The Social Welfare Department has relaxed the application criteria and funding arrangement for the Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged, including raising the caps on the matching grant and the number of applications.

Announcing details at a sharing session today Social Welfare Deputy Director (Services) Fung Pak-yan said the changes will facilitate a better partnership between the welfare sector, the business community and the Government, benefiting more disadvantaged people.

The changes have been introduced after gaining experience from the first three application rounds.

They include increasing the maximum amount of the matching grant from $1 million to $2 million to let applicant non-governmental organisations implement larger scale and more comprehensive projects - together with business partner contributions, proposed projects may expand to $4 million, and allowing NGO applicants to submit up to 10 applications in the fourth round to encourage co-operation with more business groups to deliver different welfare services.

NGOs can now apply for the fourth round until June 30. Those who have applied in the first three rounds, regardless of whether they are or were successful or not, can submit applications in this round. Click here for details.

Since the fund's launch in 2005 more than $29.4 million in matching grants have been approved in the first three rounds of applications to 70 NGOs to implement 97 welfare projects, involving more than 200 business corporations, to provide welfare services to about 380,000 disadvantaged.