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International Women’s Forum Singapore: Guiding Young Women towards Achieving their Dreams
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Stories Of Impact

International Women’s Forum Singapore: Guiding Young Women towards Achieving their Dreams

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A woman joyfully laughs while carrying a backpack and holding a phone in her hand.

Education is a powerful social leveller, and the youngest Nobel Peace laureate in the world Malala Yousafzai will readily attest to that. In fact, it is her life’s mission to make sure young girls and women all over the world are lifted out of poverty through receiving equal access to an education. For women all over the world, Malala is celebrated as a champion of women’s rights and is recognised for her immense achievements in the face of overwhelming adversity.

The International Women’s Forum (IWF) Singapore Education Grant took a feather out of Malala’s hat when it was established in 2014 – to support women of all backgrounds to receive proper education and mentorship.

The Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) supports this ideal through managing the IWF Education Grant, as it makes a difference by providing upward social mobility for young women who possess grit, empathy and a strong determination to excel in their field of study.

Like Malala, the IWF believes in nurturing the next generation of women through providing education and mentorship. Since the Education Grant’s inception in 2014, IWF Singapore has awarded grants to 68 young women from 13 tertiary institutions in Singapore. These young women are usually students between the ages of 17 to 35 who are applying for a diploma or degree to local polytechnics or universities, and are at risk of dropping out of school due to financial constraints.

So far, it has been a humbling experience for the IWF to support such young women from financially-challenged backgrounds in their quest for higher education and to achieve their dreams. Like a proud parent, the IWF marvels at how far they have come in their journey to find passion and confidence in spite of their considerable personal challenges.

Providing a Guiding Hand

However, it is not all about providing good education through financial support. The IWF Education Grant seeks also to equip these young women with life skills and guidance on career choices, in hopes that they will broaden their horizons and become emboldened to soar in their endeavours.

Through collaboration with the Young Women’s Leadership Connection (YWLC), a mentorship programme was formed under the leadership of Mrs Arfat Selvam, Managing Director of law firm Duane Morris and Selvam LLP.

Although IWF Singapore expects that the students they support have reasonable academic results, there is a far greater emphasis on young women with a strong track record of voluntary social contributions and a high degree of social empathy.

Many of these young women have expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the support from the grant towards their tenuous financial circumstances and want to do their best to contribute back to society. At the same time, they harbour hopes to pursue a better future for themselves and to create a lasting impact with the choices they make. Perhaps one day, these young women will be able to rise up and achieve their dreams, just like Malala Yousafzai.

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The competition was organised by City Harvest Community Services Association and received support from FUN! Fund, a Community Impact Fund jointly established by the Community Foundation of Singapore and the Agency for Integrated Care, with the aim of addressing social isolation among the elderly.

Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of National Development Mr Tan Kiat How attended the event. He encouraged the elderly to stay physically and mentally well, as well as urging them to participate in community activities and enjoy their golden years together.

Learn more about FUN! Fund at https://www.cf.org.sg/fun-fund/.

 

The programme provides the children with a non-threatening platform to connect with peers and have positive conversations. In addition, it exposes them to different people who can assist to broaden their perspectives.

L.S., a volunteer with the Reading Odyssey programme @ Spooner Road

中心“常胜将军”胡锦盛:比赛限时反应要快

现年92岁的胡锦盛是最年长的参赛者。自2017年退休后,他几乎每天都到活跃乐龄中心报到,从此爱上了玩拉密,每次可玩上三个小时,在中心是“常胜将军”。

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Events

CFS Philanthropy Forum 2019: Looking to the future of community philanthropy

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A diverse crowd attentively observes a conference presentation, engrossed in the speaker's discourse.

At the CFS Philanthropy Forum 2019 held on 18 March, over 100 guests – including donors, charities and partners – gathered to hear from leaders and experts on what lies ahead for community philanthropy.

Headlining the evening was keynote speaker Eileen Heisman, President and CEO of National Philanthropic Trust (NPT), the largest independent donor advised fund (DAF) administrator in the United States. In her dynamic speech, Eileen – a founding member of CFS’s international advisory committee – shared NPT’s amazing journey to raising more than US$13 billion in charitable contributions, and encouraged all in attendance to rise to the challenge of taking local philanthropy to new heights.

