Chapter Resources

On this page, Project Pengyou Chapter Leaders will find all of the basic resources you need to start a Chapter. To maintain official Chapter status and the legal right to use the Project Pengyou brand on your campus, please read through these resources carefully and submit your required forms annually.


On this page you will find:
  1. The Project Pengyou Chapter Handbook & Toolkit
  2. A Timeline and Overview of PPY National Campaigns
  3. Recommended resources for US-China News
  4. Contact Information for National PPY Leadership
  5. FAQ

1. PROJECT PENGYOU CHAPTER HANDBOOK

Project Pengyou offers its chapters a Chapter Handbook & Toolkit with the organization’s manifesto, introductions, and helpful guides for organizing and leading your Chapter.


2. ANNUAL EVENTS & NATIONAL CAMPAIGNS

Project Pengyou Chapters nationwide participate in 2 major campaigns:

  • "Pengyou Day" (November 15, 2018) - A day of massive action and grassroots events to promote US-China study, engagement, and friendship. A day of solidarity for all chapters to organize campus events and help establish chapter credibility and visibility.
  • Pay it Forward on Chinese New Year (PIFOCNY) - Chapters develop a local service project that their members work on to give back to the community.

3. RECOMMENDED RESOURCES FOR U.S.-CHINA NEWS:

Below we’ve compiled a list of organizations that provide excellent coverage on China and many of which also organize in-person events. Be sure to sign up for their newsletters to stay in the know and get ideas for your own discussion topics and event planning purposes!


4. CONTACT US:

If you have any questions, you can contact our headquarters below:

General Inquiries: nihao@projectpengyou.org


5. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Project Pengyou offers its chapters a Chapter Handbook & Toolkit with the organization’s manifesto, introductions, and helpful guides for organizing and leading your Chapter.


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)


CONTENTS
  • General Guidelines
  • Meetings and Events
  • Organization
  • Money

GENERAL
Q: WHAT ARE THE GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR EACH CHAPTER?

At the core, Project Pengyou Chapters are there to serve the needs of the community and improve U.S.-China friendship and understanding. Aside from participating in Pengyou Day and PIFOCNY, Project Pengyou’s yearly national campaigns, Chapter goals, strategies and activities should strive to achieve that objective.


Q: HOW MANY PEOPLE DO I NEED TO START A CHAPTER?

One person can start a Chapter, however to be officially recognized as a chapter, there must be at least 8 chapter members (can include the leadership team) with a goal of 20 members. While chapter activities should be open to all who are interested in China and support Project Pengyou’s missions, chapter membership should strive for 50% Americans and 50% Chinese students as much as possible.


Q: WHAT ARE THE CORE RESOURCES PROVIDED TO EACH CHAPTER?

Project Pengyou offers its chapters a Project Pengyou Chapter Handbook with the Project Pengyou manifesto, organization introductions, and helpful guides for organization and leadership.

There is also a shared google drive where Chapters can share photos, video, presentations or other materials.


Q: WHO SHOULD I CONTACT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions, you can contact our headquarters office at any of the addresses below:

General Inquiries: nihao@projectpengyou.org


MEETINGS AND EVENTS
Q: HOW OFTEN SHOULD OUR CHAPTER MEET?

We recommend that each Chapter hold meetings for all members at least once a month. However, Chapter leadership teams would benefit from more frequent meetings. Our suggestion is weekly or biweekly planning meetings.


Q: HOW OFTEN SHOULD OUR CHAPTER MEET?

Chapter meetings should be both fun and productive. How these goals are accomplished is up to the leadership team of each Chapter! Here are our tips for success:

  1. Set an agenda: Before every chapter meeting, make sure to set the agenda before the meeting to make the best use of your meeting time. Send this agenda out to those attending beforehand if possible.
  2. Set communication norms: Decide how you want to best communicate as a team and set clear roles. For example, the group can assign the roles, scribe (to take meeting notes), and timekeeper roles to different members.
  3. Debrief and Set Next Steps: The meeting facilitator can then lead the group through a group reflection. We like the PDTA structure - Pluses, things that were positive, Deltas, things that could improve, Takeaways, key learnings and Appreciations for specific issues or team members.
  4. Set Follow-up Meeting time: Finally, the group can schedule the next meet-up! Try to keep the timeline tight enough to hold people accountable - we recommend within a week to two weeks.

Q: ARE THERE ANY SPECIAL EVENTS I SHOULD BE AWARE OF?

Project Pengyou Chapters nationwide participate in 2 major campaigns

Fall

"Pengyou Day" (November 15, 2018) - A day of massive action and grassroots events to promote US-China study, engagement, and friendship. A day of solidarity for all chapters to organize campus events and help establish chapter credibility and visibility.

