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Application Guideline

  1. Background
    The Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation (the Foundation), established in September 2019, is a charitable institution of a public character that was set up mainly to serve Hong Kong youth. It is a joint effort of youth leaders from various sectors who want to support the young generation. With our mission of ‘For Our Youth, For Our Future’, we support youth development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area by bringing together leaders, resources and ideas.
    The Foundation seeks to promote exchanges and support young people in their studies, careers and business development in the Greater Bay Area. In doing so, we hope that young people can gain a better understanding of the business environment and culture, which will be conducive to their personal and professional growth.
  2. Eligibility
    1. Applicants should be:
      1. Charitable Institutions and Trusts of a public nature, which are exempt from tax under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance; or
      2. Non-profit/non-governmental organisation registered according to the Laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; or
      3. Society registered according to the Societies Ordinance
    2. Non-profit and non-governmental organisation should submit its Certificate of Incorporation,Company Articles or Memorandum of Association and Company’s Articles of Association with their application; documents should be duly signed by the Chairman and one other office-bearer in order to verify that each document is a true copy.
  3. Funding scope
    The application must meet the following requirements:

    1. The applicant must be the organiser of the project, with key responsibilities including project planning, organisation and implementation. Under the project, the applicant is free to design different activities, such as seminars, workshops, counselling services, internships, etc. The project design should meet The Foundation’s expectations, with project details and planning submitted to The Foundation for approval.
    2. The theme of applicants can include poverty alleviation, volunteer training, internship ;
    3. The application is for a one-off grant, not a subsidy for operating expenses;
    4. Applicants can design different types of activities under the projects including but not limited to training courses, workshops, seminars, competition, counselling services and work experience.
  4. Funding amount
    The funding amount for each application ranges from HK$5,000 to HK$100,000. Each organisation can receive a maximum funding of HK$100,000 within one year.
  5. Eligibilities of Beneficiary
    1. The beneficiaries must be Hong Kong teenagers with ideals and aspirations;
    2. Hong Kong residents aged between 12 and 39;
    3. If there are specific beneficiaries in the project, all beneficiaries must register as members of the Foundation’s YO PLACE;
    4. The applicant organization must recruit beneficiaries on the premise of fairness, justice and openness;
    5. The applicant organisation needs to list in detail the specific conditions and selection criteria for recruiting participants in the application form.
  6. Collection and usage of personal data of beneficiaries
    1. The funded organisations must provide basic information on the beneficiaries to The Foundation for statistical, publicity and direct contact purposes. The information should include the following:
      1. Names of beneficiaries
      2. Gender of beneficiaries
      3. Age of beneficiaries
      4. Email address of the beneficiaries
      5. YO PLACE membership number of the beneficiaries (Applicable to beneficiaries aged 11 to 40)
    2. The funded organisations should allow beneficiaries to choose whether they would like to receive promotional information from The Foundation in the registration form.
    3. The Foundation will ensure that all personal data submitted through the funded organisations are handled in strict adherence to the Cap. 486 Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.
  7. Application Procedure
    1. Application process
      1. Complete the application form via the program website.
      2. Submit and download the application form according to the instructions to sign and stamp
      3. Upload the signed and stamped application form to the website to complete the application process
    2. The applicant organisation should prepare electronic files of the following documents when filling out the application form:
      1. Registration documents and relevant certification materials of the applicant organisation
      2. Detailed proposal and budget;
  8. Project Approval Procedure and Criteria
    1. The Foundation will review and approve the applied projects.
    2. Applicant organisation may be invited to directly explain the application projects to the Foundation for consideration and review.
    3. Offering any advantage to The Foundation members in order to influence the approval of the application will be considered a violation of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, Cap. 201 (“PBO”). The applicant along with its directors, employees, agents, consultants, contractors or anyone involved in the project is prohibited from offering any advantages to The Foundation or Committee members. In such cases, the relevant application will be invalidated, and the approval procedure will be terminated. If the application was already approved, The Foundation reserves the right to cancel or terminate the funding.
    4. The Foundation reserves the right to disclose the information provided by the applicant organisation to a third party in order to approve the application.
  9. Notification of Result
    1. The results will be announced within one month of receipt of the application.
    2. The Foundation has the final and absolute right to make decisions on applications (including but not limited to the maximum grant amount approved).
    3. The Foundation reserves the right to disclose information provided by the applicant to a third party in order to expedite the approval procedure.
  10. Notes
    1. Successful applicants must sign the “Grant Acceptance Letter” provided by The Foundation.
    2. A “Fund Disbursement Notice” will state the approved amount, and terms and conditions of the grant.
    3. If the applicant accepts the amount of the grant stated on the fund disbursement notice, the applicant must sign and return the Grant Acceptance Letter before the deadline shown. If no signed letter is received before the deadline, it will be considered as a withdrawal of the submission.
    4. The grant should be used to carry out the proposal within the designated period; expenditures out of the designated period will not be covered.
    5. If the start or completion time of the project is delayed due to the applicant’s own reasons or other force majeure factors, the fund will not provide funding for any additional expenses incurred.
    6. The Foundation logo must be printed on all promotional materials and souvenir items as the project sponsor; prior approval of The Foundation on logo usage is required.
    7. If necessary, the funded organisation shall assist in publicising the youth activities organised by the Foundation;
