading philanthropic force in the Chinese media industry. Held on
August 22, 2008, the 6
th
BAZAAR Celebrity Charity Night dedicated all raised funds,
10,350,000 RMB, which is the highest amount raised in one single night, to One
Foundation. Specially approved by the International Olympic Committee and Beijing
Olympic Committee, the BAZAAR event was the only large-scale activity organized by a
non-Olympic sponsor during the Beijing Olympic Games. Heavyweight politicians,
artists, and celebrities attended the event, including Tony Blair, former U.K. prime
minister, as well as the marketing director of the International Olympic Committee, the
vice president of the PRC Ministry of Civil Affairs, the vice executive president of the
Beijing Olympic Committee, and Ziyi Zhang (“A Review on the 6
th
Bazaar Celebrity
Charity Night,” 2010).
At the debut event of California, a Ferrari concept car, in Shanghai, Ferrari
auctioned racing suits, gloves, caps, and uniforms signed by famous Ferrari racers, and
two-day trips to the Ferrari factory in Italy (“The Ferrari California Debuted,” 2008),

49
which raised 2,232,000 RMB in total for One Foundation (“Ferrari Holds Charity
Auction,” 2008). Jet Li guaranteed guests that their generous donations would go to
people who are truly in need, saying “I swear on my life that these funds won‟t be
embezzled or appropriated (“Ferrari Holds Charity Auction,” 2008). Relating to the
organizer that made the fundraising happen, Jet Li expressed the wished that philanthropy
in China would have a driven force as strong as the power of Ferrari cars.
Launch of Special Edition Products with Corporate Partners
It is a common practice in corporate charity to donate a certain percentage of profits
from selling a limited line of products specially designed for a charity cause or nonprofit
organization. If invited by a well-connected nonprofit and under a popular charity cause,
many luxury brands are especially open to these collaborations, which demonstrate these
high-margin companies‟ commitment into social responsibilities. Mont Blanc designed
30 limited edition ink-pens for One Foundation in July 2008. The platinum-decorated
pens have the number “1” imbued in diamonds on pen caps and the smiling face, One
Foundation‟s logo, engraved on pen nibs. Mont Blanc will donate 5,000 Euro to One
Foundation for each of the 30 pens sold worldwide (“One Foundation and Mont Blanc,”
2008). And what is the symbolic relationship between diamond pens and charity in
China? “Every time you pick up the (Mont Blanc) pen, you will think of the happy faces
of children (in poor areas) who can now write with their own pens because of your
purchase (as cited in “One Foundation and Mont Blanc,” 2008).

50
Joint Promotion Campaigns
Blending promotional messages into partners‟ campaigns to increase media
exposure reflects the high profile style of One Foundation. A regular announcement on
new partnerships at a press conference seems to be unable to fully exploit the reputation
value of influential partners.
On October 17, 2007, the National Basketball Association (NBA) opened its
game season in China by bringing the match between Orlando Magic and the Cleveland
Cavaliers to Shanghai. By invitation from the NBA, Jet Li attended the game with four
children suffering from leukemia, whose images were captured several times on the big
screen of the basketball court. During the half-time break, the 13,779 people in the
stadium watched Jet Li and NBA stars George Gervin and Rick Barry announce the new
partnership between the NBA and One Foundation that is to focus on youth education
(“NBA and One Foundation,” 2007). Making a partnership announcement at an NBA
event definitely helped One Foundation gain attention from zealous basketball fans, the
sports media, and big corporate sponsors in China.
In 2008, Major League Baseball (MLB) started its Chinese business by sending
the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres to play two games in Beijing. One
Foundation established a similar alliance with MLB, which promised further joint
promotional campaigns in addition to a once-off 10,000-dollar donation (“One
Foundation Establishes Partnership with the Major League Baseball,” 2008).

