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Including the Excluded: Everyone Plays a Part

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Including the Excluded: Everyone Plays a Part

John Doe

Through working and volunteering in the non-profit sector, I often meet people living in dire circumstances. I vividly remember one incident while distributing breakfast to families living in public rental units. Speaking in simple English, the mother thanked us profusely for the warm porridge and noodles – generously contributed by a donor – so the money saved could go towards their monthly transport.

Giving goes a long way. But recognising and acknowledging the realities of those in need may be just as important.

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Speaking after the association’s annual general meeting at Kallang Netball Centre on Friday, Liang-Lin, a fund manager for a US$7 billion (S$9.5 billion) firm focused on green real estate investments in Asia, hopes to bring her expertise to the table and increase the amount of financial support for Singapore netball during her four-year term.

Look around the world and it is not hard to see how the unmet needs of marginalised groups can lead to tension and ruptures in the social fabric. In Singapore, social exclusion and by default, inclusion, has become a hot subject – not the least because of our incredibly diverse society, aging population and the widening inequality.

Responding to these challenges require us to think more deeply and tangibly about the ways we respond to the disenfranchised. I believe developing empathy and simply taking time to understand the challenges of others, will play a critical first step.

I was encouraged to see in a 2016 study of Singaporeans’ attitudes towards social inclusion, that many saw the importance of ‘celebrating diversity’ and making a greater effort to understand vulnerable groups; be it the disabled, the mentally ill, migrant workers or disadvantaged households. The message is clear: we all play a part in making Singapore more inclusive.

At the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS), it is our mission to identify underserved needs – and then empower donors to give meaningfully to meet them. In this issue of Change Matters, I’m happy to share several developments that will enable you to contribute to a wide range of social causes.

You might have seen the recent news about the launch of the LIFT (Learning Initiatives for Employment) Community Impact Fund. LIFT supports programmes that provide vocational training, social support and suitable job placements in the open market for disadvantaged persons. Through LIFT, you’ll be able to help people with disabilities, persons recovering from mental illnesses, disadvantaged women and youth-at-risk to make a better life.

We also highlight the incredible dedication of HOME (or the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics). Amidst the challenges, HOME has steadfastly championed the well-being of migrant workers in Singapore over the last decade. Learn about how your support to CFS’s Migrants Emergency Assistance and Support (MEANS) Fund helps HOME provide vital financial assistance in a migrant worker’s time of crisis.

With your continued support, I believe we can help to foster a sense of belonging and empathy towards those who have less, enabling them greater opportunities to participate meaningfully in our society.

Joseph Lua

Assistant Director

Community Foundation of Singapore

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John Doe

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”。

Related Topics For You: CHARITY STORIES, COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND, DONOR STORIES, FAMILIES, IMPROVING EMPLOYABILITY, INCLUSIVITY & INTEGRATION, LEARNING INITIATIVES FOR EMPLOYMENT, MENTAL WELLBEING, MIGRANTS EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT, NEWS, OPINION, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, SENIORS, STORIES OF IMPACT, YOUTH

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News

All about legacy giving

John Doe

LEGACY giving is not the prerogative of the ultra-wealthy alone. That is the mindset the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) wants to inculcate with its latest movement – the Legacy Giving Initiative (LGI) – which was launched by a campaign called A Greater Gift last November.

According to a Social Pulse survey, while the majority of respondents (83 per cent) flagged awareness on what legacy giving is, only 33 per cent considered legacy as a means of giving, and just 3 per cent indicated they would take action.

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Legacy gifts can be broadly defined as planned, future donations to charities, which include cash, marketable securities, insurance payouts, and CPF monies. Those looking to support a cause over a period of years can establish a donor-advised fund (DAF) with organisations such as CFS to manage grant distributions. Now, about six months after the Legacy Giving Initiative was launched, CFS is shifting into the knowledge phase of its initiative.

CFS chairperson Christine Ong said the foundation “will drive this phase by engaging with prospects and partners, conducting targeted research to gather data insights, and building formal alliances with multipliers”.

“The digitally-led campaign, A Greater Gift, has introduced people from different walks in life in Singapore to legacy giving,” she said.

CFS’ microsite on legacy giving has reached out to three key audiences – individuals, professional advisers and charities – receiving over 33,000 page views from 19,000 visitors since its launch and offering information on legacy giving.

Radio spots were also featured in the campaign, reaching over 1.3 million people.

Gregory Vijayendran, the president of The Law Society of Singapore, said that for the gift-giver, legacy giving has four advantages.

