Increase in philanthropy and charitable giving in China

Charitable donations in China reached an unprecedented 10.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2010, more than double the amount donated in 2009, said a report published by a Chinese government think-tank on Tuesday.

The Internet and mobile technology have expanded donation channels and made it easier to donate, as many people donated through online services and mobile phone messages in 2010, according to a report on Chinese philanthropy published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The report also noted that an increasing number of wealthy entrepreneurs donated to disaster relief funds. Last year's philanthropy debates, which centered on whether it is the responsibility of wealthy people to donate, caught the public's eye and raised Chinese awareness of philanthropy, according to the report.

The report highlighted the rapid proliferation of China's social philanthropic organizations, which increased in number from 431,000 in 2009 to 439,000 by the end of 2010, with the number of volunteers exceeding 31.24 million.

Source: Xinhua

Americans give lot less to charity due to Recession

American donors gave a lot less to charity in the first two years of the recession than they did in 2007, dropping their donations a total of about 20 percent from 2008 through the end of 2009, new data from the Internal Revenue Service suggest.

The decline is much more substantial than in previous downturns.

Chronicle of Philanthropy