Nonprofits in Hong Kong have been clamoring for multiyear grants for several years now, as funding instability has become an existential concern since the end of Occupy protests in 2021 and the Covid pandemic in 2022. Those years saw funding from US entities come under increasing scrutiny, while competition for meagre CSR funds also tightened due to scores of big companies refocusing to other business hubs like Singapore and Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even without these two disruptive events, the point for multi-year funding over singular ones has always been strong. Medium to large NGOs periodically create strategic plans of 3-5 years to grow their operations and reach their long-term goals by stages, and resource procurement naturally evolves parallel to program plans since the latter would not run (much less grow) in the absence of organizational income. A piecemeal approach in fundraising would be detrimental to advancing strategic plans due to financing uncertainties and the resulting unevenness in program implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Due to financial constraints, it makes sense for small-medium donors to fund only part of a program for a limited time, but for big grant makers that have much more in the pot and want to create maximal impact, it is quite counterproductive to abide by one-year funding cycles. If a program plan runs for three years, the first year would normally be a preparatory and\/or pilot phase that cannot show full impact metrics. The first funder cannot even claim to have advanced its own mission by simply supporting the initial year of the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the time the nonprofit partner is ready to work on the core program content, the funding will have dried up and the implementation stalled at a critical moment. The usual NGO solution has been to line up co-funding partners that can support the remaining phases, but aside from this being an additional burden on the fundraiser, different funders for the same program (or project) also means more disruption in terms of synchronizing timelines and priorities. Consequently, the program team risks losing the necessary momentum to reach their strategic goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Multi-year support for nonprofits reflects a donor\u2019s fidelity to its own avowed mission, as well as respect for the operational dynamics of its NGO partners. After all, grants are not just a financial investment; more than anything, it is a social commitment. Given identical modes of operation, NGOs outside of Hong Kong would also greatly benefit from the acquisition of multi-year funding. Coupled with agreements on the unrestricted or flexible allocation of funds, this type of long-term support can provide optimal conditions for nonprofits to reach or even exceed growth targets within their strategic plans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nonprofits in Hong Kong have been clamoring for multiyear grants for several years now, as funding instability has become an existential concern since the end of Occupy protests in 2021 and the Covid pandemic in 2022. Those years saw funding from US entities come under increasing scrutiny, while competition for meagre CSR funds also tightened … <\/p>\n