What: The China Institute U.S.-China Next-Gen Leaders Circle (NGLC) is a trusted platform for young American and Chinese philanthropic leaders and social innovators to contribute towards social impact endeavors, with the goal of inducing positive change through collaboration in both the U.S. and China.

Mission: The China Institute U.S.-China Next-Gen Leaders Circle connects young American and Chinese leaders with a passion for philanthropy and social innovation through initiatives, forums, and events, with the goal of educational exchange and action-oriented collaboration on important social issues that lead to tangible results.

Value: The NGLC is the only bicultural and action-based platform to connect young American and Chinese leaders who share a common passion for philanthropy with social innovators. It provides an important cross-cultural bridge and a new way to boost the impact of young social innovators and philanthropists by bringing together a diversity of skills, resources, and perspectives from their respective industries and backgrounds, and creates meaningful ties between thought leaders in both countries. At a critical time for U.S.-China relations, significant cross-cultural dialogue and activity around tackling common challenges are more important than ever.

As a forum for building meaningful connections between young U.S. and Chinese philanthropists and social innovators, the NGLC provides a platform for millennials on both sides to discuss philanthropy, social justice issues, and to seek solutions to global challenges. As such, the program will forge bridges between young U.S. and Chinese influencers, while helping build the foundations for a healthy civil society in the U.S. and China, rooted in global values such as opportunity, transparency, and equity.

The NGLC will explore strategic philanthropic practices, and delve into deep discussion and exploration of questions around the role of business and society. The NGLC will also promote dialogue between U.S. and Chinese philanthropists and leading social innovators.

Activities:

Strategic philanthropy education: Seminars and workshops

Dialogue and exchange: Panels and roundtables about strategic philanthropy, social innovation and impact investing in China

Giving Circles: Donate to or support social innovators, non-profit initiatives, and projects as a group

The Circle’s first Giving Circle, concluded in March 2020, raised funds for medical treatment supplies for Covid-19 patients in Wuhan, delivered with the help of the Wuhan University Alumni Association of Greater New York.

Areas of Focus:

Climate change and environment

Poverty alleviation

Education equality

Cultural heritage preservation

Arts and entertainment

Gender issues

Members

Membership: Members of the NGLC shall be:

Nationals/residents either of the United States or China

Between 22 and 40 years in age

Committed to making social contributions and building bridges

Possessors of solid professional backgrounds, with strong track records of achievement

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Past Events

U.S.-China Next Gen Leaders Circle Workshop (April 25, 2019) The inaugural meeting of the U.S.-China Next Gen Leaders Circle brought together American and Chinese change makers in philanthropy, business, entrepreneurship, social innovation, and culture to explore challenges and opportunities in sustainable business, impact investing, and social innovation, through activities and intensive dialogue. Circle members worked to build meaningful bridges and engaged in dialogue between thought leaders in both countries—with the ultimate goal of addressing social problems together and encouraging the development of healthy civil society. At the half day meeting, held at the JM Kaplan Fund office, speakers explored sustainable business, entrepreneurship and social impact, impact investing, and social innovation:

• Connecting Sustainability to Financial Value, with Tensie Whelan, Director of the Center for Sustainable Business at NYU Stern

• Social Entrepreneurship with Slava Rubin, founder of Indiegogo, one of world’s largest crowdfunding platforms

• Impact Investing with Jenna Nicholas, CEO of Impact Experience and CEO of Phoenix Global Impact

• Cultural Heritage and Economic Value with Kaplan Fund Innovation Prize winner Victoria Herrmann of Rising Tides

How to Apply

To apply for membership, please contact Nina Huang, [email protected], for more information.