51
Participatory Communication
Fundraising event: One Foundation charity recreational vehicle car race.
Out of all its campaigns, the annual car race is the fundraising event where One
Foundation unites most closely small donors, corporate sponsors, celebrities, and
volunteers all at the same time. The One Foundation Charity Recreational Vehicle Car
Race is an annual special fundraising event coorganized by Shanghai Automobile and
Motorcycle Sports Association, Shanghai International Racetrack, and the Formula
Racing Development Sports (FRD), featuring One Foundation as the title sponsor (“One
Foundation Will Invite Volunteer Representatives,” 2007). The car racers are famous
actors and singers in the Greater China region. The opening guests of each race are Jet Li
and representatives of related nonprofit projects. During the break, Li and celebrity
contestants appeal to spectators to send donation text messages to the Foundation
simultaneously (“Jet Li Led Celebrities to Attend the 2007 Charity RV Car Race,” 2007;
“Ten Thousands People Sent Donation Text Messages,” 2007; “The 3
rd
Charity RV Car
Race,” 2009).
The first race collected 500,000 RMB from FRD, and motivated 10,000 audience
members to send donation short messages, which brought the total number of short-
message-service donors to 400,000 people. Two volunteers who won a One Foundation
logo design contest were invited to open the game (“One Foundation Will Invite
Volunteer Representatives,” 2007). The second race was held shortly after the Sichuan
Earthquake occurred. A long banner was prepared for celebrities, staff, and members of
the audience to sign and write down their blessings for people suffering from the disaster.

52
It raised 700,000 RMB that would be distributed entirely to the disaster relief in Sichuan
(“The 2
nd
Charity RV Car Race,” 2008). The third car race was held in the capital city of
Sichuan to show support for the post-earthquake construction work. Teacher and student
representatives from one of the impacted high schools that received aid from One
Foundation interacted with the celebrity racers and the audience while watching the
game. The latest game raised around 500,000 RMB (“The 3
rd
Charity RV Car Race,”
2009).

Fundraising Partnership
Fundraising partnership: A fixed amount of donation per product or per unit-
profit that requires commitments from both small donors as consumers and corporate
donors as merchants.
Because small donors of One Foundation promise to donate 1 RMB per person
per month, then correspondingly, corporate donors should make matching commitments
to sustain long-term philanthropic behavior in order to realize “making charity a belief,”
as advocated by One Foundation. And, indeed, Jet Li has reached agreements with many
big international and Chinese companies on donation-per-product business strategies,
which rely on both purchasing behaviors of consumers, as small donors, and matching
donations from merchants, as corporate donors.
As always, Jet Li first made a breakthrough in the entertainment industry. Hua Yi
Brothers Media Corporation, one of the largest entertainment conglomerates in China,
has agreed to donate 0.1 RMB to One Foundation for each ticket sold from each major

53
film production by the corporation.
2
Barbie, the legendary fashion doll brand of
American toy manufacture Mattel, Inc., has promised to donate 1 RMB to One
Foundation for each guest who visits the Barbie Shanghai Store, the company‟s first
global flagship store, regardless of whether purchases are made or not, starting from
April 2009 (“Charity Barbie,” 2009). And Li apparently expects more from these 11.5-
inch tall plastic beauties, because at the store opening ceremony, he joked about seeing a
Barbie dressed in a One Foundation logo T-shirt someday (“Jet Li Attends a Charity
Party,” 2009). One Foundation also made a deal with one of the largest fruit beverage
manufacturers in China, Hui Yuan Group, in 2009. In addition to a one-time donation of
1,000,000 RMB, Hui Yuan Group agrees to donate 1 RMB to One Foundation for each
bottle of Vitamin C 100% pure juice sold (“One Foundation Establishes Partnership,”
2009).

