New institute to train philanthropists

Seventy-eight college students selected from a pool of 175 applicants are among the first group of philanthropic enthusiasts in the city to engage in free public welfare training being offered by a newly established institute supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Authorized as a training base of the UN Shanghai Volunteer Service Development Program, the Shanghai Institute for Youth Philanthropy Talents received a sixth of its $1.2 million-funding from the UNDP to prepare students for work with nongovernmental organizations.

Over the next two months, the students admitted in the non-degree course will learn various skills, including how to promote philanthropic ideas, manage and mobilize resources and steer projects, said Chu Min, dean of Shanghai Institute for Youth Philanthropy Talents.

Chu said that local Chinese and foreign residents (with advanced Chinese) are welcome to apply for the courses, which includes guest lectures.

Founded by the Communist Youth League Shanghai Committee, a nonprofit organization dedicated to leading youth in China under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the institute utimately aims to cultivate the minds of thousands of young people for philanthropic work that will contribute to a better future for society, said Chu.

"Unfortunately, enthusiasm alone isn't enough to succeed with philanthropic work," he said. "That's why we started the institute; we want to give young people with big hearts the skills needed to carry out important tasks."

Such training is particularly important today, given that Shanghai is now home to some 9,890 nongovernmental organizations and up to an estimated 4,000 student associations, which are involved in philanthropic work, he added.