On the mainland, about 240 foundations led or founded by retired senior officials raised 8.7 billion yuan ($1.41 billion) in 2012.

Wang Peng, head of the communications department at the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, said two of its five board members are former senior officials.

They include the foundation's president Duan Yingbi, who was deputy head of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs.

Wang said the board makes decisions on the foundation's development strategy, budget and personnel arrangements, rather than day-to-day management.

"Retired officials usually have rich experience in administration and they have numerous contacts with people from all walks of life, so they can expand our fundraising channels and invite top experts to advise on our projects," he said.

The China Foundation Center says 42 out of the 350 retired senior officials are paid for working for charitable foundations, with annual salaries ranging from 10,000 to 120,000 yuan.

Education has been the first choice for many retired senior officials. A total of 119 out of the 243 charitable foundations led by retired officials have a focus on this sector, Cheng said.

Former premier Zhu Rongji was listed 70th among the top 100 donors in China after he donated 20 million yuan of his book's royalties to set up a foundation focusing on education, according to the 2013 Chinese Top 100 Donors list issued by the China Philanthropy Research Institute in January.

Zhu founded the Practical Education Foundation in March last year and its first donation of 1 million yuan went to sponsor poor students and reward outstanding teachers in the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture in Hunan province in September.

Contact the writers at hedan@chinadaily.com.cn and fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn