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Who is Influence Matters?

Influence Matters is a strategic PR and Marketing consultancy helping international B2B tech startups, scale ups and SMBs succeed in China. We help our clients connect with their stakeholders in China by creating and executing performance-driven communication strategies supporting clearly defined business objectives in China.

Build on years of experience bridging China and the rest of the world for technology companies, we bring international best practices in influence engagement to China, enhanced with the efficiency of a nimble, modular approach required by fast growing businesses in a fast pace economy.

We have a particular focus on B2B high-tech industries including semiconductors, industry 4.0, AI, machine learning, IoT, cybersecurity, fintech, blockchain, adtech, deeptech, big data, gaming, software, VR/AR.

Who is 光援计划 Project Guangyuan?

In the time of COVID-19 outbreak, school had switched to online teaching since late January. However, a lack of digital devices left millions of poor children out of school. Project Guangyuan was established to bridge the new digital divide. By advocating idle devices (i.e. mobile phones, tablets, and laptops) and supporting software resources, we are advocating for education opportunities for children. Our mission is to bridge the digital divide in education for Chinese children.

Will the donation project end as the pandemic is gradually controlled?

No, the aid plan will continue. As online education becomes more and more popular, telecommunication devices will become more and more important in education. The lack of telecommunication equipment has created a “gap” between teachers and students: On one hand – teachers in rural areas often lack computer-assisted instruction, while, on the other hand, many students in rural areas are unable to participate in online classes due to the lack of equipment. If the gap between telecommunication devices is not bridged, the gap in education between the rich and the poor will be further widened, making the situation worse in terms of education inequality. Project Guangyuan’s program will help to reduce the lack of education in the digital gap through donation advocacy.

What role does Influence Matters and Project Guangyuan play in the entire donation process?

To celebrate its 5th anniversary, Influence Matters is raising the awareness of this project. While Project Guangyuan will look into the students’ needs, donors’ intended donations, and verify the information of both parties, and track the shipping of the donated devices. The donated devices that passed our system inspection will be directly sent by the donors to the school and students directly. In other words, each donor will receive the school/students’ address, who and where they should ship their second-hand devices to.

What is the general donation process?

After you fill out the registration form, our volunteers will reach out to you within 5 working days and review/verify the device you are planning to donate to check whether the functions are completely fine and whether the information in the device has been formatted. Then, we will match you with the student from the database. You, as the donor has to and must send the equipment and organize shipping to the school/student by yourself. We will monitor the usage of your donated device(s) and send you regular update.

Are our telecommunication devices donated to schools, or directly to children?

The electronic devices are donated to the school and distributed to the students by the school. On one hand, it is convenient for us to contact and track the demand from the students. Considering that the demand verification of beneficiary schools is cross-checked (cooperating with the third parties), it is difficult for us to directly screen and filter out the demands. On the other hand, because schools and teachers know their students best, they can send the equipment to the students who need it most. In addition to that, the school can control the management of the device. For instance, if the student uses the mobile phone to play the game, the school can take back the device; if the student graduates from the course or no longer needs the device, the school can pass the device to the other student in need and avoid the devices being resold and abused the purpose of these donations. Thus, after comprehensive considerations, we have decided to donate the equipment to the school for better management.

I am worried that the privacy on my old phone may be leaked, what do I need to do?

We will uniformly require donors to format the device and clear the data multiple times to ensure the cutting of the original data. At the same time, Project Guangyuan will launch a “cleaning guide” to help donors complete the cleaning work.

How does the project ensure that the device I donate can reach the people in need?

Project Guangyuan cooperates with the schools to provide information about the preliminary demand/need from students. At the same time, our volunteers will further cross-validate with the Education Bureau, the Poverty Alleviation Office and other departments to verify the student’s family economic situation and the urgency of the demand to ensure that every goodwill can be delivered to the right people.

What kind of feedback or updates can I receive after donating the equipment?

Each donor will have dedicated volunteer services. After donating the equipment, they can enter the donor ’s WeChat group and receive a personal donation certificate. From time to time, they will receive feedback photos and thank-you letters used by students. In the future, we can continue to interact in the WeChat group and pay attention to the progress of Project Guangyuan.

Who will bear the logistics or shipping costs?

In principle, the donor bears it. If more than 10 devices are donated at the same time, you can apply for logistics subsidies from Project Guangyuan. Please contact the volunteers for bulk donations.