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Feeling good about giving

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Opinion

Feeling good about giving

John Doe

It’s the season for giving and besides getting gifts for our loved ones, many of us will also be giving to charities we usually support.

But over the years, if you are wondering whether you are merely writing a cheque or really helping the needy, perhaps this is a good time to take stock. Gain a better understanding of who you are helping and the kind of difference you are making. Many of CFS’ donors start with this thought, and I am happy to share some tips that can help make your year-end giving more meaningful.

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Know your own motivations and resources
Consider your motivations and expectations when you donate. What prompts you to donate? What sort of impact are you expecting? How quickly do you want to see results? How much time can you set aside to learn more about a cause or social issue? These questions can help you to gain greater clarity on why you give, and whether your expectations are realistic.

If apart from donating, you would also like to volunteer, assess your ability to deliver by considering your time, money, commitment and expertise. Perhaps you would like to be on the organising committee of a fundraising event this year? Help the charity by being honest with yourself and with them.

Build your knowledge of social issues and collaborate
It’s always easy to give to causes that you are familiar with or are directly in front of you. But is your money going to where it is most needed? Instead, you can build your knowledge and learn more about current social problems or deep-rooted community issues that need support. Who knows, you may uncover fresh perspectives on how your money can better meet needs and still support a cause that resonates with your values. You can also gather a group of like-minded friends together to multiply the impact. When donors are willing to share knowledge and resources, redundancy is reduced, and funds can be directed more efficiently.

Adopt the mindset of a partner
Lastly, here are some things to keep in mind when working with charities. While some charities are able to provide a certain level of appreciation to donors, there are many that are under-resourced and face challenges in providing a satisfactory giving experience. If you are a customer to a for-profit business, you may give to a business with better service. But before you take your donation to another charity, do consider taking on the mindset of a partner rather than a customer.

If you assure the charity that you are interested in their real challenges rather than how well they keep things together on the outside, the charity can be honest about what they really need. As a result, you will gain a better insight into what it takes to make a meaningful change.

At CFS, we believe in giving that is marked by continuous learning and a true desire to make community better. Let’s make this giving season better than the last. Happy holidays!

Catherine Loh
CEO
Community Foundation of Singapore

Related Topics For You: CHARITY STORIES, DONOR STORIES, OPINION

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News

The Straits Times: Legacy of giving lives on

John Doe

In his final year as president, Mr S R Nathan – together with a few of his close friends – started discussing with me the idea of starting a philanthropic fund to help “uplift” children from poor families.

Coinciding with the launch of Mr Nathan’s memoir An Unexpected Journey: Path To The Presidency in 2011, the S R Nathan Education Upliftment Fund was established to provide financial support to disadvantaged young people by helping them complete their education.

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The Funding Network (TFN)

Despite Mr Nathan’s initial reluctance on naming the fund after himself (the humble and unassuming man that he was), we were glad he eventually relented, as it would help promote the concept of community ownership and inspire others to do the same.

Administered by the Community Foundation of Singapore, the fund has since supported close to 1,000 Institute of Technical Education, polytechnic and university students by providing them bursaries, scholarships and monthly financial assistance.

The fund resonated with Mr Nathan’s beliefs and conviction about giving and receiving kindness, which we witnessed first-hand while working with him to manage the grants.

He was always involved and would make time to meet the many recipients – getting to know them and their families. He would even follow up by sending handwritten notes of thanks and encouragement.

Mr Nathan has touched many young lives through this fund. His death leaves a void, but his legacy of giving lives on. I hope that in time to come, those whom he has helped will do the same by reaching out to help others.

Laurence Lien Tsung Chern
Chairman
Community Foundation of Singapore

Link to story: http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/legacy-of-giving-lives-on

Related Topics For You: CHARITY STORIES, DONOR STORIES, OPINION

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Opinion

5 Critical gaps in caring for vulnerable seniors in Singapore

John Doe

Singapore is fast reaching superaged status. Life expectancy is going up while the birth rate is heading south. By 2030 – not many years from where we are today – one in four Singaporeans will be 65 years or older. More worryingly, a fifth of that cohort will be over 80 (Population in Brief 2021).

