Hong Kong, 17 June 2025 – The Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy (HKAWL) today announced the official launch of the Impact Link Online Portal (iLink Online), a digital platform designed to connect philanthropists, family offices, and asset owners with high-impact scalable charitable projects. This launch marks a significant milestone in advancing Hong Kong’s position as a global hub for strategic philanthropy and family office engagement.

Portal Facilitates Tangible Learning-by-Doing Opportunities

Launched at the second Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit in 2024, the Impact Link (iLink) Initiative is a comprehensive mission dedicated to empowering strategic philanthropy through capacity building, peer community, and learning-by-doing opportunities. iLink Online serves as the ongoing conduit for tangible learning-by-doing engagements. As an invite-only repository, the Portal enables philanthropists to actively engage with nominated projects, facilitating collaborative involvement and informed decision-making.

Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said, “Our goal is to develop Hong Kong into a philanthropic hub, channeling charitable capital from global family offices and philanthropists to benefit Hong Kong, the Mainland, and the world at large. Over the past year, iLink has supported several family offices in taking their first steps in philanthropy, learning best practices from leading international charitable institutions. The iLink online platform launched today by the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy will drive the next phase of this initiative, supporting family offices in uncovering impactful and wide-ranging charitable opportunities, and embracing a purpose-driven approach to wealth by transforming prosperity into positive change.”

Dr Adrian Cheng, Chairman of HKAWL shared, “The iLink Initiative is about nurturing a philanthropic ecosystem through education, peer collaboration, and shared learning. iLink Online is the practical tool that brings this vision to life, allowing families to connect with impactful projects and learn by doing — transforming strategic intent into measurable social impact.”

A Curated Platform for Impactful Giving

The iLink Online Portal features charitable projects and initiatives that are nominated through a peer-led process, a mechanism that resembles predominant mode of most private funders’ networks. Only Strategic Partners and Family Partners are invited to nominate charitable foundations for project inclusion on the platform.

The Strategic Partners of iLink are world-leading philanthropy organisations which contributes to the iLink community by providing thought leadership, sharing best practices, and offering insights into the latest global trends in philanthropic giving. Current Strategic Partners include Fondation de France Asia, Gates Foundation, Institute of Philanthropy empowered by The Hong Kong Jockey Club, and the Yidan Prize Foundation.

To date, nearly 50 Family Partners, including Hong Kong’s home-grown Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation, have joined the Portal. “The iLink Online Portal represents a transformative step in our philanthropy journey. It allows us to collaborate and support projects that genuinely make a difference,” said Ms Jennifer Chen, Chief Executive. Fellow Family Partner, Mr Shannon Cheung, Chairman of Averest Capital Group and an angel investor and venture incubator commented, “iLink connected me with leading international charitable organisations which have offered me tremendous resources and advice towards how to design my foundation.” Other Family Partners come from Mainland China, the Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, and the USA.

The nomination framework ensures that every project listed on the Portal enters with endorsements from other partners, offering credibility, scalability, and potential for significant social impact. This provides philanthropists with a trusted, peer-nominated repository for engagement and support.

Empowering Families to Make Informed Philanthropic Investments

With iLink Online, family partners gain access to a transparent, peer-nominated database of projects, allowing for thorough assessments and collaboration with fellow philanthropists. Currently, eight projects are nominated on the Portal, impacting regions including Hong Kong, Cambodia, the Philippines, France, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. iLink Online not only streamlines the discovery process but also fosters a vibrant community of impact-driven families committed to creating enduring legacies. “Asian philanthropy is relational at core, but iLink Online offers families ease of cross-border connectivity and information collection online for structured, informed decision making,” said Julien-Loïc Garin, Executive Director, Fondation de France Asia.