China Youth Development Foundation - Beijing

China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) focuses on helping to advance youth in rural areas. This NGO is on a healthy trajectory in both programmatic and fundraising endeavors.

Example:

Programatically responsive, CYDF responded to the earthquake's destruction of hundreds of schools by turning rubble into a school in ten days. One thousand students were able to continue their studies and return to a semblance of order.

Fundraising success is evident in its corporate campaigns. More than 50 well known entities such as Tiger Wood's foundation and Coca Cola support CYDF. CYDF receives more than 82% if its funding from the business sector.

Although there is encouragement for CYDF to beef up its annual individual campaign, the organization is reliably solvent today and strives top spend resources the proper way.

Some thoughts:

A plus:

To have the founder and president at work at CYDF for 19 years.

A minus:

To have the founder and president at work at CYDF for 19 years.

Having worked with founder NGO entrepreneurs who continue to manage organizations, Campaign Consultation is interested to see if CYDF has developed leadership transition strategies in preparation for when the president leaves.

Our experience reflects the fact that few NGO founder/managers proactively share organization steering reins with staff or Board in raising resources, managing and developing policy.

The NGO entrepreneurs charisma and risk taking approach to opportunity makes it difficult for groups to think past their leaving. We would encourage CYDF to put in place a leadership strategic action initiative -- we expect that they already have.


Linda Brown Rivelis, CFRE
President
CAMPAIGN CONSULTATION, Inc.