In response to the unfortunate fire at Tai Po Wang Fuk Court on November 26, 2025, the HKCSS established the ‘Caring Company Scheme: Support Fund for Tai Po Wang Fuk Court’ the day after the incident. This fund collects donations from businesses and foundations through the Caring Company Scheme’s online fundraising platform. As of the end of February 2026, this platform has raised approximately HKD 24 million. The online fundraising platform has already stopped accepting donations. This letter aims to report to agency members on the progress of the Fund’s usage and invite those interested in applying for the Fund to submit proposals.

To ensure the effective use of donations, the Council established an internal review committee in December of last year to oversee the approval of proposals submitted by organizations and monitor the fund’s allocation. In the first phase (the three months following the incident), our support focused on providing emergency assistance to disaster victims. Through our network, we collected nine proposals and allocated HKD 4,324,560 to nine organizations to support over 900 affected households. For further updates on the support fund’s progress, please refer to the Caring Company Scheme’s website.

As the emergency relief phase concludes, the Fund will expand its service scope in the second phase (starting April 2026) to include other affected communities (such as local residents and parents of schoolchildren) as well as communities outside Tai Po. It will also fund organizations to implement more long-term support and disaster prevention services. We now invite agency members that wish to provide services to submit proposals to support affected residents and other communities.

(I) Second Phase Application Information

1. Application Deadline: April 17, 2026 (Friday)

2. Service Duration: 6 to 24 months

3. Eligibility:

• Agency Members of the HKCSS
• Charitable organizations exempt from taxes under Section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance
• Social enterprises listed in the HKCSS’ Social Enterprise Directory

4. Funding Scope:

• Support social service organizations in providing care services for affected residents and their families or caregivers, such as relocation assistance, mental health support, grief counseling, family needs support, provision or referral of professional services, and matching of resources and services.
• Support social service organizations in conducting activities to enhance disaster prevention awareness, especially targeting special needs communities (e.g., persons with disabilities, the elderly, etc.).
• Support social service organizations in organizing community-building activities in Tai Po or other areas to help rebuild the social networks of affected residents.

5. Funding Limit: A maximum of HKD 2 million can be applied for each project. Projects with funding needs of less than HKD 500,000 must complete their services within 12 months. If organizations require more than HKD 2 million, we will facilitate referrals to suitable foundations and sponsors.

6. The internal review committee will prioritize funding based on the proposal’s content, service needs, target audience, and the organization’s execution capability.

(II) Proposal Content (no more than 3000 words)

1. Name of the organization and responsible unit
2. Target audience and their needs
3. Specific content of the services
4. Current work of the organization in disaster relief or support at Wang Fuk Court
5. Collaboration with other stakeholders
6. Expected outcomes
7. Financial budget (The budget may include personnel expenses, activity expenditures, promotional costs for activities, and no more than 5% for central administrative expenses.)

Please submit proposals to [email protected]. For inquiries, please contact us through this email. Thank you!