An Innovative Fund Raising Scheme

Air Asia's maxim is "Now everyone can fly". Probably the government-backed NGO Chinese Foundation For Poverty Alleviation (CFFPA) in China has taken a leaf from Air Asia, they have launched a new charity scheme on 1 April 2009 to enable any citizens to set up a private charity foundation under their name with a mere 5 yuan (RM2.50) per month after registering with them. Private charity foundation with personal name attached is no longer a privilege reserved for the wealthiest in China.

The procedure to set up the foundation is hassle-free. Applicants need only send a text message about his intention and his personal particulars to 10699999.CFFPA will reply by sending back the applicants' particulars by text messages, e-mail or telephone for confirmation. The foundation is considered established once applicants have confirmed his personal particulars.

To donate to the fund, donors need only send a text message containing the digits "9" followed by an amount and the donor's name to 10699999.

Example: If I have set up a private foundation under my name and you wish to support my foundation by donating 10 yuan per month. You need only to send a text message "910" followed by "Lim Choon Line" and send this text message to 10699999.

The fund will be managed by CFFPA but the foundation sponsors are given online access to monitor the collection and the disbursement of the fund to ensure that the money is spent on the intended purpose only.

CFFPA has been established for 20 years and they currently manage several charity funds such as "Microfinance Project", "Maternal and Infant Health Project", "Disaster Relief Project, etc.

Here is the link to their website in English : Chinese Foundation For Poverty Alleviation

Source: Every citizen can set up a private charity foundation with only 5 yuan a month (in Chinese)