By Jade To | Deputy Executive Director
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
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