One by One

Last week, Amway was invited to present on a panel discussing philanthropy in China. As we mentioned in a previous post, Amway has opened the first private foundation established by a multinational company in China.  

We learned a lot from our colleagues at Give2Asia and Starbucks. Here are a few:  

• There are now around 447,000 nonprofit organizations in China. The first was established in 1994. 
• In addition to a new Amway foundation, the first foundation established by a private individual (Jet Li) was also established this year in China. 
• Many, like Starbucks, are making investments in China through a donor advised fund, since it is difficult to establish their own foundation. 
• The legal landscape, registration requirements and transparency issues in China are all complex. 

At the end of the conversation, what I really understood better is the significance of the investments that Amway China has made over the past 16 years.  

The establishment of the Amway Charity Foundation is a new approach, but only possible because of years of commitment to improving children’s lives, working closely with agencies, government agencies, local schools, and our own generous salesforce.