Five years ago, Tencent, one of China’s biggest tech companies headquartered in the city of Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province, created the annual “99 Giving Day” charity campaign (the “99” refers to September 9) which has been held annually in September ever since. It ushered in an innovative charity model called “donating together,” with Tencent matching the donations people make on its platform.
It was immediately successful, and has continued the momentum. According to statistics obtained by NewsChina, from 2015 to 2019, the number of donations increased from 2.05 million to 48 million for the annual three-day campaign. Donations increased from 228 million yuan (US$33.4m) to over 2.49 billion yuan (US$370m). More than 2,500 enterprises donated 307 million yuan (US$45m), which was matched by Tencent with a donation of 399.99 million yuan (US$58.7m) during the fifth 99 Giving Day in 2019.
The company registered the Tencent Charity Fund with the Ministry of Civil Affairs in June 2007, China’s first charity foundation led by an internet enterprise.
At that time, charity and philanthropy in China were starting to develop. In 2004, the Alashan SEE (Social Entrepreneur Ecology) Ecological Association, organized by private entrepreneurs in China, was established. In March 2005, “supporting the development of philanthropy” appeared in the Government Work Report of the two sessions, the country’s main annual legislative meetings, for the first time.
“We wanted to do something different to help develop a certain field, including charity,” Ge Yan, Secretary-General of the Tencent Foundation, told NewsChina.
Other internet enterprises started their own foundations. When it was set up in 2007, the Tencent Foundation was not so different from a traditional charity. It was not clear how it could capitalize on its scientific and technological advantages, so the firm followed mainstream charities to support Hope Primary Schools for disadvantaged rural students.
The process of participating in charity affairs is also one of discovering competitiveness. Tencent Foundation realized that the Hope Primary School projects were not enough. The foundation thought of new ways they could contribute.
During the devastating Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, Tencent launched an online portal through its QQ platform to look for missing people and allow an outlet for people to express their condolences. The QQ product manager at the time thought of creating an online public donation platform. The platform attracted donations of over 230 million yuan (US$ 33.7m) in a week, much more than regular charity appeals had collected.
Tencent realized that Chinese netizens did not lack compassion or ability, but they lacked a convenient channel to contribute resources to those who need them. Sun Yi, executive secretary-general of the Tencent Foundation, said the experience brought a core idea to the team: Tencent vowed to explore a new way to use the competencies of internet companies to help the development of China’s charity affairs.
In 2008, China’s three major payment platforms, Tencent Tenpay, Taobao Alipay and YeePay all started a fast donation platform. By the end of the year, more than 60 million yuan (US$8.82m) in donations was collected through the three platforms. That year is seen as the start of internet-based charity in China.
In November 2018, Chen Yidan, founder and honorary chairman of the Tencent Foundation, put forward the concept of “charity 2.0,” which means creating a new model where “everyone can benefit the public” through the use of online technology and communication advantages. Tencent’s goal was to allow people to participate in charitable actions anytime, anywhere.
The team wants to sustain people’s interest in charity, not just in times of disaster. It wants to go beyond one-off donations to help the poor and encourage users to donate a set amount, like 10 yuan (US$1.4) every month, thus cultivating a culture of giving.
Chen Yidan said that as public awareness increases, rational charity donations will become key to the next wave of the charity sector.
Tencent’s first “monthly donation” charity product went online in May 2009. Since 2010, internet tycoons at the helm of big tech companies, including Alibaba, Sohu and Baidu, have all increased funding to create online charity products. Alibaba Group announced that from 2010, it would allocate 0.3 percent of its annual income to environmental protection.