Following her speech, Eileen was joined by Dr June Lee, Honorary Research Fellow, Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship & Philanthropy (ACSEP) at the National University of Singapore, and moderator Laurence Lien, Chairman of CFS, in an engaging panel discussion on how DAFs enable smarter, better giving by helping donors give more thought to the purpose of their charitable dollars.

Referring to how DAFs are gaining rising interest in Asia, Eileen commented, “A lot of people have chosen donor advised funds because they want something that’s easy, turnkey, relatively inexpensive and can be adapted to changing interests. Donors have many different types of philanthropic goals, so with a DAF, they can shape the fund according to their preferences and they can change their giving focuses over time.”

June noted DAFs offered specific advantages for families looking to give. “In a recent research paper published by ACSEP, we found that one of the biggest question families ask is ‘how do we engage family members in our giving?’” Setting up a DAF allows a founder to set aside funds for philanthropy without burdening his or her children financially, she adds, while also allowing flexibility down the line when a founder’s children wish to pursue to a different charitable cause from their parents.

Remarking on the opportunities ahead for community philanthropy, Eileen cited the growth of two major trends: micro donor advised funds targeting millennials, and new services enabling direct payroll deductions into donor advised funds. “These trends will change the face of donor advised funds as we go forward,” she said.

She challenged CFS to tap on these wider trends to expand its offerings, “As someone who’s very much invested in CFS’s success, I would like to see CFS be creative and thoughtful about expanding the horizon for donors and the community of Singapore to express their philanthropy in different and new ways.”

In his closing remarks, Laurence commented, “It’s clear DAFs are a trend that can’t be turned back. DAFs are there for us to use, to promote, and the only direction is up.”

The evening ended on a poignant note as CFS announced the handover of its chairmanship from Laurence to Christine Ong who takes over as Chairman on 1 April.

Indeed, CFS has come full circle and we are so grateful for the guidance, trust and support we have received over the last decade.

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The competition was organised by City Harvest Community Services Association and received support from FUN! Fund, a Community Impact Fund jointly established by the Community Foundation of Singapore and the Agency for Integrated Care, with the aim of addressing social isolation among the elderly.

Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of National Development Mr Tan Kiat How attended the event. He encouraged the elderly to stay physically and mentally well, as well as urging them to participate in community activities and enjoy their golden years together.

Learn more about FUN! Fund at https://www.cf.org.sg/fun-fund/.

 

The programme provides the children with a non-threatening platform to connect with peers and have positive conversations. In addition, it exposes them to different people who can assist to broaden their perspectives.

L.S., a volunteer with the Reading Odyssey programme @ Spooner Road

中心“常胜将军”胡锦盛:比赛限时反应要快

现年92岁的胡锦盛是最年长的参赛者。自2017年退休后,他几乎每天都到活跃乐龄中心报到,从此爱上了玩拉密,每次可玩上三个小时,在中心是“常胜将军”。

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Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.

News

CFS wins two awards at the Charity Transparency and Governance Awards 2019

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CFS posing with their awards at the Charity Transparency and Governance Awards 2019

CFS wins two awards at the Charity Transparency and Governance Awards 2019: The Charity Governance Award – Special Commendation for Governance and Management – and the Charity Transparency Award

CFS is honoured to have won the Charity Governance Award – Special Commendation for Governance and Management – as well as the Charity Transparency Award. Conferred by the Charity Council, we were privileged to be amongst a select line-up of outstanding charities that were recognised for exemplary disclosure and transparency practices at the Charity Governance Awards dinner on 3 December 2019.

About the Charity Transparency and Governance Awards 2019

 A total of 67 charities, including CFS, were conferred the Charity Transparency and Governance Awards for their overall excellent transparency and governance practices.

In addition, CFS was among the seven charities that won the Charity Governance Award

The Charity Transparency Award was first launched in 2016, to recognise charities with good disclosure practices that the Charity Transparency Framework recommends.

Inaugurated in 2012, the Charity Governance Award recognises charities  that have adopted the highest standards of governance, in line with the Code of Governance for Charities and IPCs. 

