Corporate foundations are a significant channel for private companies and entrepreneurs to fulfill their social responsibilities and play an active role in participating in the Third Distribution[1] in China.

The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China points out that it is necessary to guide and support companies, social organisations, and individuals with the willingness and capability to actively participate in public welfare and charity. The research on which this article draws is carried out by China Social Innovation Institute of Beijing Normal University in 2023, based on the main data  as of August 2022 with big support of Chinese Foundation Center. More than 30 individuals, mostly CEOs or founders from over 20 corporate foundations located in the eastern part of China were interviewed online and offline.

Basic information

According to the data from China Foundation Center, as of August 2022, there were 1,881 company foundations (foundations established and continuously funded by private enterprises or private entrepreneurs, state-owned enterprises not included), accounting for approximately 20 percent of the total number of charitable foundations in China.