Donation to Leadership: How One Reporter Transformed Her Future
BY AMINA WANG
How did a news reporter’s spontaneous donation to a relief agency after a catastrophic earthquake radically reshape her future catapulting her into the vice-chair role of a top tier non-profit organization?
I had the pleasure to interview Juan Wang, who co-founded a top tier nonprofit organization in China, IHearU. Through this nonprofit, Juan helps the hearing impaired and deaf nation-wide to regain their voice; particularly the children. Today, I will be telling her story and sharing the first-hand experience of one who is empowered to make a change in this world.
The essence of starting a nonprofit has two main parts: identifying the mission and core values of the organization and dealing with difficulties. Allow me to be your guide through Juan’s experience and thoughts on these topics.
The idea of starting a nonprofit did not come out of nowhere: in fact, it was a small random act of kindness that planted a seed that later sprouted into a tree, providing shelter for thousands of people. During the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Juan worked as a news intern. Like many others, she sympathized with the victims and their families. As she described, “It’s heartbreaking when the only thing you can do is watch those rescue workers.” Feeling that catastrophe first-hand, she sympathized and donated spontaneously for the first time.
After witnessing the birth of various charity organizations, Juan and her reporter friends started to ponder which specific group they could target to maximize their influence and resources. Juan and her colleagues are news reporters, which means they make a living with their voice. While she feels deeply for all people who are struggling, Mrs. Wang knew she couldn’t throw money at every cause and expect to make a difference. Juan explained, “If you don’t have enough strength to help everyone, then start with things you’re capable of.” Stated simply, use your own unique resources and skills most effectively. Indeed, your passion for helping a specific group should be a deciding factor, but what’s more important is, “to alleviate a social problem with your specialty, especially for a nonprofit organization.”
When asked about how to keep a nonprofit running efficiently, Juan made an analogy saying, “the mission of your organization is like the thesis of an essay.” To bring the ideas to action, core values are essential in guiding the group to set both short-term and long-term goals. Juan gave an example of how IHearU utilizes its core values to maximize its influence, saying, “because our core values are innovative and efficient, we offer one-stop service for those hearing-impaired families, where they can solve all sorts of their problems in one place.” Juan’s experience indicates that, to start a nonprofit that truly makes a difference, you need to narrow down the targets and set important ideals that keep you on track.
Despite strong core values and clear goals, no admirable venture is without its challenges. It would be unreal if Juan, over her twelve years dedicated to IHearU, encountered no difficulties. Juan, like other co-founders of nonprofits or charities, illuminated some shared difficulties. The two biggest challenges, “would be a stable money flow, and volunteers,” she said. She expressed the importance of funds and said, “without ongoing money inflow, our organization wouldn't be able to support those children as we’ve promised.” The obstacles for each organization can be different but having enough manpower to operate is a commonality many nonprofits share. Juan shared her tips regarding how to keep volunteers actively participating. First, “Commonwealth is about evoking the kindness in people’s hearts,” she said. Rewarding the volunteers by reciprocating with positive feedback, a little award, or even incorporating some core members into the executive group are key tools to make use of when building up a volunteer pool. My takeaway from Juan’s story is that a nonprofit isn’t about one person, it’s about group effort. There will always be people working behind the scenes, so encouragement is very important.
For those passionate women who hope to start a non-profit, Juan wanted to remind you that make sure you are starting it based on people’s needs and your own passion. Near the end of our interview, she gave two words that she wanted young women who are interested in charity to take to heart: perseverance and motivation. “In the end,” she said, “the greatest injustice of life is the injustice of birth.”
