BCG Greater China

Pro Bono project

The International Save the Children Alliance (the Alliance) is an international non-government organization focused on improving the lives of children worldwide. For the last 18 years the Alliance has delivered a high quality programme in China, funded by Save the Children Members overseas and led by Save the Children UK.. The Alliance is now keen to develop a Member organisation in China and BCG was asked to help develop a local corporate fundraising strategy and assess the income potential for the new organisation.

First, we helped Save the Children to understand the size and attractiveness of each potential donor segment. Then, we leveraged BCG’s client and personal networks to interview various corporations in China, as well as some other NGOs. This allowed us to summarize the needs of each target donor segment and helped our client develop its approach to donors. Finally, we made some recommendations to the organization on its capabilities and team development.

We are happy to see that Save the Children has followed our recommendations and is progressing with the registration of Save the Children China.

When Save the Children saw an opportunity to re-enter the Hong Kong charity market, BCG assembled a team to help develop the strategy. We assessed the charity market potential, interviewed various NGOs in Hong Kong, and surveyed local charity donors (including government, corporate and general public). After five weeks of intensive field study, we synthesized our knowledge and thinking into our recommendations. Now our two-month project is ACTUALLY helping Save the Children to capture its Hong Kong opportunity!

Click on the image to read some more personal perspectives on the project.

This project allowed me to apply my professional skills to help a charity that I have always been interested in.

As the Project Leader, I worked closely with two Associates to understand corporate donation dynamics in China and help Save the Children develop its corporate fundraising strategy. It’s fun talking with various corporations to understand their Corporate Citizenship activities, and eye opening to learn about charity organizations’ campaigns and plans in China. The whole team was highly motivated to work on this interesting and meaningful project.

Finally, our findings and insights were very well received by the client.

For this pro bono case, a Consultant and I analyzed the fund-raising strategies of Hong Kong NGOs and, guided by our project leader, developed a detailed fund-raising strategy for our client.

I feel very lucky to have been part of this team. The project was less involved with companies but more with communities and love, less with competition but more with harmony, less with profit but more with values. It was a great opportunity to make contribution to the society and community. The passion the whole team had for the cause drove us to work hard, think hard, and develop the best strategy for our client.

After working for corporate clients for several years, I was very excited to be part of this pro bono project for Save the Children. With no prior NGO experience, at first I was a bit nervous about how to advise our client. Surprisingly, I found that the same set of business issues we face in the corporate world – such as market entry, product portfolio, branding, and organization structure – are just as important in the NGO sector! Everyone on the team felt doubly rewarded – our consulting skills were highly appreciated and our work helped the kids!