There is an interesting article from a fundraising agency which talks about Economic Conditions and Philanthropy that states

“When the economic news is dark and the winds of recession bluster about, concern about the implications for philanthropy and fundraising are natural.”

Based on data of the US philanthropy market in the past forty years, this article analyzes five incontrovertible facts that proves ‘historically, philanthropy has always remained strong – and that over time, it continues to grow.’ you can find the full article link here:

This doesn’t necessarily mean the current financial crisis in the States won’t impact the philanthropy world though. Even in China some iNGOs, which accept donation from multinationals, could possibly be impacted by the current turmoil in the financial market. Some iNGOs have already experienced unsustainable relationships with some corporate foundations which don’t exist any more, due to frequent Merge and Acquisition happening in industries; and the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers is creating another story how some of its NGO partners might have to experience in terms of the continuity of some specific corporate funded development programs.

One former McKinsey report has shown the philanthropy giving in China in the past few years was quite limited compared with other countries. The earthquake has changed the situation much with tremendous donations from both of individuals and organizations; at the same time, corporate social responsibility has now become an even more popular topic nationwide. But the question is: will this phenomenon continue in the next few years and how much of future giving could come from individuals?

The article writes:

Philanthropy is about individual giving behavior. The giving behavior of individuals is only partially related to the behavior of the economy.’

A more stable status of philanthropy environment is built up at the individual level rather at the organizational level. However, in China the society is still lacking of a general phenomenon of individual giving, as well as available channels for individual giving.

In that case, the economy conditions in China might have a larger impact on philanthropy in China than in US; we don’t know how the author will write about the same topic in the social context of China, but it’s definitely interesting for us to think about it.