Ageing well and quality of life are huge concerns for our elderly. The biggest challenges centre on health: physical frailty or disability, sensory impairment such as hearing loss, or chronic conditions such as dementia or diabetes. However, ageing is not just a matter of biophysical health. It is also about bolstering psychological, emotional and community support.

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Mental wellness issues, such as depression and loneliness, are a real threat to the older demographic. On top of this, many older Singaporeans worry about financial security, due to escalating care costs, inadequate retirement income and limited earning opportunities.

Many people prefer to age at home but that too has its challenges. In this article, we highlight the critical gaps in caring for vulnerable seniors and what can be done to support them so that ageing can be enabling, empowering and meaningful.

#1 Funding rising healthcare needs

Singapore’s healthcare expenses could jump tenfold between 2016 and 2030 to over $66 billion¹. Family is typically the first line of support but families are getting smaller and relationships may be estranged. Income caps also mean not everyone qualifies for government aid.

Even when fees are subsidized, low-income seniors may struggle with costs. Women, in particular, face more financial insecurity as they tend to have interrupted employment or be in low-wage or unpaid care work. Women also tend to outlive men and are more likely to be single, widowed or divorced in old age.

The burden lands on welfare organisations to meet the shortfall. However, causes that help the elderly don’t attract as much funding as say, education, which in Singapore receives the lion’s share of donations: in 2019, they accounted for 52.9% of total receipts of $20.8 billion (Commissioner of Charities 2020).

#2 Access to home care and assisted living

Letting people age at home or in the community and delaying institutional care is a universal goal. But as the number of seniors with mobility issues or age-related ailments increases, demand for home nursing, home therapy, meal deliveries, assistive devices and home safety and modification services (to prevent falls) will rise. There will also be a much bigger role for centre-based eldercare, such as day care, and initiatives for assisted living.

#3 Depression and suicide

Aside from physical ill health, many seniors grapple with loneliness, loss of loved ones or dependence on others. The number of elderly living alone doubled to 63,800 in 2020 from a decade ago and is set to hit 83,000 by 2030 (Singapore Department of Statistics).

According to the Samaritans of Singapore, the number of people aged 60 and above who took their own lives reached a high at 154 deaths in 2020. That’s a 26% increase from the year before and is the highest elderly suicide death rate since 1991². There is an urgent need to support charities that connect with seniors, organise social outings or wellness activities for them, offer intergenerational bonding or assist beneficiaries with their healthcare needs such as medical appointments and screenings.

#4 Dementia support

Dementia is our nation’s most prevalent neurodegenerative disease today, affecting one in 10 seniors. By 2030, the number of dementia patients is set to reach 92,000 – a doubling from 2015 (Dementia in the Asia Pacific Region). Dementia additionally imposes a huge burden on caregivers, many of whom are ageing themselves. We need more funding to support early diagnosis and intervention, community dementia care services such as exercise and cognitive activities as well as training and support for caregivers.

#5 End of life care

Discussions about death or end of life remain taboo. There is insufficient advance care planning as well as a lack of healthcare workers and expertise in the palliative care system. Better awareness and improved options for inpatient, home or day care hospice services are needed.

How CFS helps you do more with your giving

If you would like to help seniors who have fallen through the cracks or would like to make ageing more empowering and inclusive, we at CFS can align your giving goals with the needs of this community. We are a cause-neutral organisation that supports grantmaking to a wide range of charitable areas in Singapore. Of the 400-plus charities we evaluate and make grants to, close to 30% work with seniors. We partner with charities that focus on clearly identified problem areas or social gaps that are under-supported. Charities must also demonstrate measurable outcomes and good stewardship of funds.

A simple and cost-effective way to contribute to a variety of causes in Singapore is by setting up a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF). A DAF can be set up by an individual, a beneficiary of a will, a trust, or a family office. CFS will handle all fund administration and leverage our unparalleled insight into Singapore’s charitable landscape to provide philanthropy advice that ensures your giving is targeted, accountable and impactful. CFS strives to ensure that every grant that goes out creates positive change.

