The Social Sector Development Initiative launched in 2011 as a three-year initiative to encourage the growth, effectiveness, and sustainability of China's social sector.
The Social Sector Development Initiative launched in 2011 as a three-year initiative to encourage the growth, effectiveness, and sustainability of China's social sector.
China’s recent economic rise and societal shifts have led to a massive drop in poverty levels. Twenty years ago, 69% of the population lived in poverty. Today that number is less than 6%. As a result, China has a nascent social sector and a new generation of philanthropists, volunteers and social entrepreneurs. The sector has been inventing itself, at first through international support and more recently through local resources.
For the social sector to grow and to accelerate high-quality development, well-equipped grantees were supported and empowered to take risks required to scale.
The initiative supported 14 social sector organisations, investing in building internal systems and creating tools to help catalyse growth. All 14 organisations achieved their project targets.
This initiative demonstrated the power of measured risk-taking and how it can catalyse and accelerate change.
Each of the 14 partners achieved their project targets. Together, they reached 21,542 individuals and built capacity among 790 individual social sector organisations in over 100 cities across China.
The projects also had a multiplier effect with the training of trainers and the creation of handbooks and toolkits.
The Librarian: A China Social Sector photo essay
Photographer Alice Carfrae visited The Ruo Mu Community Centre, where she met Mr. Hu, a quiet man with a passion for reading
Dubai International Financial Centre
Dubai, United Arab Emirates