Corporate donations which hit 100 billion yuan (14.5 billion U.S. dollars) this year, may fall down as companies tighten their budgets amid the financial turmoil, charity organizations said.
"The slowdown has begun to affect our operations," Saturday's China Daily quoted Zhang Ying, director of the Fuyang AIDS Orphan Salvation Association, as saying.
Almost half of the funding the association was expecting to get next year is uncertain, as donors, mostly big companies, slash their corporate social responsibility budgets amid economic turmoil, according to Zhang.
Even some of the donations promised to the grassroots organization for the final quarter of this year have yet to materialize, she said.
Zhang's organization is not alone in feeling the impact of the financial crunch.
One of the largest NGOs in the Country, China Foundation of Poverty Alleviation (CFPA), is also not optimistic about the outlook next year.
"We definitely expect donations to fall next year," Wang Xingzui, its executive director was quoted as saying.
Despite the sad expectation, some major corporations promised to continue to fund the good causes.
Swiss Pharmaceutical company Novartis China, which donated cash and goods worth 1.3 billion yuan, will maintain its support next year, according to Hong Chaoyang, from the firm's human resources department.
Chen Ranfeng with Microsoft Greater China Region said the firm's citizenship programs will remain central to its commitment to growing together with China.
Chinese President Hu Jintao met with domestic and foreign charity workers and groups on Friday ahead of a ceremony to honor their contributions. He urged people and organizations from home and abroad to continue to make contributions to China's charity work development.
Source: Xinhua
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