Charity denies fundraisers take cut of donations

The founder of a charity foundation in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, has denied media reports that its volunteer workers receive up to 15 percent commission.

According to reports in the China Youth Daily, Shilehui, a charity foundation in Jinhua has been paying its volunteer workers commissions of up to 15 percent from donations they have raised for the foundation.

Over the past four years, 12 volunteer workers with Shilehui have raised more than 23 million yuan ($3,617 million).

Shilehui was founded in 2007 as the first online charity platform in China. On the website shilehui.com, donors can browse detailed information of needy people and directly donate money to the bank account of recipients. The whole donation process is transparent.

"Shilehui has never given voluntary workers 15 percent commission," Fang Lu, one of the founders of Shilehui, told Hangzhou Daily.

When donors give money, they can choose whether to give some money to volunteer workers who have helped to contact recipients and collect the information. It all depends on the donors, he said.

Shilehui has more than 700 staff, less than 30 voluntary workers have been paid.