Exemplary governance and management practices

CFS is governed by a board of eminent professionals, selected via a rigorous process, who serve pro bono. They work closely with CFS’s management to steer the organisation in realising our strategic vision.  Our Board has set up several committees, with recognised experts as members, to ensure the organisation is run optimally with transparency, aligned with our mission and purpose. Since our inception, CFS has continuously invested significant resources to exceed expectations in governance, compliance and management. Part of the training process for board and staff is to highlight the importance of acting according to the highest standards. 

Sharing our lessons

Over the past years, our Board and staff have worked hard to ensure that we maintain these high standards across the organisation and in daily work. CFS’s steady growth in the last decade is testament to the trust donors and partners have placed on us, as well as the dedication of our staff.

CFS is honoured to attain this accolade and will be happy to share our experience other charities going forward. We found it especially useful to work closely with our auditors, who have provided valuable guidance and support. Charities can also draw on the helpful resources provided by the Commissioner of Charities and the Charity Council in Singapore, which we highly recommend. 

Looking ahead 

We are thankful to our partners and donors who trust our professional expertise to meet their giving goals. We are so grateful to our Board of Directors and committee members for their dedicated oversight and support.

“Ours is a business built on trust.  Good governance is integral to our success and that of our stakeholders. We will not rest on our laurels but continue to improve and innovate to ensure continued confidence in CFS,” said Catherine Loh, CEO, CFS.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit dolor

The competition was organised by City Harvest Community Services Association and received support from FUN! Fund, a Community Impact Fund jointly established by the Community Foundation of Singapore and the Agency for Integrated Care, with the aim of addressing social isolation among the elderly.

Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of National Development Mr Tan Kiat How attended the event. He encouraged the elderly to stay physically and mentally well, as well as urging them to participate in community activities and enjoy their golden years together.

Learn more about FUN! Fund at https://www.cf.org.sg/fun-fund/.

 

The programme provides the children with a non-threatening platform to connect with peers and have positive conversations. In addition, it exposes them to different people who can assist to broaden their perspectives.

L.S., a volunteer with the Reading Odyssey programme @ Spooner Road

中心“常胜将军”胡锦盛:比赛限时反应要快

现年92岁的胡锦盛是最年长的参赛者。自2017年退休后,他几乎每天都到活跃乐龄中心报到,从此爱上了玩拉密,每次可玩上三个小时,在中心是“常胜将军”。

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News

Social Space issue 8: Collective philanthropy – the strength of giving together

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a two page write up regarding Collective Pilantrophy

By Rob John
“Giving to charity has never been a solitary activity in any culture. People have joined together to give for millennia. In Asia, clan associations, religious groups or just friends have enjoyed the benefits of giving as a group. But there appears to be a renaissance of collective giving with the advent of more organised, strategic and outcome-focused philanthropy. At the Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy (ACSEP) where I am presently based, our research team’s curiosity about giving circles was first piqued when investigating the nature of innovation in Asian philanthropy in 2012. In that study, we reported several initiatives where individuals pooled their resources and jointly selected a non-profit organisation to fund. Since then, the number and variety of giving circle models have increased across the region, leading me to believe that giving circles will contribute significantly to the development of philanthropy in Asia over the coming decade.”

Read more about ‘Collective Philanthropy, the Strength of Giving Together’ on Pg 19 of Issue 8 of Social Space.

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News

Donations to CFS increased by 60% over the past two years

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Over two years, the number of Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) managed by the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) has increased from 162 to 235, and total donations received since inception has risen from $192 million to $311 million. As of 31 December 2023, CFS has disbursed over $169 million in grants, a big jump from the $114 million disbursed as of 31 March 2021. 

Speaking to Zaobao, CEO Ms Catherine Loh, shared that one reason for the significant increase in donations was due to a few large donations exceeding $10 million over the past three years. She also highlighted the introduction of Legacy Giving by CFS, and the organisation’s efforts to work more closely with financial and legal advisors to promote philanthropy. Notably, about 15% of CFS’s DAFs are memorial in nature, including the recently established Adrian Tan Memorial Fund in 2023. 

Learn more about our DAFs at https://cf.org.sg/donors/donor-advised-funds/.

