Charities fight for flagging donations
The ailing economy and competition between worthy causes has left Hong Kong charities struggling to raise money.
Many charities say they are feeling the pinch so much that on flag days they are unable to raise the minimum amount required to get government approval for a permit to collect the following year.
The Salvation Army confirmed it was unable to meet the minimum, already reduced by the Social Welfare Department from $600,000 in 1996 to $480,000 this year. The charity only managed to raise $400,000 on its flag-sale day last month.
The Hong Kong Blind Union and Operation Dawn also fear they will fail to meet the limit because they cannot get enough volunteers.
The Blind Union, which had its flag day last Saturday, managed to recruit only 300 helpers, far short of the 2,000 it needed. Union director Joseph Lo Yiu-man said the prospect of failure was high, though the final figure was still being tallied.
On average, flag-sale revenue per charity went from $1.6 million three years ago to $1.2 million last year, while the number of applicants jumped from 102 in 1998 to 144 this year, according to department figures.
This had led to fierce competition and a crammed flag-sale schedule, Mr Lo said. And for smaller organisations, which rely heavily on flag days, bad takings cripple them for years.
'Revenue from flag-selling makes up one-third of the Blind Union's income. If we cannot meet the quota this year, the next two years will be affected,' Mr Lo said.
Operation Dawn had a flag day on July 14. 'We have so many organisations selling flags now, even Wednesdays have to be used as flag days,' project supervisor Miller Chow Wai-hung said.
Charities have also been hit by the new lump-sum grant method for subsidising non-governmental organisations, spurring a greater need for flag days.
A spokeswoman for the Social Welfare Department said the application procedure was already very strict and priority went to local groups.