First, it allows the donor to give their own voice to their unique personality, values and beliefs for a cherished cause. Secondly, it creates a meaningful memorial to perpetuate the legacy of the donor, he said. Thirdly, it positively impacts subsequent generations through sustained giving. And, lastly, he said it deepens and lengthens the connection between the charity and the donor.

Ms Ong is keen to build on the momentum gained so far. She said that donors’ profiles with CFS have evolved over the last 12 years since it was set up.

“The younger generation is more interested to identify problems, or be more involved with understanding the issues and identifying the cause before they decide to set up a fund,” she said.

CFS is looking into ways to measure the social impact of the research programme.

“We hope to see how this can be done on a more standardised national level. We want donors to be more focused on the impact of their giving and, at the same time, allow charities to upscale, to make them better stewards to their donors,” said Ms Ong.

“CFS will be sharing knowledge on legacy giving, to empower and enable more individuals to plan and make legacy gifts. In addition, we will work with professional advisers by providing them with resources to help them ignite conversations with clients, and share its knowledge on legacy giving, as well as the potential of DAF, to empower and enable more individuals to plan and make legacy gifts.”

To date, CFS has cultivated over 400 professional advisers and charity representatives, through online events, seeding a network of conversation starters and multipliers for legacy giving.

Ms Ong said the aim is to send the broader message that “everyone can give”.

“Giving is not about the amount and you can start at any stage of your life. For those who can set up their own DAF, they can make a pledge – we will take pledges of S$200,000 and create funds for them,” she said.

“Regardless of one’s background and lifestyle, everyone can play a part in the shared ambition for a fairer and more sustainable Singapore.”

This article was originally published in The Business Times here. Source: The Business Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction

To find out more about Legacy Giving, kindly visit our Legacy Giving website or contact us here.

Related Topics For You: CHARITY STORIES, COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND, DONOR STORIES, FAMILIES, IMPROVING EMPLOYABILITY, INCLUSIVITY & INTEGRATION, LEARNING INITIATIVES FOR EMPLOYMENT, MENTAL WELLBEING, MIGRANTS EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT, NEWS, OPINION, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, SENIORS, STORIES OF IMPACT, YOUTH

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Stories Of Impact

The S.S. Jhunjhnuwala Charity Fund: Honoring a Father’s Legacy

John Doe

For CFS donor Mr Surya Jhunjhnuwala, the late patriarch Shyam Sundar Jhunjhnuwala who founded the Hind Group, was a devoted father and man of vision, passing on to his children the values of humility, hard work and honesty. These principles were ingrained into them at a young age and have guided his family through both good and challenging times.

The S.S. Jhunjhnuwala Charity Fund was set up by the Hind Group to honour him. The Fund, managed by The Community Foundation of Singapore, is proof that S.S. Jhunjhnuwala’s legacy lives on, its grants supporting welfare initiatives and underprivileged women.

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Mr Jhunjhnuwala was also a forward thinking visionary of his time. He was a passionate believer that girls should receive equal opportunity, and that they should receive a good education. He was a mentor for one of the first all-girl schools in his ancestral home of Rajasthan, and this belief has also been entrusted and passed down to his children.

The S.S. Jhunjhnuwala Charity Fund believes that education is the most vital tool in unlocking the potential of children and young adults, hence its mission to provide students in Singapore with opportunities to achieve their potential and a chance to create for themselves a life they dream of.

The Fund currently provides two grants to the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). The first is the SS Jhunjhnuwala Naumi Hotel Bursary, given in perpetuity to female students who wish to pursue an education in the field of hospitality, created with the late patriarch’s vision of equal opportunities for women in mind.

The second grant is the VD Jhunjhnuwala Naumi Hotel Emergency Grant, which supports students facing unforeseen difficult situations and gives them a chance to continue their education. Over the years, they have also supported Gladiolus Place, Ramakrishna Mission-Boys’ Home and the Migrant Workers’ Centre.

‘’My father embodied the principle of honesty, and through his strong character and resolve he taught me the importance of consistent and conscious hard work. Our hope for the S.S. Jhunjhnuwala Charity Fund is to create a legacy of continuous service and impact. Giving back is at the core of our business, and a duty we take seriously. I fondly remember my father who taught me to live a life of integrity,’’ shares Mr Surya Jhunjhnuwala.

Learn more about our Donor advised funds here. If you would like to start your giving journey and provide support for the causes close to your heart, get in touch with us at contactus@cf.org.sg to find out how you can make an impact with your giving.

