From the Summer 2009 issue of Intelligent Life:
Jet Li is not the first celebrity to have his own charitable foundation. But he is surely the first who, to make it work, has to build a culture of charity among a population of a billion.
...His own attitude changed when the Asian tsunami of 2004
struck while he was on holiday in the Maldives with his family—he has
been married twice and has two children from each marriage. “Water is
here,” he says, raising his hand to his chin. “My younger daughter’s
taken by the water, someone saved her.”
The experience left him with an injured foot and a conviction that it was time to “pay back to society, to the world”. He spent two years studying how to build an effective foundation, seeking out advice from the best in the giving business, Bill Gates among them, and officially launched the One Foundation in 2007.
Another natural disaster, the huge earthquake that struck China in May 2008, proved catalytic—both for One and for Chinese philanthropy in general. Many of China’s super-rich felt that they had a civic duty plus the all-important government approval to give publicly for the first time. Meanwhile, Li provided the vehicle for China’s emerging middle class to give smaller amounts to help their compatriots. In response to his text message, One received 50m yuan ($10m) in a week.
He now believes that giving should be an integral part of “the 21st-century beliefs” of China and indeed the world. Already, he sees signs of it catching on in China, where the state suppressed charity until the past couple of years. His fame and likeability seem to have helped reassure the government, which has often been wary of civil groups. So far, over 1m people have given to the One Foundation, mostly through its website. It also offers the options of giving by mobile phone or by automatic monthly deductions from a credit card—areas in which China is now arguably further advanced than many more developed countries.
One will take money from anyone, however little they have: Li’s mantra is that everyone can afford to give a yuan (15 cents) a month, “whether the economy is good or bad”. The tagline on One’s website says, “1 person + 1 dollar + 1 month = 1 big family”. If you wait until you are wealthy enough before you start giving, Li says, you may never get around to it. “If you don’t want to donate a yuan today or one hour today, if in the future you have a million dollars you will say I have got to have more, another billion.”
The experience left him with an injured foot and a conviction that it was time to “pay back to society, to the world”. He spent two years studying how to build an effective foundation, seeking out advice from the best in the giving business, Bill Gates among them, and officially launched the One Foundation in 2007.
Another natural disaster, the huge earthquake that struck China in May 2008, proved catalytic—both for One and for Chinese philanthropy in general. Many of China’s super-rich felt that they had a civic duty plus the all-important government approval to give publicly for the first time. Meanwhile, Li provided the vehicle for China’s emerging middle class to give smaller amounts to help their compatriots. In response to his text message, One received 50m yuan ($10m) in a week.
He now believes that giving should be an integral part of “the 21st-century beliefs” of China and indeed the world. Already, he sees signs of it catching on in China, where the state suppressed charity until the past couple of years. His fame and likeability seem to have helped reassure the government, which has often been wary of civil groups. So far, over 1m people have given to the One Foundation, mostly through its website. It also offers the options of giving by mobile phone or by automatic monthly deductions from a credit card—areas in which China is now arguably further advanced than many more developed countries.
One will take money from anyone, however little they have: Li’s mantra is that everyone can afford to give a yuan (15 cents) a month, “whether the economy is good or bad”. The tagline on One’s website says, “1 person + 1 dollar + 1 month = 1 big family”. If you wait until you are wealthy enough before you start giving, Li says, you may never get around to it. “If you don’t want to donate a yuan today or one hour today, if in the future you have a million dollars you will say I have got to have more, another billion.”
Please note, "philanthrocapitalism" is a contentious issue in the world of nonprofit foundations, but damn, I loved the art that accompanied this piece too much not to share it.