As a donor, you will save on legal expenses and enjoy upfront tax deductions at the prevailing rate on eligible donations. Donors will also receive regular statements tracking incoming donations to the DAF and outgoing disbursements to charities. CFS has an established track record when it comes to setting up DAFs and our DAF payout rates outperformed the entire US DAF industry by 12% and their community foundations by 2 times.

If you would like to begin your giving journey with CFS, get in touch with us.

This article was written by Sunita Sue Leng, a former financial analyst and journalist, who believes that the written word can be a force for good. She hopes to someday write something worth plagiarising.

¹ https://www.asiaone.com/health/elderly-health-costs-rise-tenfold-2030-report

² https://www.sos.org.sg/pressroom/singapore-reported-452-suicide-deaths-in-2020-number-of-elderly-suicide-deaths-highest-recorded-since-1991

Related Topics For You: CHARITY STORIES, DONOR STORIES, OPINION

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News

‘I thought I couldn’t go through any more of it’: Cancer patient gets help after insurer says ‘no’ to $33k bill

John Doe

Good Samaritans have stepped forward to help a cancer patient, who hopes to spend more quality time with her 15-year-old daughter while keeping the disease at bay.

The drug that Ms Koh Ee Miang, 45, needs to control the spread of her cancer is expensive, and her insurance company has refused to pay for it – leaving her with an outstanding bill of more than $33,000 for treatment carried out between November and January.

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Hard-pressed to pay for the drug, she stopped the treatment in January and reverted to basic chemotherapy. Her cancer markers jumped 50 per cent and her tumour grew.

Her oncologist, Dr Choo Su Pin of Curie Oncology, put her back on the targeted therapy treatment and offered to let her pay in instalments. Said Dr Choo: “The treatment works. Do I stop her medicine?”

The drug not only slows the spread of the cancer, it also reduces pain and has fewer side effects than chemotherapy.

Both patient and doctor were in a quandary over the high cost of the treatment after insurers rejected the claim.

Ms Koh is a housewife who says she hopes to take her 15-year-old daughter on a holiday to leave her with “happy memories” since the prognosis for her cancer, which is fourth stage, is not good – with only 2 per cent surviving five years.

The story of her plight in The Straits Times has resulted in several offers of help.

The Community Foundation of Singapore, set up in 2008 to encourage and enable philanthropy, reached out to the Emma Yong Fund – named after one of the stars of the musical cabaret group Dim Sum Dollies, who died of stomach cancer at the age of 36 – for help.

The Fund agreed to pay the $33,000 bill that was outstanding.

Fund administrator Selena Tan said though the fund was set up to help theatre practitioners, she was happy to extend the help to Ms Koh.

“Knowing Emma’s legacy and desire to help patients with cancer, it felt right to help cover 100 per cent of Ms Koh’s medical bills so that she can focus on her treatment and recovery, and not feel distressed by her bills,” she said.

Several readers also offered smaller sums to help defray the cost.

And AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company that produces the Enhertu drug she now needs, has offered to provide her with it. It costs about $10,000 per treatment. However, this is subject to certain compliance issues, which Dr Choo is hoping to resolve.

A grateful Ms Koh said: “Their kindness helps me feel less alone. And just when I thought I couldn’t go through anymore of it (it has been two years of chemotherapy treatment and its side effects), they help me push on in spite of weariness.”

She would like to thank all the “generous people whom I’ve never met” for their kind offers. She will not be accepting their offers, since help from the Emma Yong Fund and AstraZeneca is enough for her to continue with the treatment.

Ms Koh suffers from a rare cancer – human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2+) bile duct cancer – which afflicts about one in 3,500 cancer patients.

After it was diagnosed in June 2020, Dr Choo first put Ms Koh on standard chemotherapy treatment. When she stopped responding to the treatment, a second choice was used, but this too was not able to stop the spread of the cancer.

Oncologists say there are no standard treatments beyond this.

Dr Choo decided to put her on a drug that targets the HER2 protein, which causes cancers to spread much faster, to try to contain the disease. It worked.