    8. The applicant organisation may apply for grants from other sources based on the same project proposal, but the source and amount must be specified in the application form to avoid duplicating resources.
    9. During the implementation of the project, if the applicant organisation needs to purchase any goods and services, including but not limited to: hiring tutors, renting venues, accommodation, etc., if the subsidized organisation is or will be connected with the supplier, it must make a written declaration of interest to avoid any possible bribery and/or benefit channelling issues.
    10. If the applicant intends to collaborate with other organisations, the applicant should specify the role of each organisation and the allocation of work in the application form, in order to avoid duplicating resources.
    11. The Foundation will not be held responsible for claims and legal liabilities for the funded project. The applicant shall procure appropriate insurance from any recognised Hong Kong insurance company for the funded project (including Mainland activities, insurance including public liability insurance, third-party liability insurance, etc.) and comprehensive travel insurance (illness and accident insurance and oversea travel support) for participants during the exchange.
    12. In order to effectively supervise the implementation of the funded projects, the Foundation has the right to request the applicant organisation to provide the following documents for verification during the project implementation period, including but not limited to: the current progress report of the project (text, photo or video records), receipts of the project payment, etc.
    13. The funded organisation must submit an activity report, income and expenses report (verified by the person in charge of the project and the person in charge of the institution, with the seal of the institution) and activities record (such as publications, photos, video etc.) to The Foundation within two months of the completion of the project.
    14. Organisation Information Requirements:
      1. The funded organisation should keep records of all activities in the funded project, such as photo albums, video recordings, etc.
      2. The funded organisation should publish post event results on their media platform for promotional purposes (if applicable).
      3. The funded organization agrees that the Foundation has the right to use any activity information submitted by the applicant organisation to promote the Foundation and event results in various media, including but not limited to uploading to the Foundation’s website and related media for publicity use.
    15. The Foundation is committed to protecting the privacy of personal data collected from the application form, in compliance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486). The personal data may be used for the following purposes:
      1. Processing and verifying grant applications.
      2. Implementing the project.
      3. Monitoring progress of the project.
      4. Disclosing information under legal requirements.
      5. Gathering statistics and conducting research.
      6. Any purpose related to the above.
      7. Rights to portraits taken of project participants (photos/videos) are granted to The Foundation for recording progress and promoting the project.
  11. Withdrawal of Application
    1. A successful applicant may withdraw its application by writing to The Foundation within 7 calendar days of receipt of the result notification. Such a withdrawal is irrevocable.
    2. On receipt by The Foundation of the notice of withdrawal, any approval, conditional approval or approval-in-principle issued by The Foundation shall cease to be valid.
  12. Suspension or Termination of Funding Support
    1. The Foundation reserves the right to suspend or terminate funding support for a project, based on any violation of the rules and regulations provided in the Sponsored Programme Application Guidelines and Application Instructions. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
      1. Abandonment of the approved project, or persistent or flagrant failures to carry out the whole or any part of the approved project in accordance with the Grant Acceptance Letter.
      2. If the applicant is wound up or becomes insolvent.
      3. The applicant or any of its personnel involved in the approved project is found to have committed an offence under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.
      4. The applicant’s failure to submit any relevant reports within the specified period or if these reports do not comply with The Foundation’s requirements.
      5. If any of the approved funds are not used in accordance with the budget approved by The Foundation.
      6. If there is any breach of the terms and conditions that have been stipulated.
      7. If The Foundation sees fit to terminate the approved project in the public interest. For example, failure to carry out or complete an activity stipulated in the approved project proposal within a specified timeline (due to, for example, failure to recruit enough eligible participants for that activity).
    2. If The Foundation decides to terminate funding support for an approved project, the successful applicant is required to return to The Foundation all amounts paid by The Foundation under the funding scheme immediately upon the project’s termination.
    3. The Foundation reserves the right to reduce the amount of the approved sponsorship based on the reduced scope and scale of activities of an approved project which has been approved by The Foundation in advance, in writing. The decision on the final amount of the sponsorship to be granted is at The Foundation’s absolute discretion.
    4. If the organisation needs to terminate the project due to its own reasons or other factors, it must explain the relevant situation to the Foundation, and return all the funding allocated within one month.
    5. If the organisation encounters any violations in the application and implementation of the project, it will be recorded and used as an important reference for the future application. In the event of a clear breach of integrity, the Foundation will suspend or terminate funding for approved projects and will recover all/part of the allocated funding.
  13. Claims and Liabilities
    1. The Foundation does not accept any responsibility for any claims, demands or liabilities arising from or relating to the approved projects.
    2. Under no circumstances will The Foundation accept liabilities for any deficits arising from the approved projects. Successful applicants shall accept liabilities for all deficits arising from the approved projects. If the successful applicants reasonably foresee that the total expenditure will exceed the original budgeted expenditure by any amount, they shall inform The Foundation office immediately. In addition, they shall be responsible for the shortfall in order to complete the approved projects.
  14. Enquiry
    For further information, please contact the office of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation office:
    Tel:2210 9609 or 2210 9600Fax:2561 8669

    Email: office@gbayouth.org.hk

    Address: 16/F, 9 Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong