On Social Capital And Resource Mobilization

In modern society, co-governance of the state and society has become an unstoppable trend; meanwhile, an increasing number of non-profit organizations gradually play an important role in connecting both. Non-governmental organizations can provide what the government lacks, such as the social networks, civic engagement, trust, reciprocity, and other potential resources. These useful resources which are embedded in the non-governmental organizations definitely become vital elements constituting "social capital." Therefore, making good use of social capital and social resources, and absorbing social forces to compensate for the shortcomings of governance and services have turned to be the final goals for the government and society.China Youth Development Foundation is a fairly typical non-profit organization in China. From its establishment in 1989 to the year of 2009, it has made great achievements in mobilizing social resources. This paper will, from the perspective of social capital, analyze elements of social capital contained in China Youth Development Foundation, and then further explore the ways which affect the formation and accumulation of these elements. The author of the present paper hopes that the current study can provide a useful reference and example in gathering social capital from non-profit organizations in the context of Chinese characteristics, thus helping improve other non-profit organizations'capability in resource mobilizing. In the end, the author concludes that non-profit organizations can nurture and accumulate social capital through mobilizing their resources both within and outside the system. Social capital gathered from the system within will not only help mobilize political resources in the system directly, but also mobilize social resources indirectly from outside the system. In addition, non-profit organizations should take efforts to gather social capital and mobilize more social resources through institutional credibility, contractual relationship, professional service capabilities as well as organizational mission and some other factors outside the system.