We are proud to be Hong Kong’s most transparent news outlet and, as a non-profit company, HKFP is externally audited every year. Be assured that, when you donate to HKFP, every cent is put to careful use and goes directly towards frontline journalism and original reporting.
Income for our latest audited year – 1/1/2018 to 31/12/2018 – was as follows:
| Income | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| All donations | HK$2,463,408 | HK$1,769,760 | HK$1,063,125 |
| Ads & content sales | HK$136,084 | HK$328,759 | HK$92,276 |
| Events | HK$24,390 | HK$0 | HK$8,352 |
| Bank interest | HK$21 | HK$1 | HK$12 |
| Total: | HK$2,623,903 | HK$2,098,520 | HK$1,163,765 |
Our 2018-2020 revenue streams:
All donations: includes one-off & monthly Patron contributions by cheque/transfer, cash PayPal & card, as well as merch sales profit & shopping referral links. HKFP also retains 1.97 Bitcoin, as of 2020.
Ads & content sales: includes income from Google/YouTube display ads; Apple News & Facebook ads, directly purchased rate card ads & content sales [from media outlets, institutions and Dow Jones Factiva/Nordot re-syndication].
HKFP Patrons: HKFP has shifted towards a membership model. Small amounts of income from a large pool of Patrons helps support our team, sustain our operations with more security, and guarantees our independence. Our monthly income as of January 2020:
- The number of HKFP Patrons rose by 539% in 2019, and our monthly income from Patrons rose by 358%.
- Patrons are overwhelmingly from Hong Kong, though we also have backers in the US, UK, Australia and China.
- In addition to the above, we receive at least HK$10,000 [US$1,276] per month from donors who contribute via cheque, transfer or by coin donation via CoinDragon.
- Patrons are given priority and/or free entry to HKFP events, merchandise and a hard copy of our Annual Report. We aim to surpass 1,000 patrons in 2020.
Expenditure for our latest audited year – 1/1/2018 to 31/12/2018 – was as follows:
- HKFP is run as efficiently and prudently as possible, in order to maximise the impact of our donors’ generosity. We make savings by partnering with other media outlets, using free software wherever possible and making full use of teamwork and automation to save on labour costs.
- During 2018, we employed 4-5 full-time staff members and several freelancers.
| Expenditure | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Full-time staff payroll | HK$1,499,071 | HK$1,340,230 | HK$1,035,523 |
| Mandatory Provident Fund (pensions) | HK$69,234 | HK$66,180 | HK$50,942 |
| Website, newswire text/photo, software | HK$129,543 | HK$58,693 | HK$33,083 |
| Office, sundry, recruitment/training, telecom | HK$110,414 | HK$57,565 | HK$25,801 |
| Meals/drinks for volunteers & staff | HK$14,028 | HK$17,106 | HK$25,531 |
| Legal, professional, registration, audit fees | HK$7,385 | HK$45,231 | HK$10,845 |
| Travel & insurance | HK$78,067 | HK$8,169 | HK$8,267 |
| Stationery/merch, postage, printing | HK$11,827 | HK$686 | HK$17,124 |
| Bank charges & exchange losses | HK$1,705 | HK$1,170 | HK$2,218 |
| Freelancer payments & gear | HK$64,400 | HK$34,090 | HK$0 |
| Tax | HK$29,816 | HK$13,343 | HK$0 |
| Advertising | HK$34,371 | HK$10,261 | HK$0 |
| Total: | HK$2,049,861 | HK$1,652,724 | HK$1,209,334 |
- As a non-profit, with no shareholders or investors, HKFP’s surplus was recycled back into the company in 2019.
- 73% of all spending goes directly towards supporting our hard-working full-time news team.
In 2019, HKFP went through a legal examination to be recognised as the equivalent of a US charity. Hong Kong law does not allow media outlets to register as tax-exempt charities, thus HKFP is a limited by guarantee company – a non-profit, answerable to readers not shareholders.
As of January, 2020, we are now certified by NGO Source. Whilst this does not mean we are tax-exempt, it can be of some assurance to donors and grant-making bodies that we meet the same standards of a US public charity in terms of our structure, accountability and governance.
Not-for-profit, run by journalists and completely independent, the HKFP team relies on readers to keep us going and to help safeguard press freedom.
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Make an instant one-off donation of any amount, or make a monthly commitment and become an HKFP Patron. HK$200 per month – the price of a weekly coffee – helps us achieve sustainability and safeguards our independence.
