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20 years ago, nearly 100 chinese entrepreneurs gathered at the moon lake in the tengger desert of alxa, inner mongolia, announcing the birth of the alxa see ecological association, china's first environmental protection charity organization with entrepreneurs as the main body. over the past 20 years, 2,037 entrepreneurs (as of august 31, 2024) have gathered on this platform - a charity organization with nearly 1,000 members at its peak. in terms of the number and quality of entrepreneurs, it has precipitated an environmental protection charity ecosystem that matches china's economic and social development.

there is no doubt that under the label of "china's largest local entrepreneur environmental protection charity organization", entrepreneur members are the foundation of alashan see and the main driving force of environmental protection projects. despite the epidemic, economic impact and many uncertainties, there are still nearly 600 members (as of the time above) active on this environmental protection charity platform. even after 20 years, how to develop members and how to increase member retention rates are still keeping these corporate leaders who are good at organizational capacity building busy looking for answers.

entrepreneur members hiking in the tengger desert

upward curve

at the beginning of its establishment, alashan see brought together a group of big entrepreneurs. the annual membership fee of 100,000 yuan for 10 years and the screening mechanism for recommended membership make this organization exude a certain flavor of an elite community. on august 29, 2024, alashan see welcomed its 197th lifetime member. this means that nearly 200 entrepreneurs have been working with this organization for 10 consecutive years. among them, there are 43 founding lifetime members who have been sticking to it for 20 years.

in the previous three years when the presidents changed their terms, the number of alashan see members was 78 (2007), 104 (2009), and 278 (2013). according to internal information of alashan see, after the fourth president feng lun took office, alashan see began to operate as a brand, not only promoting alashan see on social media such as weibo, but also "using" celebrity entrepreneurs to create momentum and drive the public to understand, recognize and join alashan see.

in 2014, the fifth president took office. in order to expand the public influence of alashan see, break the elite circle of alashan see, and face the society with a more open attitude, he advocated expanding the membership scale. it was also from this term that the president frequently visited leading entrepreneurs across the country and persuaded them to set up environmental protection project centers in their local areas, taking the regions as camps and taking on the task of member development.

one of the important reasons for this is that all the former presidents of alashan see have been pioneer leaders in the industry and have held positions in many social institutions or entrepreneurial organizations. they are willing to introduce alashan see in all public occasions. yabuli china entrepreneurs forum, zhenghe island, china urban real estate developers strategic alliance, rowing club... without exception, have become windows for "promoting" alashan see.

the effect is obvious. the next four years were the peak period for the development of alashan see members, with nearly 600 new members. in 2018, the total number of members exceeded 900, reaching a historical peak. there is a saying within alashan see that in recent years, the alashan see headquarters is not only a propaganda team, but also a seeding machine. the seeds fall all over the country, take root and sprout, and also play a role in dissemination.

age of alashan see members (data as of the end of 2023)

that was definitely a rare and enthusiastic period in the history of alashan see. in 2017, as a media person, i was invited to attend the annual membership meeting and the election of the governance team. at the meeting at grand hyatt hotel in changsha, nearly 400 entrepreneur members from all over the country discussed and voted on the revision of the charter, questioned the governance team... all the participation links were full of vitality and vigor. after the meeting, everyone ate lunch around the table, and several presidents shook hands and greeted each other at the table. people kept asking for photos, and they accepted everyone who came, just like a warm gathering of entrepreneurs.

starting from the sixth president qian xiaohua, alashan see has been regarded by the outside world as the beginning of the "de-bossing" era. qian xiaohua once jokingly called himself a "commoner president" who could be "repaired"; and the influx of a large number of private entrepreneur members has also allowed this once elite community to gradually begin to transform into a civilian "new generation".

to a certain extent, the lack of a "big boss" to support alashan see has gradually reduced its attractiveness and appeal to some entrepreneurs. how to transform the charm of alashan see from individuals to the organization itself is still a problem to be tested in the future development of this organization.

a carrier of activity and belonging

in the past four or five years, the author has interviewed and participated in interviews with nearly 100 members of alashan see, including the president, life members, and chairmen of the working committee. in the communication with them, i admire their full enthusiasm outside of the business world and their ability to encourage people around them to participate in environmental protection and public welfare. what i admire even more is the dedication and love of each member for this organization under compromise and republicanism.

in the above interview, the entrepreneur members also spoke frankly: in the era of rapid expansion of the organization, some members did not have a deep understanding of alashan see's original environmental protection intention and development history. they joined the association because of the fame of a certain president or the introduction of a friend, but after joining, they did not know what to do and quietly withdrew. it was not uncommon.