Related Topics For You: CHARITY STORIES, COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND, DONOR STORIES, FAMILIES, IMPROVING EMPLOYABILITY, INCLUSIVITY & INTEGRATION, LEARNING INITIATIVES FOR EMPLOYMENT, MENTAL WELLBEING, MIGRANTS EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT, NEWS, OPINION, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, SENIORS, STORIES OF IMPACT, YOUTH

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Events

International Women’s Forum Singapore: Empowering young women for a better future

John Doe

They may come from disadvantaged families, juggling work with school, but that has not stopped them from pursuing their dreams or even helping others. For this, ten young women were presented with the 2016 International Women’s Forum (IWF)’s Education Grants on 30 September.

Managed by the Community Foundation of Singapore, the IWF Education Grants support young women who are currently pursuing a diploma or degree in local polytechnics or universities but face challenges in continuing their studies due to financial difficulties. Many come from low income families and need to work to pay school fees or supplement their household income.

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Recipients are selected for their academic performance, as well as resilience and aspirations. During the selection process, the Education Grants Committee also highlighted that despite their difficult circumstances, many of the recipients still found time to give back to the community by taking part in voluntary work such as befriending the elderly and mentoring young children and teens.

At the dinner reception held at CapitaGreen and hosted by IWF Singapore leaders including Dr Aline Wong, Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Arfat Selvam, Saw Phaik Hwa, Chong Siak Ching, Carmee Lim, Goh Swee Chen and Doreen Liu, recipients and mentors mingled and exchanged anecdotes and advice. The young ladies also took to the floor to share their struggles with work and studies, for some the responsibility of caring for ill or unemployed parents and above all their unwavering quest for further education.

The IWF women leaders applauded the strength and determination shown by the recipients and invited them to be ambassadors at the IWF Singapore 20th Anniversary Conference in 2017 so that they can continue to be an inspiration to others. As part of the mentoring programme, IWF leaders will impart guidance, career counselling and life skills to empower these young ladies for the future.

At the 20th Anniversary Conference, the organisation hopes to raise $250,000 to enable and empower even more young women to change the outcomes of their lives as well as their families’.

About the International Women’s Forum

The International Women’s Forum is a singularly unique organisation comprised of more than 6,400 dynamic women leaders in 34 countries and 75 forums around the world. IWF members span careers, cultures and continents, however, they are wholly aligned in their commitment to building better global leadership.

Related Topics For You: CHARITY STORIES, COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND, DONOR STORIES, FAMILIES, IMPROVING EMPLOYABILITY, INCLUSIVITY & INTEGRATION, LEARNING INITIATIVES FOR EMPLOYMENT, MENTAL WELLBEING, MIGRANTS EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT, NEWS, OPINION, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, SENIORS, STORIES OF IMPACT, YOUTH

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Opinion

Teach a man to fish — and pay for the rod too

John Doe

We have all heard the popular proverb, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. Everyone agrees, but few pay for the fishing rod.

Successful businesses invest in skills, people and infrastructure. In the same vein, donors need to fund these areas for charities to deliver social impact.

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The challenge for charities
Donors often prefer funding programmes that support individual recipients directly over charitable overhead* expenses. This leads to negotiations for lower overhead costs or unwillingness to support programmes with high overhead costs. Many charities cave in to such expectations for fear of losing a potential funder.

Understandably, all donors want to achieve maximum impact for their gift, but reducing overheads is only good up to a point where the sustainability of the charity is not affected. All organisations incur manpower, training, rental and administrative costs at the very least. If charities are pressured to keep overhead costs unsustainably low, they will operate at sub-par levels and enter a vicious cycle of starvation.

At the Community Foundation of Singapore, we have learnt that when charities receive limited funding to cover overhead, service delivery is affected because charities have to divert resources to fundraise for the shortfall.

Honest conversations
There is growing recognition that efficiency is not determined by low overhead costs alone. Depending on the type of services or programmes, overhead can vary greatly across charities. For instance, a charity that distributes food rations via volunteers will have far lower overhead than a nursing home that hires skilled staff round-the-clock to provide care.

CFS works with its charity partners to present the true programme costs needed for social impact. With that in mind, we also work with donors to map out sustainable and impactful ways of giving.

We need to continue to have such conversations about true costs; the funding of overhead is just the tip of the iceberg in our search for sustainable social solutions.

Joyce Teo
Deputy CEO
Community Foundation of Singapore

*Overhead typically includes manpower, training, rental and administrative expenses.

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John Doe

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