LAST year, the Hong Kong Jockey Club saw its turnover rise 3.7% to a record HK$290 billion.
For every $100 wagered, $83 goes back to punters. Of the remaining $17, the government gets $13, leaving the club with $4 to finance everything, explained Gabriel Leung, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.
Gabriel, who was a panellist at the AVPN Global Conference 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, spoke about the methods that are being applied to scientifically determine the impact of the grants the Club disburses.
Gabriel used to hail from the asking side of philanthropy before switching over to the giving side with the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.
“Giving is much harder than applying for a grant,” he said. ”You are responsible for choosing and giving, and measuring its impact.”
Gabriel is a strong advocate for improving human capabilities, and also serves as the governor of the Wellcome Trust, which, together with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, ranks among the top 10 philanthropies globally.
In the discussion, Gabriel said he would like to see “less bureaucracy, less restrictions and more trust in the giving space”.
In this video Gabriel talks about using the best frontier scientific methods to measure the impact of giving.
