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The following is issued on behalf of the University Grants Committee:
The University Grants Committee today (March 29) announced the overall results of the Third Matching Grant Scheme. The eight University Grants Committee-funded institutions have altogether secured almost $1.6 billion in donations under this third round, and $888 million of matching grants were allocated by March 15, 2007 - the closing date of the scheme.
Chairman of the grants committee, Dr Alice Lam, said she was very pleased that the community had continued to respond to the Matching Grant Scheme with generous support. "I would like to congratulate all eight institutions on their success," she said.
"I notice that institutions have launched a lot of good and imaginative fund-raising projects. Amongst them, institutions have organised various alumni homecoming and reunion activities which have kept up the momentum in alumni bonding for a strong and healthy lifelong linkage. Overseas examples show that this form of regular giving by grateful alumni is very important to sustaining philanthropic giving."
To strengthen the committee-funded institutions' fund-raising capabilities and to encourage the growth of a philanthropic culture in the community, the Government allocated $1 billion for launching the Third Matching Grant Scheme in June, 2006. Relaxations introduced in the second round to facilitate two significant developments in the higher education sector - internationalisation and campus development of the institutions - were continued in this third round. The matching grant was disbursed on a dollar-for-dollar matching basis up to $45 million, beyond which $1 was granted for every $2 donation, up to a ceiling of $250 million of grant.
"Looking back, over the past three rounds of the Matching Grant Scheme, institutions have raised some $4.8 billion in private donations and a total of $2,888 million of matching grants has been allocated. This really is an outstanding achievement," Dr Lam said.
"I would like to thank the Government again for making the three rounds of Matching Grant Scheme possible, and to thank all the people who have made donations to the institutions. As a result, our institutions now know better and appreciate how they can work with the community to take higher education to the next level."
With an allocation of $1 billion by the Government, a Matching Grant Scheme was first launched in July, 2003, to award matching grants to the committee-funded institutions, which succeeded in securing donations for activities within the ambit of committee recurrent grants. The eight committee-funded institutions altogether secured more than $1.3 billion in donations together with the $1 billion in matching funds.
In view of the encouraging response of the First Matching Grant Scheme, the Government provided a further $1 billion in 2005 for introducing a Second Matching Grant Scheme, when close to $1.9 billion of private donations were raised. Further to strengthen the institutions' fund-raising capabilities and to encourage the growth of a philanthropic culture in the community, the Government introduced the Third Matching Grant Scheme in June, 2006, the final results of which are set out at the Annex.
Ends/Thursday, March 29, 2007
Issued at HKT 11:26
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