Donation crowdfunding in China: designated platforms, charities and rules

What donation crowdfunding in China looks like

Donation crowdfunding in China usually happens inside apps people already use every day. A donor sees a project in a feed, taps a button, pays with a stored wallet and receives a confirmation. There is no financial return, and the idea is closer to public welfare, known in Chinese as gongyi, than to any form of investment.

Vocabulary can mislead anyone researching donations in China. The Chinese word zhongchou is generally used for reward and equity-style crowdfunding, whereas charitable appeals are described as gongyi or cishan, meaning public benefit and charity. Searching with the wrong term returns the wrong kind of project.

The 2008 Sichuan earthquake is often described as a turning point, when online and mobile giving grew quickly and people began to expect clear accounting from the organisations that collected the money.

The Charity Law and who may fundraise

The legal anchor is the Charity Law of the People's Republic of China, adopted in 2016 and revised in 2023. It defines charitable organisations, sets rules for donations, and distinguishes between asking the general public for money and receiving gifts from existing supporters. The Ministry of Civil Affairs is the main national authority.

A central idea in charitable fundraising in China is qualification for public fundraising. A registered charitable organisation that wants to solicit money from the public generally needs the qualification to do so, and it must publish information about the campaign and its results. Individuals and informal groups do not enjoy the same standing.

Local civil affairs departments handle registration and supervision at city and provincial level, and the details differ between regions, so organisers should consult the civil affairs office that covers their location.

Designated platforms for charitable fundraising in China

The Charity Law created a system in which online fundraising for qualified charities takes place on platforms designated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, with information published through the national Charity China channel. Technology companies run the best-known examples, including Tencent Charity inside WeChat, Alipay's charity section and the charity pages on Sina Weibo.

Tencent Charity is also known for its annual 99 Giving Day each September, when many projects collect donations through the platform in a short window. Other charities use their own apps and mini-programmes linked to WeChat.

For a donor, the practical advice is to give through a platform that names the charity, shows its public fundraising qualification and posts progress reports, rather than through a screenshot of a QR code forwarded in a chat group.

Personal help platforms and medical appeals

Alongside the charity channel, platforms such as Shuidichou and Qingsongchou became well known for helping individuals, especially patients, share appeals with friends and family. Many people in China turned to them when hospital bills were large and support from family circles was the quickest way to raise money.

These services have attracted debate about verification, fees and the truthfulness of some stories, and the regulation of personal appeals has been less settled than that of charity fundraising. Their practices and the rules around them have changed over time, so a donor should read the current terms before giving.

Giving to a person is a private gift, and donations in China to individuals follow different expectations from gifts to charities. It is not the same as giving to a qualified charity, and it generally does not come with the receipts that charities issue.

Payment habits: WeChat Pay and Alipay

Mobile payment is the normal way to donate, and giving in China is rarely done with cash or cheques. Even street collections and temple offerings now often display a QR code next to the box. WeChat Pay and Alipay dominate everyday spending, and donation pages are built around them, often with small preset amounts and a simple confirmation screen. Bank cards and bank transfers also exist but are less common for small online gifts.

Real-name verification is a feature of Chinese platforms. Accounts are usually linked to a verified identity, which helps traceability and is one reason why many services are hard to use for visitors who do not hold a Chinese mobile number or a local bank card.

Donors outside mainland China should expect friction and should read each platform's terms on foreign cards, currencies and identity documents.

Tax treatment of donations in China

The Charity Law provides tax preferences for donors who give to charitable organisations, and the individual income tax rules allow donations made through qualified channels to be deducted within limits set by law. Companies have comparable provisions in the corporate income tax rules.

What matters in practice for donation crowdfunding in China is the receipt. A gift to a qualified charitable organisation can be documented with an official receipt, whereas a transfer to a private person is generally not deductible. Keep the receipt and the payment record together.

Limits and procedures are revised by the State Taxation Administration and the Ministry of Finance, and donors who intend to claim a deduction should consult the tax authority or an adviser for the current requirements.

Foreign organisations and overseas donors

A foreign charity that wants to work in mainland China has to follow the Law on the Administration of Activities of Overseas Non-Governmental Organizations, in force since 2017, which generally involves registering a representative office or filing for temporary activities, with the Ministry of Public Security as the registration authority.

That legal framework shapes how outside money arrives and why charitable fundraising in China looks different from the open personal appeals common elsewhere. Overseas supporters frequently give through established Chinese foundations, through Hong Kong-based charities or through partnerships recognised under the law, rather than by sending money directly to individuals.

Anyone abroad planning to support a Chinese cause should ask the receiving organisation which legal channel it uses, and should confirm the arrangement in writing before sending funds.

Trust: reading a Chinese campaign before giving

The country's largest charities include the Red Cross Society of China, the China Charity Federation and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, and the long-running Project Hope educates children in rural areas. Public trust in the sector has been shaped by episodes of criticism, including scrutiny of how some organisations handled donations during the early 2020 Wuhan emergency.

That history explains why disclosure matters so much to Chinese donors, who increasingly ask which organisation holds the money, who audits it and when results will be published. Look for the charity's registered name, the qualification to fundraise, the stated purpose and the reports published after the campaign closes. If the money goes to an individual, ask for hospital records and a payment route in the patient's own name.

Donation crowdfunding in China is easiest and safest on platforms that expose these details and that allow donors to ask questions.