There are many social services groups and agencies in Hong Kong who are passionate about looking after those in need and providing them with a wide array of support services – but not all of them can get the necessary resources from Government or private sponsors to maintain these services.
In recognition of this, the Club’s Charities Trust launched The Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Project Grant (CPG) scheme in 2005. The three-year grants are designed to support partners with ongoing funding, giving participating agencies the up-front resources they need to plan and fund their projects, and enabling them to offer diversified services for Hong Kong people. More than HK$1 billion in CPGs has been disbursed thus far.
At this year’s Riding High Together Festival on 14 April, the Trust announced a further HK$117 million donation to expand the scheme, which will now support 65 partner agencies and benefit some 1.1 million local residents. Four new agencies joining the CPG family are the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation; the Hong Kong Youth Hostels Association; the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre; and the Make A Difference Institute.
In addition to providing stable funding, the scheme is being strengthened to help build the capacity of participating agencies, creating opportunities for them to learn from experts and share experiences with each other. Four training sessions on project monitoring and evaluation have already been held, and more initiatives of a similar nature will be organised in the near future.