The first half of the year has seen fewer donations to the nation's charities as donors are cash-strapped by record aid to the Wenchuan earthquake victims last year and the financial crisis.

The donations in materials and cash from January to June totaled 13.1 billion yuan ($1.9 billion), according the charity and donation half-year report by the China Charity and Donation Information Center, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The amount is a big drop compared to the same period last year, which had a total of 61 billion yuan. The total for 2008 was 100 billion yuan, the largest donation total ever in the nation's history.

This year's overall donation will likely stay on par or increase slightly compared with 2007's donation total of 30.9 billion yuan, the report said.

Donations from outside China reached 4 billion yuan, or 31 percent of the total given to the nation's charities. Donations from Chinese totaled 9 billion yuan, accounting for 69 percent. Of the domestic donations, six out of 10 come from businesses.

"It shows that the private sector is still the leading contributor to the nation's charity affairs," said Peng Jianmei, director of the China Charity and Donation Information Center.

The large-volume donations focus on development and capacity building rather than direct financial aid, signifying a change of strategy among donors and charity investors, according to the report.

Education and disaster relief are the main aid destinations, accounting for 46 percent and 15 percent respectively, followed by poverty alleviation, elders, disabled and orphans.

"The change of where the aid is going is strongly visible," said Peng. "It reflects the maturity of the donors in charity mindsets and measures."

Shandong province is the top donor, followed by Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

Central government departments and national charity organizations are major players in raising funds. They have raised 2 billion yuan, accounting for 15.6 percent of all donations received nationwide.

The encouragement from the government has played a significant role in motivating social sectors to respond to the donation requests, the report said.

(China Daily July 31, 2009)