Routine Communication Activities
In addition to event-based media campaigns, One Foundation engages small
donors through its official web site, which contains updated news and quarterly work and
financial reports. Jet Li once issued a letter of thanks to online donors for their support
during the Sichuan Earthquake. In the letter, which is archived in its official newsroom,

2
In addition to box-office cooperation, Hua Yi Brothers Media also agrees to promote
One Foundation on its marketing channels, promotional materials, and franchise
products. One Foundation, cooperation with Hua Yi Brothers, 2008,
http://www.onefoundation.cn/html/42/n-42.html

54
Li listed the exact amount of donations collected from online platforms and expressed his
gratitude to thousands of online donors.
Potential Communication Problems with Small Donors
Monotonous publicity. The average Chinese person knows about One
Foundation through Jet Li‟s appearance on entertainment programs. “It (One Foundation)
just came out of nowhere suddenly because Jet Li kept asking us for donations during
every television program he is on (J. Huang, personal communication, December 22,
2009),” said a 23-year-old Chinese college student. Therefore publicity is key to small
donor communication because watching Jet Li on TV is the most direct, approachable,
and accessible way for ordinary people to learn about One Foundation. Inducing audience
members to donate by simply repeating solicitation requests is not an effective persuasion
strategy. How can potential small donors put their trust in a nonprofit about which they
barely know based upon such limited information?
Entertainment value overshadows professionalism. Events and people
concerning One Foundation will most likely appear on TV entertainment news and the
entertainment section of a news Web site,
3
rather than in the nonprofit or business
sections. The media have two reasons to make such an arrangement: First, Jet Li has
earned the most exposure by making use of his personal social network, which is deeply
rooted in the entertainment industry. Based on the work relationships that vary in
different fields, entertainment reporters are more likely to attend and write on an event

3
This is an observation from news analysis and interviews with audiences; further
research should be conducted to prove this assumption.

55
about One Foundation, than are business writers. Second, the media appearances of One
Foundation always involve performers (singers and actors), entertainment productions
(movie or music debuts), and celebrity events, which are all topics that make better
headlines in the entertainment than business section.
The entertainment value overshadows the social-benefiting significance of One
Foundation‟s practices, which may cause audiences not to take the nonprofit seriously,
just as the media did in concentrating on Jet Li‟s funny faces while receiving the Crystal
Award from DAVOS. One interviewee shrugged her shoulders and said: “How can I
show serious respect to a nonprofit organization that I read about on entertainment news?
(J. Huang, personal communication, November 22, 2009).”
High-profile campaigns outnumbered participatory campaigns. In
comparison to the few engaging campaigns that truly talk to, listen to, and interact with
small donors, One Foundation has organized more high-profile campaigns that have
missed the mark of appealing to small donors. Jet Li succeeded in establishing
relationships with deep-pocket donors by actively reaching out to elites and opinion
leaders through sophisticated social events. To win support from prominent public
figures, Li says he always makes time to discuss One Foundation with celebrities face-to-
face no matter how busy he is (“Jet Li Refuses to Drive Publicly,” 2007).
These are very effective two-way communications customized for high-profile
partners, whose financial or reputational support is key to One Foundation‟s fast growth
within the three years. That is to say, more than fancy charity dinners, bonding with big
donors has pragmatic significance in helping the nonprofit realize its mission. However,

56
the meanings, messages, and agendas of these campaigns do not necessarily
communicate well to small donors. For them, to know these relationships are part of a
strategy that the foundation has been insistently acquiring support from high social levels,
instead of merely generating media sensation, the general public needs to be active
information seekers on objective, analytical, and updated news about One Foundation,
just like zealous fans who linger on gossip Web sites to stalk their favorite celebrities.
Maybe Jet Li‟s charisma is strong enough to attract his movie fans to do so, but not the
other millions of potential donors. The general public therefore should be told why high-
profile campaigns are necessary and how bonding with wealthy donors is not going to
distance One Foundation from its numerous small donors.

Recommendations
Key Relationships
Key Relationships: nurture small donor relationship through online newsletters
One Foundation has made tremendous achievements that range broadly yet
remain cohesive. If individuals could learn about the Foundation‟s important work and
reflect on the rationale of its efforts, more potential small donors would be won over and
the existing ones would be more loyal. Therefore keeping small donors in the loop is the
key.
In fact, One Foundation does an impressive job in keeping a transparent
information channel. Its official website updates the latest news on the foundation, its
partners, and the philanthropy industry; it publishes audited financial reports and work

