Report on CANGO by Ozzie Rivero and Stephanie Guzik

China Association for NGO (Non-Government Organization) Cooperation is a non-profit, voluntary, membership organization operating nationwide. CANGO was founded in 1992 and registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs in 1993. The current executive director is Haoming Huang, who received a Master of Public Policy & Management from Carnegie Mellon University in the United States.

As stated on their website, CANGO’s vision is: “To empower citizens and civil society to create an environment that offers fair chances to everybody for sustainable development.” Their stated mission is: “To create a strong, empowered network of Chinese NGOs to address poverty alleviation, environmental protection and social development, particularly in China's poor, remote, and minority-inhabited areas.” An interesting fact learned during our visit is how CANGO’s definition of poverty differs from the official Chinese policy. According to the Chinese government there are 14 million people with income under $100 USD/year. However, CANGO measures the poverty level at $1 USD dollar a day per person. By using this standard the number of people living in poverty balloons to 114 million, a substantial difference.

The challenges are many, starting with the fact that there are 700 million people in rural areas and approximately 200 million move in and out of the urban areas on a yearly basis looking for temporary work. CANGO has been trying to empower the local citizens to make decisions on their own. This has been a difficult transition because of the many years of centralized government and the many levels of bureaucracy. Even the name Non-Government Organization can be a term of conflict and some areas prefer to use the term societal organizations in order to keep within the party line.

Currently, CANGO has 100 member organizations across China and keeps cooperative relationships with governmental agencies on various levels. They also partner with colleges and universities as well as over 150 international NGOs. Current projects include increasing potable water, prevention of HIV/AIDS and disaster relief. CANGO is also very involved in the Sichuan Earthquake relief project. CANGO is also leading a movement to increase Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The work of CANGO’s research department has added credibility to the organization and has also given them the opportunity to spearhead other projects such as environmental protection and tree planting. In order to ensure continued success, CANGO offers workshops on NGOs, project management, strategic planning, fund raising and resource mobilization. It appears the CANGO has laid a strong foundation for all NGOs throughout China.