In 2020, The D. H. Chen Foundation launched Project Fuel in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local small nonprofits. Through core operational support and a co-learning Fellowship amidst the most challenging times, the Foundation started a journey with 50 small organizations, building a community strengthened by genuine connections and trusting relationships. During this three-year journey, the Foundation discovered the impact of the core operational support and the co-learning, co-creating, and co-developing approach, extending well beyond the pandemic in the long run.
As the exploration continued, the Foundation is grateful that three other local philanthropies – Chow Tai Fook Charity Foundation, ReThink Foundation, and The Hong Kong Club Foundation – also believe that for creating sustainable impact in the social good sector, we should support nonprofits’ core operational costs, and build trust among nonprofits, between nonprofits and philanthropies, as well as among philanthropies themselves. The shared philosophy has culminated in Project Fire, which serves as both a continuation and an evolution of the work initiated by Project Fuel.
The inaugural cohort of Project Fire engaged in some reflective activities at the Session Zero of the Fellowship.
Four local philanthropic organizations, united by a shared commitment to building trust among nonprofits and philanthropies for sustainable impact in the social good sector, join forces to launch Project Fire. (From left: Louisa Dearlove, Chief of Staff, Rethink Foundation; Karen Cheung, Trustee & Chief Strategist and Peter Poon, Chief Program Officer, The D. H. Chen Foundation; Sunny Lee, Program Director and Tobey Yung, Senior Project Manager, Chow Tai Fook Foundation)
The inaugural cohort of Project Fire consists of 24 social good organizations committed to fostering connections through an eight-month Fellowship Program.
With 16 nonprofits invited by the Foundation and the three partnering philanthropies receiving financial support on their core operation, along with peer facilitators from four Project Fuel alumni organizations, the inaugural cohort of Project Fire consists of 24 social good organizations committed to building bonds and encouraging exchanges through an eight-month Fellowship Program. This Program will facilitate reflective discussions on organizational development, self-management, self-care, and staff wellness, fostering the creation of a trust-based, close-knit community and generating a set of resources that are collaboratively created and owned by all participants.
Through a combination of cross-organizational nonprofit capacity building, the exchange of best practices in core operations development, and co-learning and understanding between philanthropies and nonprofits, Project Fire seeks to further ignite the values of trust, respect, and openness, catalyzing our collective journey to build a compassionate community for those dedicated to serving the social good sector.