57
reports quarterly, and publicizes open letters to address special issues. So leveraging the
existing resources, One Foundation needs to actively draw small donors to its online
information center.
A periodical newsletter disseminated through email would be an effective
communication tool to achieve this goal. One Foundation should maintain a database that
contains basic information on all donors, whether they contributed through text
messaging or online. The communication department can then produce a monthly or
quarterly newsletter featuring a summary highlighting the foundation‟s latest works, a
letter addressed to small donors from Jet Li, and headlines of selected philanthropic news
stories with links referring to the full articles.
Key Messages
Key messages: from fundraising to achievement report and future work plan.
Instead of forcing people to accept “what they should do,” the Foundation should
provide them substantial facts on “what we‟ve done and what we plan to do.” Audiences
will analyze the “past and future”; fill in the gap bridging these two; and then draw the
conclusion about “what they should do” by themselves. One Foundation should therefore
begin consistently to emphasize its achievement and future plans through various public
relations activities. Perhaps it could produce a series of video advertisements highlighting
the works it has done.

58
Incorporate a Subgroup of Small Donors
Incorporate a subgroup of small donors: medium enterprises entrepreneurs
Small donors do not have to be restricted to the wage-earning class. Owners of
medium-sized business who are able to make substantial donations but who are not
wealthy enough to set up their own private foundations should also be targeted as a
subgroup of small donors. Data in the corporate and individual givings section suggest
that the 12 richest contributed to 37% of the total givings received from the top 100
philanthropists in China. From an alternate perspective, donations from the other 80% of
less-wealthy individuals made up more than 60% of the total givings on the list. Given
the tough and complex regulations in China, which are not very encouraging for setting
up private foundations and nonprofits, One Foundation should draw upon the scattered
yet generous donations from entrepreneurs with medium profit levels. Thus, they should
be considered as small donors, compared to corporate donors, but they should also be
treated differently from the average donor, for their larger financial capacities.
New Campaign Proposals
New campaign proposals: Promote philanthropic beliefs among education institutes
As previously mentioned, One Foundation initiated a “Sunshine in your heart care
center” joint program to raise awareness of the mental health among university students.
Judging from the work in progress, both the government and schools seem to have
opened up possibilities to experiment with substantive cooperation with One Foundation.
Therefore, it has become plausible for One Foundation to consider promoting
philanthropic beliefs among universities and high schools. Rather than treating youths as

59
the target group that needs help, these new campaigns should see them as the reserve of
talent for philanthropy in China. Habits are developed when people are young,
considering One Foundation eventually aims to “make charity a habit.”
Sponsor Academic Research on Nonprofits
It is encouraging that One Foundation acknowledges that donation amounts do
not equal level of commitment to charity work, but the shared willingness and motivation
represent the same value to people who need help. However, making a monetary
donation is not the only way to practice charity. Sometimes money is not the ultimate
solution; manpower is. Volunteerism should be put on the agenda.
One Foundation is now mainly focused on fundraising, which can easily give the
public the wrong impression that besides donating money there is nothing much to do to
help nonprofit organizations. And, the management philosophy of treating donors as
investors and One Foundation as fund manager encourages people to think that
participating in the work of a nonprofit organization is too complicated for an ordinary
person and that therefore the best way to provide support is to give money to Jet Li and
let him to worry about promoting the development of NGOs.
Though “charity” means “benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity and
generosity, helpfulness toward the needy or suffering,” (Charity, 2010) is the over
emphasis on fundraising causing people to deviate from the true meaning of charity?
Because habits, echoing value systems, are mostly shaped and practiced in youth,
educating children and youth on the accurate definition of charity helps them develop the

