Helping hand: Assistant Director of Social Welfare Ann Hon and guests attend the Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged cheque-presentation ceremony.

Non-governmental organisations and businesses are invited to form partnerships and tap resources from the matching grant of the Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged.

Speaking after a cheque-presentation ceremony today, Assistant Director of Social Welfare Ann Hon said interested organisations should submit their applications early as the deadline is June 30.

Established in 2005, the fund encourages non-governmental organisations, the business sector and Government to establish a three-way partnership. The Government will provide a dollar-for-dollar matching grant to donations made by business corporations in conducting welfare services.

Since the fund's establishment, more than $34 million has been matched with business donations of about $39 million for 70 non-governmental organisations to implement 110 welfare projects. More than 210 business corporations were involved in the projects and about 410,000 disadvantaged people benefited from the services.

At today's ceremony, Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing staff donated $120,000 and the HKEx donated another $120,000 which was matched with the same amount of $120,000 from the fund to conduct St James' Settlement's Heart-to-Heart Blessing project.