Under the Matching Grant Scheme, the community warmly supported Institute initiatives by participating in various activities including:
A Fund-raising Book Launch for "Full Circle: A Life with Hong Kong and China" by Professor Ruth Hayhoe, President Emeritus.	A Walkathon organised by staff and students of the Department of Physical Education and Sports Science.

We provide teacher education for the betterment of schooling and the community at large. The community has reciprocated with an appreciation of our work, giving us not only their moral backing but also staunch support through donations. This healthy interaction places us in an ideal position to fulfil our mission to nurture professional teachers for Hong Kong's schools.

Record Donations Received from an Appreciative Community
Fund raising is one of the critical factors for the continuing development and future success of every tertiary institution in Hong Kong. This factor received even more attention last year with the introduction of the University Grants Committee (UGC) Matching Grant Scheme. In a bid to promote a philanthropic culture and to generate greater community involvement in higher education, similar to that enjoyed in the tertiary sector in other parts of the world, the UGC introduced the scheme, pledging to match every dollar in funds raised with a dollar in grants. During the year, we were able to raise $31 million in funds, $21.2 million of which was eligible for the Matching Grant Scheme. These funds will be channelled to benefit the Institute as a whole and our programmes for teaching and learning in particular.

We are proud of this achievement as we are the youngest of the eight UGC-funded tertiary institutions. More significantly, teacher education does not generate wealthy alumni as teachers only earn modest incomes. We have therefore had to work hard to secure donations and we are extremely grateful. We would like to thank the 1,700 donors who helped us to achieve this phenomenal donation record, which represents a 100-fold increase over that recorded in 1996-97, when we first began recording our fundraising results.

Creating Linkages with Care and Concern
A letter written by a young quadriplegic man, to the Chief Executive, seeking approval to have his life terminated through euthanasia, came to the attention of the media and struck a chord within the entire community. The writer was Tang Siu-pun, a graduate of Northcote College of Education who had majored in Physical Education and Social Studies in 1991. We immediately joined hands with the Northcote College of Education Past Students' Association to initiate a "Care for Alumnus - Pun" campaign to raise funds and express the community's overwhelming concern for the bed-ridden young man. The campaign raised close to $560,000 for him.

Visiting Pun in May and again in August 2004, we noticed a marked difference. He had gained a renewed zest for life, and had started communicating with his donors and supporters via the e-mail "Care Network" set up by the Institute. Additionally, apart from acting as an academic advisor for the Northcote College of Education Past Students' Association School, he also provided words of encouragement for new students being admitted to the Institute in 2004-05.