60
right attitudes toward charity and provides them opportunities to engage in the wide
range of charity work.
In high school, charity practices can be counted as extra credit. The Chinese
ministry of education is in charge of the curriculum design for high schools of all
provinces. It would therefore be unrealistic to suggest that One Foundation lobby the
government for formally adding charity practices into national curricula. However, it is
practical for One Foundation to convince international schools, private schools, and a few
national “key schools” that share a relatively democratic education philosophy, to
encourage students to volunteer for charity activities by providing them with extra
credits. Universities, on the other hand, offer a more liberal environment for One
Foundation to disseminate charity beliefs.
Sponsor Students to Volunteer at the Nonprofit Organizations Honored by One
Foundation Philanthropy Awards
Sponsoring students to commit time and effort to help award-winning NGOs with
their daily work is an ideal opportunity to further public understanding of the operational
side of nonprofit organizations. One Foundation can set up a campaign website, where
participants can blog, video-blog, and post pictures about their volunteering life and work
within the organizations. Through the eyes of volunteers, audiences will know better why
One Foundation chose those NGOs as role models and what it is required to become a
successful NGO.

61
Host “One Day A Month” Public Education Campaign on Charity Work at High
Schools
The goal is to raise student awareness of the history, definition, works, impact,
organizations, and people of charity by hosting an education campaign one day a month
at selected high schools. Therefore, One Foundation should consider the following
activities:
Photography exhibition. Understanding the content and meaning of charity is
very abstract. Yet powerful pictures tell stories immediately. The exhibitions could be
organized around different themes: history of charity, well-known charity figures and
organizations, catastrophes in the world, problems hindering the humanizing
development worldwide, and so forth. The key is to shocking students with a sensory
awareness that the world needs charity work.
Featured talks led by pop idols. One Foundation is home to many celebrity
volunteers, many of who are pop idols worshiped by teenagers. Compared to lectures
given by teachers, meetings and talks with singers or actors are much more attractive to
high school students in terms of communicating serious topics. One Foundation could
leverage its star powers to organize meeting opportunities for entertainment performers
and their student fans in the name of charity. Stars can share their understanding of
charity and experiences working or volunteering for NGOs with students. The influence
from their favorite idols will help ignite teenagers‟ passion for charity.
Establish trainee or internship programs to encourage young professionals
(including graduate students) to commit time to nonprofit organizations. One

62
Foundation is fortunate to have a professional crew that is devoted to charity work. Their
executives all came from business backgrounds, with skills and insights trained through
their experience in top companies. Amy Zhou has attributed this collective talent to be
one of the reasons why the success of One Foundation cannot be copied (“Weiyan Zhou,
CEO of One Foundation, Gave an Exclusive Interview,” 2009).
One Foundation should recruit graduating students (senior or second-year
graduate students) and young professionals with less than two-years experience for a
national internship trainee program in the nonprofit industry. Interns could choose one
philanthropy-award-winning NGO and a One Foundation office to work for a period of
three months. Interns would be exposed to the professional working environments of
some of the best NGOs in China. They would participate in fundraising events, volunteer
training, and management, media campaigns, logistics work, and administrative work.
The program would be an invaluable asset to young people who are strongly interested in
joining charity careers in the future.
To participating NGOs, such opportunities serve as a great way to screen, recruit,
and maintain talent. Most fully committed nonprofit workers are highly motivated
individuals who treat charity as a mission instead of a job. Only those who stand firmly
behind such beliefs will be attracted to the internship program because most NGOs are
located in remote areas and can only offer a low salary. Those who shine through the
program could be promoted to full-time employee (for college graduates) or project
manager (for young professionals) upon graduation. The program would make the

63
recruitment process for NGOs more focused and targeted. It could also help build a
Chinese talent pool reserved for NGOs.
The moment One Foundation decided to position itself as a charity investment
fund, it assumed a weighty responsibility: to nurture and train promising grass-root
NGOs in China. Merely giving away money during a ceremony can hardly realize that
promise. More functional, managerial, and operational deeds need to be put into practice
that can maximize One Foundation‟s influences in the nonprofit arena and consequently
assure its leading position.

