Younger netizens most generous online donors

Netizens in their 20s and 30s are leading an online donation boom in China, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The ministry said in a news release recently that it has seen 1.8 billion yuan ($252 million) donated via designated charity websites in the first half of 2019.

Some 1,400 charities posted 17,000 fundraising announcements on 20 such websites during the first six months and received more than 5 billion clicks, according to the ministry.

The number of online donations is expected to hit new highs by the end of the year, as the upcoming "99 Charity Day", a popular annual charity event that will be held on Monday-the ninth day of the ninth month-could bring in massive cyber-based donations for the second half of the year.

The event, launched by Tencent Foundation in 2015, raked in 830 million yuan through on-screen clicks last year, figures provided by the ministry show. That accounts for more than 25 percent of last year's online donations-3.17 billion yuan.

Behind the surging online donations are the increasingly younger donors born and raised in the internet era.