Recent scandals have made the Chinese less likely to give to charitable foundations, which many in that country see as corrupt or opaque. Now, Chinese foundations are seeking out advice and cash from an American organization in hopes of making their operations more accountable and ethical, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Give2Asia, a charity in San Francisco, will donate one million yuan (more than $150,000) to the China Foundation Center, in Beijing, to develop an eight-day training program for 30 to 50 foundation senior staff members. The program will aim to professionalize China’s foundations, one-quarter of which have been started within the past five years. Currently, many foundations are run by their benefactors—often to deleterious effect.

The lack of professional management jeopardizes both the effectiveness and efficiency of China’s foundations, according to Xu Yongguang, chairman of the China Foundation Center. “The real problem is the lack of transparency, especially at government-affiliated foundations.”