Partnership between private philanthropic foundations and social service NGOs in Hong Kong

Abstract

Following the recent development in the private philanthropic sector and the emergence of new giving approaches, it seems that a type of collaborative relationship is being developed between the private philanthropic foundations (PPF) and the social service Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO). Yet, many have argued that the partnership between donor-grantee has turned into rhetoric rather than reality. This study focused on understanding the PPF-NGO relationship from the perspective of the funders, with a focus on giving strategies, perception of the relationship, and the different factors that may influence partnership outcomes.

A mixed-method design was adopted for this study and the sampling target included private individual and family philanthropic foundations registered in Hong Kong. Part I of the study was exploratory semi-structured in-depth interviews with 11 PPFs and 20 key stakeholders in the private philanthropic sector. The interviews provided rich information about the giving strategies of PPFs and their perception of the relationship with NGOs. Four key factors including partner characteristics, relationship capital in the partnering process, the level of donor engagement and the existence of a collaborative mind-set, were hypothesized to be related with the partnership outcomes.

For the quantitative survey in Part II, 80 PPFs were invited to answer a self-administrated questionnaire. The response rate was 38.8%. Survey findings seem to align well with information collected from interviews. Through the use of correlation statistics, a relationship between the different factors and partnership outcomes was demonstrated.

According to the findings, giving strategies of PPFs could be summarized as focused and engaged, with a strong dedication for sustainability of impacts on the individual, societal, and sectoral levels. Two main giving approaches were identified, model building (MB) and capacity building (CB). It was noticed that PPFs generally recognized the importance of partnering with NGOs to achieve a personal and social mission, and to continue a family legacy. They were generally satisfied with their relationship with NGOs and perceived NGO as a partner.

Partner selecting factors like cultural compatibility and project impact; relationship capital including reciprocal commitment, responsive communication and joint problem solving, were all found to have a positive influence on the partnership outcomes. Meanwhile, active engagement of the PPF as well as their collaborative mind-set was also shown closely related to partnership outcomes.

An Integrative Partnership Model was proposed for the joint creation of social values between PPFs and NGOs. Recommendations were made on different aspects, including individual, organizational, and societal levels to promote a successful PPF-NGO partnership. It is believed that everyone in the society can be a change maker. The active involvement of the PPFs in tackling social problems is a healthy sign for the development of our civil society. How PPFs, NGOs and the other sectors can collaborate for the maximization of social benefits should be our common concern and it is hoped that this study can contribute a part in it.