The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has approved 116 organisations out of 224 applications received to hold flag days to raise funds for their charitable projects on 51 Saturdays and seven Wednesdays which fall on school or public holidays in 2019-20 (see Annex for details). Flag sales will be conducted from 7am to 12.30pm on the approved flag days.
A spokesman for the SWD said today (March 29) that in order to allow more organisations to conduct flag sales, 29 flag days have been assigned as Regional Flag Days in 2019-20. On each Regional Flag Day, three organisations will sell flags to solicit donations concurrently, one each on Hong Kong Island, in Kowloon and in the New Territories.
The spokesman said that for easy identification, flag day organisers are required to put on the money collection bags the name of the organisation and mark "Approved by Social Welfare Department". In addition, some approved flag day organisers will also use Octopus card readers on their allocated flag days with the pouches bearing the name of the respective organisations and the statement "Approved by Social Welfare Department".
The spokesman appealed to flag day organisers to take precautions against any possible fraud. They should make a report to the SWD and inform the Police following any loss of property and seek their help if fraudulent acts such as tampering with collection bags or unauthorised fundraising are found.
Members of the public can visit the SWD's homepage (www.swd.gov.hk) and the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/fundraising) if they wish to check information on flag days. They are also welcome to call the SWD hotline at 2343 2255, or the designated hotline of the 1823 Call Centre at 3142 2678.
The spokesman said that the Government has promulgated the "Good Practice Guide on Charitable Fund-raising" to assist the charities to improve the transparency and accountability of their charitable fund-raising activities. The Good Practice Guide covers areas on donors' rights, fund-raising practices and financial accountability. The Good Practice Guide can be accessed on the SWD homepage.
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