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Annual donations to charities in China exceed 110 billion RMB for the first time in 2015, according to the China Charity Donation Report 2015, released by China Charity Alliance on Nov. 29.

Most generous: Private and state-owned enterprises are biggest contributors

Donations from enterprises surpassed 78 billion RMB in 2015, making up 70 percent of the total. Private and state-owned enterprises are still primary contributors, responsible for 52.24 percent and 32.77 percent of total enterprise donations respectively.

In contrast, donations from foreign-funded enterprises fell sharply, accounting for only 12.99 percent of total enterprise donations, a year-on-year decrease of 22.99 percent. This is mainly because foreign companies were affected by international economic fluctuations, said Liu Youping, deputy secretary general of China Charity Alliance.

Twenty-nine enterprises donated more than 100 million RMB each. Beijing, Guangdong province and Shanghai were the three regions with the largest donations.

Powerful money magnet: Universities received record-setting donations

Education donations were a focus in 2015. Colleges and universities received record-high donations. Twelve universities received single donations of more than 50 million RMB. Basic education in remote and poor areas has increasingly attracted public notice, with many choosing to support the construction of primary schools.

The report shows that 22 people donated more than 100 million RMB personally, and their total donations surpassed 6.4 billion RMB. Chen Yidan, one of the main funders of Tencent and founder of Tencent Charity Foundation, tops the personal donation list with 2 billion RMB in donations.

In addition to education, donations were also concentrated in healthcare and poverty alleviation. According to Liu, social affairs including science, education, culture and sports need more public participation and social contributions.

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Most enthusiastic: Individual donations rise rapidly

Individual donations reached 16.93 billion RMB total in 2015, 5.372 billion more than in 2014. The total number of individual donations of less than 10,000 RMB increased from 5.86 billion RMB in 2014 to 7.5 billion RMB in 2015, accounting for 44.3 percent of total individual donations.

The expanding scale of small donations from ordinary people reflects a stronger charitable environment in China, said Liu. The trend correlates closely with the development of online donation platforms. The open, transparent and convenient features have made online donation a welcomed option for the general public, and especially young people.

Data from Ant Love, Alibaba's Ant Financial charity platform, indicate that people in their 40s, 30s and younger are the main force of online donations. The majority of netizens still focus on traditional charity projects like poverty alleviation and healthcare, while donations supporting environment protection and elderly care are less common.

"In the future, online donation platforms should be more concerned with the diversification of charitable projects. They should guide people to deepen their understanding of and participation in charity," said Liu.