Spring

Pay it Forward on Chinese New Year (PIFOCNY) - Chapters develop a local service project that their members work on to give back to the community.


Q: WHAT ARE CHAPTER EVENTS FOR?

Project Pengyou chapter events should be oriented around any of the following:

  1. Building bridges between the U.S. and China
  2. Developing leadership of US-China bridge-builders
  3. Paying it forward by giving back and empowering others in the community
  4. Fundraising
  5. Membership Recruitment

Some great examples of chapters’ events in the past are: career panels, community service, US-China relations talks and discussions, guest lectures, jiaozi (Chinese dumpling) sales, and museum visits.


Q: HOW OFTEN ARE CHAPTERS REQUIRED TO HOST EVENTS?

Aside from organizing and attending the Project Pengyou signature events, each chapter is required to hold at least two member events per semester.


ORGANIZATION
Q: ARE THERE ANY GUIDELINES FOR CHAPTERS TO FOLLOW?

The Project Pengyou Chapter Handbook provides useful organizational guidelines for chapters:

  1. Simple chapter hierarchy: We currently want for the national chapter network to have a flat hierarchy. As such, there will not be any city or regional chapters. All chapters should be affiliated with an academic institution or nonprofit. (We encourage chapters to organize inclusive events, allowing for attendance by those outside the affiliated organization.)
  2. Steering clear of sensitive issues: Chapter leaders must protect the possibility of long-term China engagement and capacity-building and deal with the reality of sensitivities when designing activities. When in doubt, think if the event or discussion encompasses ECUE (Empathetic, Constructive, Unifying, Empowering) rather than destructive, divisive, disempowering or demonizing language
  3. Support growth of ProjectPengyou.org: Chapter groups will be created on ProjectPengyou.org to help institutional memory for your chapter and to share your activity with the whole network
  4. Strengthen consistent Project Pengyou brand: Follow branding guidelines and naming conventions (Project Pengyou SCHOOL NAME Chapter)

Q: IS THERE A MODEL FOR LEADERSHIP TO FOLLOW?

Each Project Pengyou Chapter must have one Leadership Team to manage events and establish a leadership structure, and one Advisory Council to provide support and guidance for the leadership team.

  1. Leadership Team: According to the Project Pengyou Chapter Handbook, every chapter requires a President, Vice-President, and Finance & Logistics Chair. Your leadership team is also recommended to have a Marketing & PR Chair as well as an Online Community Resources Chair to manage chapter marketing and online group resources, respectively.

  2. Advisory Council: The chapter’s advisory council should have 2-6 members. Advisors should encompass all of the following types of people (one person can count for more than one category):

    1. Faculty Advisor: Staff of Study abroad / Mandarin study program
    2. Collaborating Organization Advisor: Leader from an established program / organization with related or shared interests to promote Mandarin study or facilitate study abroad in China. For example, this could be a leader from the Chinese student organization, another related school group, or external organizations that promote international engagement, like the World Affairs Council or Rotary Club.
    3. Professional Ally & Advisor: A leader from the business community
    4. Peer Advisor: Project Pengyou Leadership Fellow(s) - All fellows should be on the advisory council for at least one chapter

MONEY
Q: DOES IT COST MONEY TO JOIN A CHAPTER?

Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, Project Pengyou chapters will require a membership fee to support nationwide Project Pengyou initiatives (to be set by the Chapter leadership). This is There are no other personal dues required after this.


Q: DO CHAPTERS HAVE TO FUNDRAISE?

It is very likely that your chapter will have a need to seek funding sources throughout the year to accomplish your goals.


Q: WHERE DOES MY CHAPTER START WITH FUNDRAISING?

To help you with your fundraising goals, we have identified a few ways to get started. Don’t be afraid to get creative, and remember that you are raising money to create something of value to your community!

  • Develop your annual budget - Record your projected costs for the year to gauge how much you will need to fundraise.
  • Organize your fundraising team - Recruit and organize your fundraising team. Use the snowflake model to share the fundraising tasks.
  • Identify funding sources - look for aligned values; It could be the local Chinese restaurant or any other group that supports your mission.
  • Build relationships with potential partners - Fundraising is not a one time thing. Build relationships with partners on campus and off campus.
  • Proposals & grant-writing - Once a partner is willing to collaborate with your chapter, your team should come up with a proposal including a detailed project outline with specific measurable outcomes.
  • Thank yous - Be sure to express your appreciation for any support you receive, no matter the increment.
  • Benchmarking & evaluation - It is important to benchmark your chapter’s finances so that you can compare and analyze from year to year and reevaluate your fundraising goals for the upcoming year.