Conclusion
One Foundation is a philanthropic pioneer in modern China because of its
leadership vision and forward-thinking beliefs. Bridging the gap between grassroots
nonprofits and social capital is an ambitious responsibility that puts the foundation into
an intermediary position occupied with a myriad of affairs to address. The dual
responsibilities of fundraising and distribution require One Foundation to maintain well-
rounded relationships with both donors and qualified nonprofits. Rather than a regular
foundation committed to funding or carrying out projects, One Foundation believes it is
equally important to nurture charitable habits among every individual. The conceptual
goal gives the foundation another heavy-loaded duty: to mobilize philanthropic
participation on a mass scale.
Institutional innovation made One Foundation among the very few
nongovernmental nonprofit organizations in China to have great freedom on finance and

64
operation. The personal brand of Jet Li draws in partners, endorsers, advocates, staff, and
donors for One Foundation, which is key to its fast growth from a start-up nonprofit to a
well-known philanthropic brand in China within three years.
The devoted founder laid the groundwork for establishing a noteworthy
organization by making the most out of his reputable image, strong network, and far-
reaching influence. The quick gain of public attention proves how well being a
charismatic organization has worked out. Centering communication activities on Jet Li is
effective in reaching out to interested audiences.
Analysis of One Foundation‟s past campaigns shows that the foundation may
have spent much more time communicating with VIP and corporate donors than average
small donors, which contradicts its advocacy of mass participation in philanthropy.
Building relationships with big donors and partners through high-profile events helps
One Foundation better practice philanthropy, for it brings in rich resources and broadens
collaboration opportunities. The hundreds of thousands of small donors need to
understand the rationale behind the foundation‟s strategic alliances, which may have
appeared too publicity driven.
Small donors deserve more explicit elaboration of the foundation‟s work agenda,
plan, and progress, because they have the right to know and engage before giving their
money away, even a small amount. This case study therefore suggests that as a start, One
Foundation could regularly and actively draw donors to its content-rich official website
for updates via e-newsletter. The foundation should then consider shifting its campaign
emphasis from soliciting funds to reporting on work results and future plans. Meanwhile,

65
it may incorporate private-enterprise entrepreneurs as a special subgroup of small donors.
The last part of this study proposes new campaign ideas on further collaboration with
education institutes, which have been proved feasible by One Foundation‟s mental health
projects in Chinese universities, on the basis that promoting philanthropy among children
and youthsis a down-to-earth method to help the public form charitable habits in the long
run.
Due to time and space limits, this study must leave additional issues concerning
One Foundation and philanthropy in China open for discussion in future works. For
example, as a lesser-known side project, One Foundation operates an online forum that
serves as a platform for authorized grassroots nonprofits to recruit volunteers. But the
participation level among Internet users remains relatively inactive. To One Foundation,
as the intermediary, how to encourage individuals to connect directly with nonprofit
organizations by contributing not only donations but also physical efforts is a worthwhile
future discussion. Another interesting topic would be to study how charismatic
organizations should overcome their innate deficiencies when transforming themselves
from being driven by leaders‟ images and personal influences to institutional reputation
and professional teams.

66
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Abstract (if available)

Abstract China’s continuous economic prosperity has produced affluent social resources and idle capital for organizations and individuals to nurture the country’s philanthropy sector. Additionally, a series of deadly natural disasters cost the Asia-Pacific region countless life loss and property damages. All these factors raised the importance of establishing a nongovernmental philanthropy mechanism in China to complement and facilitate the central government’s works in the public service sector. Jet Li, an action movie star, founded the Red Cross Society of China Jet Li One Foundation Project at the end of 2006. In fewer than four years, the nonprofit organization has become one of the best-known charitable groups in China.

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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Cultural, organizational, and communicational factors affecting the social marketing campaigns for a non-governmental organization to establish a successful presence in China

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Creator Huang, Jin (author)

Core Title The Red Cross Society of China Jet Li One Foundation Project: a nonprofit charismatic organization that mobilizes small donors in China

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Strategic Public Relations

Publication Date 05/28/2010

Defense Date 05/20/2010

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag charismatic organization,China,nonprofit,OAI-PMH Harvest,small donor

Place Name China (countries)

Language English

Advisor Parks, Michael (committee chair), Floto, Jennifer (committee member), Wang, Jian (Jay) (committee member)

Creator Email huangjin@usc.edu,jinhuang922@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m3103

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Rights Huang, Jin

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

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