the number of members has increased dramatically, but how to retain them and enable the entrepreneurial group to unleash their environmental protection energy and creativity has become a new challenge for alashan see.

in some spontaneously participated social organizations, "the more you participate, the more you love" is the iron rule of member participation. from the headquarters to the local environmental protection center, alashan see is always looking for ways to motivate members to make this iron rule more effective.

especially during the term of the ninth governance team, alashan see established an education and training committee. relying on see siyi college, it organized study and co-construction activities for the project center working committee and all members, and conducted in-depth exchanges on topics such as what is public welfare, alashan see history, strategic planning and ideas, member development and maintenance, project creation and management, project center operation, and topic alliance construction.

^{alashan see working committee study, build momentum for sustainable development of environmental protection project center}

on the project center side, the working committee visits members one-on-one, invites members to participate in project center activities, visits member companies, and encourages members to use hobbies as a link to increase private communication, which becomes the main way for members to interact.

for example, the project center working committee will usually establish a member docking mechanism. each working committee has a list of docking members, and the working committee will also conduct cross-border liaison and communication to help other working committees better interact with members and make members feel their value in the organization.

in addition, we organize visits to member companies and take this as an opportunity to set specific themes. based on issues of concern to members, we invite external experts and cross-industry professionals such as marketing, live broadcasting, and news media to form cross-industry idea sharing, so that members can not only communicate in the process of participation, but also truly gain something.

the most common activity is to participate in the environmental protection activities organized by the project center, build a fixed communication platform and model, and members can also bring their relatives and friends to participate, providing each other with opportunities to understand each other and increase connections.

the common understanding of alashan see entrepreneur members is that "alashan see is jointly owned by members. members use alashan see to realize their willingness to assume social and ecological responsibilities and practice their democratic, rule of law, open and transparent management of public affairs."

in practice, this is exactly the case. these entrepreneur members explore the values ​​of alashan see together and find solutions to make the project center sustainable... let everyone be involved, with a sense of identity and belonging, and bring a more tenacious cohesion to the organization.

the warmth of facing challenges together

although efforts have been made to address internal factors, the objective influence of the economic environment has become an unpredictable external variable.

alashan see members are private entrepreneurs from all walks of life. a sudden epidemic has impacted economic and social development, and has also had a serious impact on the production and operation of member companies. in special times, the annual membership fee of 100,000 yuan has become difficult for some companies. as the head of an enterprise, his main task is to keep the enterprise alive first.

at alashan see, member donations are not the only purpose. what is more important is that everyone participates in environmental protection charity activities and projects and continues to invest time in environmental protection. the external environment is difficult, and entrepreneurs focus more on the development of their own companies. they have no energy to pay attention to charity and environmental protection, which also increases the challenges of developing new members.

during the epidemic, the number of alashan see members continued to decline from nearly 1,000 at its peak to 600 this year. more and more members are trapped in production. this organization, which is mainly composed of entrepreneurs, has spontaneously established a "mutual assistance group for enterprises to overcome difficulties" to provide member companies with a business mutual assistance platform, connect business information, exchange policy changes and management experience, share resources, and overcome difficulties together.

some project centers have also begun to work together to overcome difficulties with member companies. when it comes to suitable projects, they will give priority to cooperating with member companies if the conditions are met, and everyone supports each other. in addition to project support, it also includes information sharing and public relations support. at the same time, members have also made an agreement that if the project cooperation is successful, a portion of the profits will be invested in public welfare.

in addition, alashan see invited famous teachers and entrepreneur members to conduct online live broadcasts, focusing on the topic of "how companies can overcome difficulties during the epidemic", to deliver excellent cases and practical experiences to more members and help member companies resume work and production.

considering the actual difficulties of members, alashan see has introduced a flexible system of "three-month extension of membership fee payment" to maximize the membership time for members. in some project centers, even if members choose to adjourn, the working committee always leaves a door open for them. while the working committee and project activities are open to all members, former members are always welcome as long as they are willing to participate.

for any person or organization, 20 years is not just a growth of rings, but also a period of accumulation and strength. the future is full of unknowns, but the entrepreneurs of alashan see, who combine knowledge and action, have always focused on planting a seed in the hearts of members and all people who care about environmental protection and public welfare, and awakening the seed at the right time, so that it will multiply. we are full of expectations for this.

author: shu yan