Suppliers selected in transparent process

The China Social Welfare Foundation wants people to know exactly how vendors are chosen to supply goods to charity projects, and it hopes its online transparency initiative will boost donors' confidence.

The foundation, under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said that two of its charity projects are currently inviting tender offers through the online platform 1688.com, the business-to-business unit of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba group.

The first is Xiaoyuxie, or Small Rain Boots, which asks donors to provide quality rain boots to children who live in mountainous areas.

The second is Aixiaoya, which seeks to donate clean undergarments for girls in poverty-stricken areas.

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Huang Chenle, director of strategy for CSWF's fundraising center, who is responsible for the Small Rain Boots project, said that when the needs were first made public online - rain boots priced at no more than 21 yuan ($3.46) per pair - merchants were attracted who wanted to sell goods for the project. Negotiations determined the final suppliers.

The idea for the boots project germinated in October, when CSWF's workers went to the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province and found many children wearing sandals in October in cold mountainous areas.

"We hoped to offer them two pairs of rain boots, a thin one for spring and summer and a thick one for autumn and winter, so that they would not slip on the muddy roads on rainy days," Huang said, adding that the project is expected to benefit about 1,800 children in eight schools in the provinces of Sichuan, Hubei and Hunan.

Huang Ti, a worker responsible for purchases of goods sought on 1688.com, said that the companies must surrender part of their profits to join the charity projects. For example, a pair of rain boots normally costs about 25 yuan, but suppliers of the project should ask for no more than 21 yuan per pair.

Huang Chenle said that many charity projects are involved, especially those concerned with donating materials for needy people.

"Donors paid money and would wonder why we chose a certain supplier and how we fixed the price," she said.

China's donors are asking the NGOs to be accountable for the money they receive. Questions have been raised in the past - for example, when the China Red Cross Society supplied tents to shelter the victims of the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, the price of the goods was seen by some as too high, given their cost.

Xiao Longjun, vice-secretary-general of CSWF, said the foundation has been researching methods to promote transparency in charity projects in recent years,

"We invite the public to supervise our projects and also hope that more enterprises can contribute to welfare of society," he said.