Survival or Crisis? Funding Distribution from Grant-Making
Foundations to Grassroots Social Organizations in China
MIN J I
Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Henan Normal University,
Xinxiang, Henan, China
ABSTRACTThe 2008 Wenchuan earthquake increased the need for disaster relief and reconstructionprojects in China. This disaster created an upsurge of Chinese grant-making foundations, which thenincreased funding expectations. Many grassroots social organizations (SOs) in China believed thatgoing forward, this level of funding would continue. However, the majority of grassroots SOs in Chinaare currently facing an existential crisis. Their survival is being threatened by a shortage of funding fromboth local and foreign grant-making foundations. This research uses an empirical analysis of grant-makingfoundations and in-depth interviews, as well as observational evidence accumulated over a 10-year period,to explore the distribution of funding from foundations to grassroots SOs in China. The findings show thatthere are a limited number of Chinese grant-making foundations and that the foundations that exist do notinclude grassroots SOs in their funding scheme.
KEYWORDSgrant-making,foundation,grassroots SOs,funding scheme,funding distribution
（政治与公共管理学院李广宇）
