Philanthropy Times (公益时报), February 8, 20313
In 2012, the national welfare lottery contributed more than RMB 46 billion to its public welfare fund. However, there are issues in effective distribution of these funds, leading many to wonder about the future of the program. Philanthropy Times talked to a number of recipients of last year’s public welfare funds, as well as lottery personnel, to find out their views on the issue and hopes for future funding possibilities, including the assistant department head of the Red Cross Foundation’s project management department, Tong Lihua of the Beijing Zhicheng Law Firm (which focuses on legal aid to youths and migrant workers), representatives from the Lezhu Public Welfare Mutual Aid Center and the Shanghai Jiading District Sunshine Rainbow Social Work Business Office, and staff from the Fujian Welfare Lottery Design Department and the Gansu Wuwei City Welfare Lottery Center. The organizations generally describe hopes of expanding their programs. The Fujian Welfare Lottery representative explains that in fact a significant portion of the public welfare fund goes to the Civil Affairs Bureau for their distribution, and the Gansu representative expresses hope that in the future the fund will have more transparency. Both representatives seem regretful that the welfare lottery has been maligned by the press, and hope that by sharing more information about the program, they will gain approval from the public.