截至2023年12月31日,新加坡社区基金会发放的善款超过1亿6900万元,比截至2021年3月31日的超过1亿1400万元多,造福更多人。(档案照片)

Over two years, the number of Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) managed by the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) has increased from 162 to 235, and total donations received since inception has risen from $192 million to $311 million. As of 31 December 2023, CFS has disbursed over $169 million in grants, a big jump from the $114 million disbursed as of 31 March 2021. 

Speaking to Zaobao, CEO Ms Catherine Loh, shared that one reason for the significant increase in donations was due to a few large donations exceeding $10 million over the past three years. She also highlighted the introduction of Legacy Giving by CFS, and the organisation’s efforts to work more closely with financial and legal advisors to promote philanthropy. Notably, about 15% of CFS’s DAFs are memorial in nature, including the recently established Adrian Tan Memorial Fund in 2023. 

Learn more about our DAFs at https://cf.org.sg/donors/donor-advised-funds/.

过去两年多,新加坡社区基金会管理的慈善基金从162个增至235个,善款从1亿9200万元提高到3亿1100万元,增约六成,显示国人对慈善的意识不断提高。

截至2023年12月31日,新加坡社区基金会(The Community Foundation of Singapore,简称基金会)发放的善款超过1亿6900万元,比截至2021年3月31日的超过1亿1400万元多,造福更多人。

新加坡社区基金会总裁罗佩仪答复《联合早报》询问时说,过去三年,基金会接到几个超过1000万元的慈善基金,这是善款增加的其中原因。

另一原因是因为基金会积极推广遗赠项目,并且与财务专员和律师更紧密合作,让更多人认识基金项目,所以取得积极成效。

基金会在2008年成立,通过可持续、妥善和具透明度的方式,协助个人、家庭或企业设立或管理慈善基金。

捐款者能以自己、家人或公司名义设立基金,或为逝者设立基金。遗赠可包括现金、提名基金会为受益人的保险赔付或公积金存款,以及有价证券或房地产等。

捐赠者可指定受惠者,基金会将与相关慈善团体配对,制定有效的行善策略。

基金会与超过400个慈善伙伴合作,协助对象广泛,包括孩童、年长者、客工或社会边缘人,援助范围包括医疗、教育、艺术和动物福利等。

罗佩仪说,基金会管理的“捐献者指示基金”(Donor Advised Funds)分三类,一种是捐赠基金(Endowment fund),慈善资产将永久保存在社区基金会并进行投资,投资收益直接用在所选择支持的慈善机构和项目。

第二种属于流转基金(Flow-Through Fund),在特定时期内支持个人选定、所喜爱的慈善机构和项目,占总指示基金约75%。另一种是可投资流转基金(Investible Flow-Through Fund),捐款用于投资,投资回报和本金都可用于个人选择的慈善事业。

 

捐献者指示基金 目前最大款项超过2000万元

 

在捐献者指示基金中,目前款项最大的超过2000万元,而总指示基金也有约15%属于纪念性质的基金,包括去年设立的陈锦海纪念基金。

她说,陈锦海纪念基金是陈锦海妻子为了向亡夫致敬,并支持他生前热衷的慈善事业而设的。

“纪念基金是缅怀亲人的绝佳方式。我们当中的许多人都是读陈锦海的书长大的,很荣幸能与陈太太合作向他致敬。陈锦海纪念基金确保他的遗赠得以延续,支持他生前关心的公益事业。”

罗佩仪也指出,可投资流转基金是一种新的基金类型,“我们看到捐助者的需求不断增加,他们希望利用捐款投资获取回报,并灵活使用捐款和投资回报,支持所选择的慈善机构。”

 

已故前总统纳丹生前设立“纳丹教育提升基金”

 

已故前总统纳丹于2011年卸下总统职务时,通过社区基金会,以他的名义设立“纳丹教育提升基金”。

属于捐赠基金的纳丹教育提升基金,两年多前累积逾1000万元资金。

纳丹生前委任一个拨款咨询委员会,负责就基金可支持的项目提供建议,通过助学金、奖学金,以及各项经济援助计划,支持工艺教育局以下工艺教育学院和高等教育学府的贫困学生顺利升学。纳丹2016年逝世,享年92岁。

 

信用:联合早报©新报业媒体有限公司。复制需要许可

This article was originally published in Zaobao here. Source: Zaobao © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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