Fundraising Surges Due to 'Massive Wildfire'
Return Gift Sales Also Up 1.9 Times
Ministry of the Interior and Safety to Improve Donation Convenience
The first-quarter donations to the Hometown Love Donation Program, now in its third year, have approximately doubled compared to the same period last year.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that the total amount of donations collected for the Hometown Love Donation Program from January to March this year was approximately 18.35 billion won, with about 153,000 donations made. Compared to the first quarter of last year, when the total amount was about 9.47 billion won and the number of donations was around 68,000, these figures represent increases of 1.9 times and 2.3 times, respectively.
The sharp increase in donations from eight local governments in the Yeongnam region, following the occurrence of a massive wildfire at the end of last month, appears to have had a significant impact. The eight special disaster areas raised about 5 billion won in the first quarter, accounting for approximately 27.1% of the total donations for the period.
All 17 metropolitan cities and provinces saw an increase in donations compared to the first quarter of last year. Among basic local governments, Uiseong in North Gyeongsang Province collected 1.24 billion won, an increase of about 22 times over the same period last year.
By donation amount, the proportion of donations of 100,000 won or less rose slightly from 96.3% in the first quarter of last year to 96.8% this year. There were 21 donations recorded at the new maximum limit of 20 million won, which was raised this year.
The sales amount for return gifts reached 5.29 billion won, a 1.9-fold increase compared to the same period last year. The most popular return gifts were Jeju Noji tangerines, Nonsan strawberries from South Chungcheong Province, and pork belly from North Chungcheong Province.
The amount raised through "designated donations," which allow donors to specify particular projects, was about 4.19 billion won, accounting for 23% of the total. Since the introduction of designated donations in June last year, 109 projects have been identified, doubling the number of projects compared to the end of last year.
To maintain the growth momentum seen in the first quarter, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will work to improve donation convenience. In the first half of the year, a service will be launched at offline donation counters such as Nonghyup, allowing donors to apply for return gifts in a single process, and an online donation certificate service will also be introduced. In addition, new private platforms enabling participation in the Hometown Love Donation Program will be launched in the first half of the year.
Kim Minjae, Deputy Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated, "We will continue to improve donation convenience and the return gift application process, and do our utmost to ensure that the goodwill of the people becomes a true catalyst for regional revitalization."
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