- In early February this year, the Ministry of Education clearly added a four-year undergraduate major in "Charity Management" (Management, major code 120418T), which is widely interpreted by the outside world as a sign of bellwether significance.

Previously, this major was more folded into a secondary subcategory under the "Social Work" major.

　　- It is understood that Shandong Technology and Business University and Zhejiang Technology and Business University are the first two universities in China to be approved.

The establishment of the department, the addition of professional directions, and inclusion in the undergraduate catalogue are a bold exploration and attempt by colleges and universities to specialize and professionalize "philanthropy and charity" in recent years.

　　- "Exploration is tortuous." Wang Xin, head of the charity management major of Shandong Business College, introduced that after the school failed to apply to the Ministry of Education for the first time to be included in undergraduate education, the school applied again in 2021 and finally submitted it for approval.

　　- "At the beginning of the establishment of the college in 2018, few teachers realized that what they were doing was a worthy cause," recalled the relevant person in charge of the school.

Four years have passed, and there are still two months left. The first batch of 31 students majoring in social work (philanthropy management) are about to graduate from the school.

Eighty percent of the students chose to stay in the field of public welfare and charity for further study, while the rest embarked on a path that has nothing to do with charity - examination and entrepreneurship.

　first batch of students

　　From "looks easy" to feeling "hard to learn"

　　According to the "Blue Book of Social Organizations, China Social Organization Report (2018)", in 2017, foundations became the fastest growing social organization type in China.

National social organizations and private non-enterprise (social service organizations) also reversed the downward trend in 2016 and rebounded strongly.

　　In the same year, due to the increasing demand of social organizations to employ people, Shandong Institute of Technology and Business put the construction of the "Public Charity Institute" on the agenda.

In July 2018, after nearly a year of research, the Philanthropy Institute was officially established.

　　"At the beginning of its establishment, very few teachers realized that what they were doing was a worthy cause." The relevant person in charge of the school recalled that the construction of the college was like starting a business, and initially there was a shortage of people, money and materials.

In order to mobilize talents in the school to participate together, the college regularly organizes charity salons to convene teachers who are interested in charity to participate in discussions.

Initially, fewer than 10 people attended the salon.

In the past 4 years, nearly 50 teachers have been willing to participate.

　　In September of the same year, Li Yining and Song Ran, who were born in the 2000s, became the first batch of students recruited after the establishment of the institute, majoring in "social work".

Subsequently, both of them were diverted to the direction of public welfare and charity.

Li Yining learned that students can change classes at any time according to their wishes.

　　Terms such as "social work" and "philanthropy" are unfamiliar to Li Yining and Song Ran, who have just finished their college entrance examinations.

Song Ran ranked it second in the college entrance examination volunteer list, and the reason for choosing it was very simple, "it doesn't look difficult".

　　In comparison, Fang Yun, who was born in 1997, has more full consideration in her professional choice.

In 2021, she will be admitted to the school as a graduate student in public administration, with a focus on public welfare and charity.

The popularity of major foundations in China makes Fang Yun have a good impression of this profession.

She also discussed the choice of major with her friends who were in the same major. "They know the industry better and told me that the 'third allocation' is now being valued, so charities are quite promising."

　　"Third distribution" refers to the distribution of social resources and wealth by means of charitable public welfare such as fundraising, voluntary donations and self-determination.

　　When they first entered the school, whether the choice of major was correct has always troubled the first batch of students entering the Philanthropy Institute.

Song Ran has been worried about employment since his freshman year.

During the winter vacation, she worked as an intern in a local social work organization for a month. Under the circumstance that she worked almost non-stop and often worked overtime, her internship salary was only 3,500 yuan.

She also found that, because of the lower pay, most of the staff here are mobile volunteers.

　　"It wasn't until I visited a charity exhibition in Shenzhen that I found out that public welfare can also be done in a variety of ways. This ignited my passion for work." Song Ran recalled that many forms of public welfare that she had never thought of were presented at the exhibition. It was also from that charity exhibition that she really developed a strong interest in public welfare.

　　Li Yining's worry lies in his professional ability.

What makes her "hard to learn" is case analysis, which often provides a large section of material that requires students to identify problems and propose solutions.

At the end of December last year, the postgraduate entrance examination was over, but Li Yining felt that he "still didn't learn it".

　　"With little practical experience, it is difficult to think of a comprehensive solution." Li Yining believes that this is the reason why he "has not learned well".

Case analysis questions accounted for a large proportion of her postgraduate entrance examination. Many experience posts will summarize answer templates, but in Li Yining's view, the real situation is far more flexible and complex than templates.

She reflected that she had not participated in many practical activities in the past, and she mainly came into contact with teenagers and the elderly, "so I hope to contact more people in the future."

　break stereotypes

　　Charity also needs marketing

　　Song Ran's hometown is in Zibo, Shandong, the birthplace of Lu merchants.

Since she was a child, she has been immersed in her eyes and ears and heard many stories about Confucian businessmen doing good deeds.

　　After entering school, the old and new charitable culture collided with Song Ran.

In his second year of sophomore year, Song Ran returned to his hometown with the college to hold a seminar on the spirit of charity and charity for Confucian businessmen in the new era.

At the meeting, a grandfather of an elderly university shared his public welfare experience of teaching Sinology courses at the local drug rehabilitation center for one or two consecutive years, which greatly reduced the relapse rate, which Song Ran remembers to this day.

　　In the dialogue with more than 20 Confucian businessmen, Song Ran learned about the public welfare spirit of traditional Confucian businessmen in her hometown. In the comparison between practice and professional study, she felt that her major was not learned in vain, and "felt practical".

