Support women, girls and trans in Hong Kong

Dear supporters,  
 
The last few months has marked many milestones for us, our grantee partners and those working on gender equity in Hong Kong. Despite an unexpected shift in same-sex marriage legislation, the work for equal gender and sexuality rights continues – made possible through your generous support.  

Here’s what we’ve achieved together since our last update:   

Welcoming our new Executive Director, Dr. Sonia Wong! 
In our last update, we mentioned that we were going through a leadership transition. We are so excited to officially welcome Dr. Sonia Wong to the team, as our new Executive Director.  

Dr. Sonia Wong is an educator and researcher in Gender Studies, and an experienced gender equity activist in Hong Kong. Her interest in community organising is focused on gender and sexuality, as well as how these intersect with other marginalisedcommunities. Apart from being an activist and academic, Sonia is also an artist and writer. 
 
Kickstarted General Grant 2025/26 
We provided grants to 8 organizations totalling up to HKD590,500, working on themes such as migrant women leadership, gender-inclusive accessibility and disability inclusion, education empowerment for ethnic minorities, violence against women and more.  
 
Mentorship and Financial Management under Empowering Diversity Grant (‘EDG’) 
Last May, we entered our second phase of EDG, a special initiative launched for ethnic minority women in Hong Kong.Seeing the need for more tailored support in the first phase, we decided to enhance our approach to capacity strengthening by incorporating a mentorship aspect for grantee partners.  
 
The same cohort of grantee partners (Refugee Union, Grassroots Future X Self-Love Cupid and Community Cultural Concern) were matched with 3 mentors who are experienced working with diverse communities, as well as have supported the development of smaller organizations in variouscapacities. 
 
Another need that surfaced during the first phase was financial management. Often, many small non-profit organizations do not have designated finance staff or access to accounting software to keep track of their expenses. Hence, we organized a financial management workshop which caters to their specific needs and capacity, while suggesting tangible best practices they can implement to improve their financial accountability. This is crucial as organizations scale up and must fulfil stricter funder requirements. 
 
Shifting Narratives on Trust-Based Funding Practices 
Now, more than ever, we believethe funding ecosystem must develop practices and structures that are nurturing trust between funders and grantee partners more intentionally.With this belief, we hosted our first peer-funders' event, Transforming Values into Action: The Key to Maximize Impact through Trust-Based Practices. 
 
We were joined by over 40 international and local philanthropic practitioners of different backgrounds and experiences, from family foundations to corporate philanthropy. It was an engaging discussion on the spectrum of trust-based funding practices, theirimpact on communities and benefits to funders, as well as challenges in implementation. As the event came to an end, we felt hopeful that more conversations like this would take place, leading to a more favorable philanthropic environment – not just for us or our grantee partners, but for anyone working towards transformative change. 

Launched our 20th Anniversary Impact Report 

                                    

In 2004, the founders of HER Fund embraced their ideals and invited different stakeholders, including individuals, corporates, and private foundations, to pool resources and move forward one step at a time.

This report showcases our impact stories advancing gender equality in Hong Kong over the past 20 years. It highlights our collective achievements, initiatives, and the profound impact our founders, our team, our grantee partners, our supporters and our volunteers have made. Leave your details with us here if you'd like to pre-save the report.

Thank you again for your support over the past year, and we look forward to your continued support in 2026! 
 
Best, 

Jade 

Links: 

• Become HER Fund's Monthly Donor! 

• Follow our Social Media for Latest News! 

• Subscribe our Monthly E-newsletter 

Dear supporters, 
 
2025 ushers in many significant changes both within our organisation and beyond. With the decline in funding and resources for gender equality across the world, your continued support has really allowed us to develop our resilience and amplify the efforts of the communities around us.  
 
Here’s what we’ve achieved together since our last update:  
 
Hosted International Women’s Day 2025 Fundraising Luncheon
Our hearts were full as we celebrated International Women’s Day this year with our grantee partners, board members, funders, corporate partners, and supporters! During the event, we invited our grantee partners including Self Love Cupid, Community Cultural Concern, PrideLab, The Association for the Advancement of Feminism (AAF) and Virtuous Lady Club as speakers and performers. 
 
Not only were they able to openly discuss the challenges they faced serving marginalised communities, they also recognized the importance of seed grant support and capacity-building programmes like ours. They emphasized that having access to this type of support allows them to develop organisational sustainability and by extension, deliver more impact to their communities.

It was also an occasion for us to celebrate our previous Executive Director, Judy for her contributions over the 17 years she’s been with us. Judy has been an incredible force for our organisation, guiding us through challenges and inspiring us to reach new heights. Her commitment to gender equality has made a lasting impact on our team and culture. Thank you, Judy, for your dedication and for paving the way for grassroots and marginalised organisations to thrive and bloom. Wishing you all the best in your next chapter!
 
Post-AWID Discussion and Gathering  
In our last update, we mentioned that we were able to attend the AWID Forum in Bangkok with some of our grantee partners for joint learning and international exchange on all things gender. We thought it would be equally as important to share our insights with the wider community of gender equality advocates in Hong Kong who didn’t have the chance to attend the forum. Co-delivered with our fellow grantee partners, it was a fruitful discussion amongst over 30 people. 
 
Networking Workshop  
We also organized a 2-part series networking workshop where participants learned how to narrate their individual stories and best present the vital work they do for their communities to different stakeholders. In the final session, we invited our long-time partners from corporates and foundations, such that participants had a safe space to practise their skills and develop their self-confidence.  
 
All in all, participants and corporate / foundation partners mentioned that they both were able to learn something from each other, where the latter gained a deeper insight into the experience of grassroots community organizers. Meanwhile, participants experienced their own shift in mindset and began to see networking from the perspectives of people with different backgrounds.  
 
Learn more:  
https://herhub.org.hk/ 
 
One Step Further
Moving forward, our work continues to be driven by the question of “How can we give better and more?”, so that the communities we support are able to navigate adversity with the right resources and resilience.  
 
We hope to expand our network of gender supporters, deepen conversations on nurturing a more equal and inclusive environment, and accompany a broader range of communities in promoting gender equality. By ourselves, we can take one step further but thanks to your support, we hope to stride towards this goal together!

Best,
Jade

Links:

• Become HER Fund's Monthly Donor!
• Follow our Social Media for Latest News!
• Subscribe our Monthly E-newsletter