The Red Cross Society of China caused controversy on Monday when it apologized for using a 2008 donation of 84.72 million yuan ($13.73 million) for different charity projects than those originally agreed upon.

The society, the biggest humanitarian organization in the country, said in an online notice that the money donated by more than 100 top Chinese contemporary artists was used on a project called Boai Jiayuan, or "Homeland Philanthropy", equipping 248 communities in provinces including Sichuan and Gansu with disaster response tools.

However, the Red Cross and the donors had previously agreed that the funds would be used exclusively for disaster relief and recovery in Qingchengshan, a city affected by the devastating magnitude-8 Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008.