Under the directives of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and jointly launched by the China Charity Donation & Information Center and the Amway Charity Foundation, the China Philanthropy Talents Development Program closed its application on February 5th, 2013. The program bureau received 952 applications from 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, cementing its place as the most popular training program of its kind.

    The China Philanthropy Talents Development Program is the first civilian development program supervised by the government. It is dedicated to develop the next crop of professional leaders in philanthropy in the coming three years. The ACF has contributed RMB 10 million to the operation of the project.

    Upon its commencement, the China Philanthropy Talents Development Program made an impact in the Chinese philanthropy field. Supports poured in from various relevant sectors, including public and private foundations, trust funds, NPOs, grassroots NGOs and government officials. It generated ample buzz over traditional and new media, including weibo tweets. The program's official weibo added 80,000 followers in merely two months after launch. Key opinion leaders in the field such as Sui Zhengzhi and Deng Fei are active participants on the program's weibo blogosphere.

    Analysis of the program participants gave the following: 1) overwhelming applicant number of 952 is the highest ever in programs of its kind, 2) the applicants are on average highly educated, with over 50% possessing overseas education or business management experiences, holding senior executive or similar level positions in their professions (please refer to chart below). 3) wide range of philanthropic interests, as applicants expressed interests in hot social issues such as job opportunities for the physically handicapped, youth counseling, empty-nester care, widowed senior care, migrant worker social network building, charity e-commerce, and government procurement projects. Applicants are interested in working together to find viable solutions in all these areas, promote industry growth and shape public opinions on these issues.

    The China Philanthropy Talents Development Program has put together an expert monitoring and auditing panel, conducting background checks on all applicants and picking 50 people to form the first class. The panel will tailor a program curriculum that focuses on relevant areas such as project strategic development, organization management, innovation, fundraising, and PR communications.