　　The deep cultivation of charity management also brings Fang Yun a different perspective.

At first, like most of the public who have not stepped into the public welfare field, Fang Yun stopped paying attention to the follow-up progress after participating in the donation activities of some public welfare projects.

"Now, I will pay more attention to the value of my (donated) money or my volunteer service, whether the value can be improved, and to what extent."

　　The internship experience in a charity foundation broke her previous stereotype of public welfare undertakings - "The outside world thinks that people who do public welfare should not have money. It used to be that everyone can let others donate money to you when they cry. , and now it has gradually gotten rid of the early stage of suffering and public welfare."

　　"Charity Marketing for Public Welfare" was one of Song Ran's most impressive major courses when he was studying.

Song Ran learned that the term marketing often appears in the products and services of companies and companies, but in fact, public welfare and charity also need some marketing methods and skills in order to better promote public welfare projects and help more people in need.

　　"Transparency and openness are the foundation of the operation of charitable organizations. Funding has always been a more sensitive word in the operation and development of non-profit organizations." According to Zhou Jian, the founder of Beijing Gratitude Public Welfare Foundation, most donors hope that their own The donations can completely reach the hands of the beneficiaries, instead of becoming the office and administrative expenses of the foundation.

"But the reality is that office and administrative expenses also have their own value."

　　After studying charity management in the past two years, Fang Yun gradually came across a little bit of the charitable foundation, "Part of the funds are for the foundation to continue to operate and the project to be carried out, which is different from donating directly to the person being helped. value."

　Karma | Inside | Saying | Law

　　Difficulties: Discipline construction is difficult to break through in the short term

　　In the eyes of many heads of the School of Philanthropy and Philanthropy, the future prospects of the charity management profession are promising.

The attention of departments at all levels, the vigorous development of social organizations and the shortage of professional talents have all become the basis for the school to revise the professional training program several times in a row.

　　In Shandong Industrial and Commercial College, the school develops the "community college" curriculum, allowing students to participate in the community in person.

The existing textbooks were not enough, so the hospital recruited domestic experts in the field of public welfare and charity to compile textbooks such as "Social Organization Management".

　　In 2021, teachers from Shandong Industrial and Commercial College visited and investigated a number of local foundations and charity associations in Shandong.

According to the feedback from the person in charge of the other party, manpower or finance can be solved from existing majors, but what is most urgently needed at present are professionals and managers who understand the operation of charitable projects.

"For example, how to raise funds, how to carry out a public welfare project, and how to design evaluations. In addition, you must understand the spirit, culture and knowledge of charity."

　　"Cultivating professional charity management talents is the necessity for the development of public welfare charity education." In the view of the school's teachers, "professionalism" is reflected in how to operate public welfare projects well and amplify the value of donations.

"For example, it is the most important thing in professional charitable management to give a dollar of donations through the design of the project to give more effect than one dollar, rather than simply giving it to the beneficiary."

　　"For another example, I went to participate in a garbage-picking charity event, and at the same time, through event planning, I could drive more people to pick up garbage together and pay attention to environmental protection. This is to magnify the value." After the survey, the Philanthropy Institute successively received To meet the employment needs of charitable organizations, we recommend our master's students to a start-up enterprise foundation in Qingdao for an internship.

　　Lan Yuxin, Assistant Dean of Tsinghua University Philanthropy Research Institute and researcher at the School of Public Administration, divided the development of philanthropy education in Chinese universities into three stages. From 2012 to 2018, it was the initial stage. Universities began to explore various types of talents for the industry. 2019 to present, it is the accelerated stage of the promotion of professional education and general education system.

　　However, the construction of public welfare and charity disciplines is difficult to break through in the short term, and it has become a difficult problem for colleges and universities.

The "Report on the Development of Philanthropy Education in Chinese Universities 2021" jointly released by Dunhe Foundation and Tsinghua University Philanthropy Research Institute pointed out that the macro policy environment and social environment of philanthropy education are improving and will usher in a stage of accelerated development. Discipline construction is difficult to break through in the short term, and innovation in groups with various discipline backgrounds will be an inevitable choice for the development of public welfare and charity education.

　　When talking about how to incorporate the "charity management" major into undergraduate education, many university philanthropy researchers based on a macro perspective of the development history of China's philanthropy, generally believe that it is the "new achievement" sown by the "Charity Law" in 2016. , "Benefits to address compliance issues in professional settings."

　　But many practitioners engaged in philanthropy on the front line also expressed their concerns.

Zhou Jian, the founder of Beijing Gratitude Public Welfare Foundation, introduced that among the public welfare foundations he launched, the current organization has different professionals, and "basically, there are very few corresponding charity management professionals."

　　In Zhou Jian's view, although individuals' willingness to donate is relatively high, enterprises, especially state-owned enterprises, are not very willing to donate, or they generally donate directly to state-owned charitable organizations in accordance with relevant instructions.

But the problem is that most of the staff in such organizations move to charitable posts due to administrative arrangements, rather than voluntarily. Their behavior is closer to the will of the administration, and there is a certain distance from the public welfare that is socially conscious action, so there is still a big improvement. space.

　　The specialization and education of charity management are still going on.

Two months after the "Charity Management" major was officially added to a four-year undergraduate major by the Ministry of Education, Song Ran and Li Yining successfully received a postgraduate admission letter from their favorite school.

They are about to continue their studies in the field of public welfare and charity, and become "university teachers of public welfare and charity", which will become one of Song Ran's future life goals.

　　(Li Yining, Song Ran and Fang Yun are pseudonyms in the text)

　　Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News reporter Cai Xiaoyi Pan Junwen intern Zhu Yue