1. What is CHP?
Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP) is a small grassroots, legally-registered NGO working to protect cultural heritage across China. We devote ourselves to support local communities to protect their cultural heritage.
2. What kind of work does CHP do?
CHP does a variety of work in the area of cultural heritage protection, but mainly focuses on three areas:
· Cultural Heritage Protection and Civil Society Building
· Ethnic Minority Cultural Revitalization
· Media Mobilization.
To read more about these, go to Our Work to see what projects we are doing, and have done, in these areas.
3. How big is CHP?
We consist of a Board of Directors, three full-time and one part-time staff, and two international year-long interns. We also have several hundred volunteers all across China and overseas. Every supporter of CHP is dedicated to preserving Chinese culture, which is why CHP as a small grassroots NGO is making such a difference in China.
4. How can a civil society organization make a difference?
The civil society movement is in its early days of development in China. It is beginning to provide a valuable channel for the public to express views on a variety of vital issues, as well as a supplement to official policies and programs. Civil society organizations are playing a meaningful role in China in such diverse areas as HIV-AIDS, water resources protection, wildlife conservation, and many other sectors.
5. You talk about CHP making a difference – what are some examples?
Although it sounds clichéd, CHP is certainly making a difference in China. Some of our recent successes include the:
· protection of Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin’s former residence
· protection of Keyuan from a modification plan
· reduction in the SOHO’s Qianmen Development Project scale
· protection of North Xisi from an illegal real estate development project
· selection of CHP’s promotional video, The Soul’s Paradise : Congjiang, by UNESCO’s Beijing branch to be showcased at the UNESCO bi-annual global representative conference in Paris, October 2009.
More details of our successes can be found on the CHP Victories section.
6. Is CHP associated with the government?
CHP is officially registered with the Beijing Municipal Government and its finances are audited by the government. It is, however, an entirely independent organization that receives no funding or direction from the government. CHP relies on funding from donations and, aside from a small core of professional staff, on the work of volunteers.
7. Where does your money come from?
As an independent NGO, CHP does not receiving funding from the government. Instead, CHP receives funding from a variety of sources, including sponsors, corporate donors, matched giving, embassies, foundations, merchandise sales, and individual donors. Most commonly, these groups fund specific projects, although financial support for our minimal operating costs is equally as important. We also receive non-monetary donations. All donations to CHP, no matter the size, are important and do make a difference!
8. Who are CHP sponsors and collaborators?
CHP has been fortunate enough to be given support from respectable domestic and international associations. Our sponsors include The Asia Foundation (through Give2Asia program), Princeton in Asia, and UNESCO under the Spanish Government Millennium Development Fund. See CHP’s Honorary Circle of Friends & Sponsors and CHP Partners sections for the full list.
9. I’m really excited about CHP’s work – how can I help?
There are several ways to help CHP and we would love to have you on board to help protect China’s cultural heritage! Some popular ways to help are to:
· Make a donation to help fund our ongoing work. Visit our Donation Section to find out the variety of ways how. You can also read more about joining our CHP’s Honorary Circle of Friends donor program.
· Approach us to become a corporate sponsor of CHP. A good partnership can equally help both your organization and CHP.
· Sign up to receive our monthly e-newsletter to find out what’s happening at CHP (just email us on info@bjchp.org).
· Become a volunteer or intern! Volunteers and interns are the backbone of CHP and we are always excited to have new supporters join our network. To find out more, visit the Volunteer and Intern sections of our website.
· Tell everyone you know about us, as the more people who know about our cause, the more we can achieve. And keep reading about cultural heritage in China. Check out our recommended reading page for some suggestions.
Any other questions?
Check out the rest of our website and search function, or email us at info@bjchp.org. And if you question is good we might just add it to our FAQ page!