But Great Eastern, the insurer with whom Ms Koh has a private hospital as-charged Integrated Shield Plan (IP), as well as a rider that pays the full cost of her portion of the bill, refused to pay for the new treatment.

GE said the IP contract has a clause saying it covers only drugs that have been approved for specific illnesses. The drug she was put on has only been approved by the Health Sciences Authority for HER+ breast cancer, and not for bile duct cancer.

More than a dozen oncologists The Straits Times spoke to said it is difficult to conduct large scale clinical trials for rare cancers – since patient numbers are low. And all said they do use drugs “off-label” – meaning the drug has been approved here, but not for that specific cancer, especially for the less common cancers.

Drug companies often feel the returns are not worth the cost and work required to seek approvals from regulators for such low numbers.

Dr Choo, who was chief of Gastrointestinal Oncology at National Cancer Centre Singapore before leaving for private practice in 2018, said there are some small-scale studies showing that the drug does work on the type of cancer Ms Koh has.

Insurers offering IP plans, which are integrated with MediShield Life, are divided on coverage of drugs which doctors think might help, but which are not specifically approved by the HSA.

At least three – AIA, Income and AXA – say they would cover such drugs. The Ministry of Health (MOH) said the basic MediShield Life national health insurance would also pay, subject to a monthly cap of $3,000.

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

Related Topics For You: CHARITY STORIES, DONOR STORIES, OPINION

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Stories Of Impact

#MyGivingJourney x Nadia Ahmad Samdin: Changing the game for giving  

John Doe

CFS’s #MyGivingJourney series portrays extraordinary women and their efforts in philanthropy. This story features Nadia Ahmad Samdin, CFS’s legacy giving ambassador and a woman who wears many hats.

Many who donate to charity often ask: For every dollar they give, what good actually comes of it? Nadia Ahmad Samdin believes increasingly, we will be able to answer that. In a world where tracking usage is commonplace – from our phone use to carbon footprint– a data-driven approach to philanthropy could be a game-changer. The Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) aligns with Nadia’s belief and strives to be a trustworthy organisation that is transparent and accountable.

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Nadia is Counsel & Project Leader at Tri-Sector Associates, a pioneering social enterprise that is finding innovative ways to solve complex social problems. In June 2021, Tri-Sector launched the first Social Impact Guarantee (SIG) with the Lorinet Foundation, TL Whang Foundation and the YMCA for its Vocational and Soft Skills Programme, which helps empower vulnerable youths. But here’s what’s pivotal: the SIG offers donors a money-back guarantee if targets are not met. This outcomes-based funding is relatively new but is gaining traction with impact-minded donors who focus on what works and are willing to provide capacity building support to charitable organisations, Nadia says.  

Community has defined Nadia’s life from a young age. She began volunteering when she was in secondary school and by her 20s, her calendar was full serving with community initiatives such as the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations, Lembaga Biasiswa Kenangan Maulud (an IPC), the South East Community Development Council and the National Youth Council.

After graduating from Singapore Management University, Nadia embarked on a career at TSMP Law Corporation. Her six years in corporate law taught her to “bridge divides, come up with creative solutions and put myself in others’ shoes to work towards outcomes which are mutually agreed upon”, she says.  

In 2020, she became a member of parliament for Ang Mo Kio GRC, making the 31-year-old one of Singapore’s youngest parliamentarians. Nadia has also served as a panel adviser to the Youth Court and worked with girls who have done reformative training. These diverse experiences have made her an authentic voice on issues close to her heart such as youths at risk, mental health, inequality and the environment.  During her free time, she also participates in marine clean-ups, including as a volunteer diver with Our Singapore Reefs, a ground-up initiative formed by marine biologists with an interest in coral conservation.  

Nadia is also a legacy giving ambassador for CFS’s A Greater Gift campaign, which is rallying Singaporeans to leave a legacy through planned charitable gifts. CFS works with donors to structure their giving so that people can leave insurance monies, CPF savings, marketable securities and even tangible assets to the causes they care deeply about.  

You don’t need to have very deep pockets to make a transformative and lasting impact, Nadia emphasises. “As someone who went to school with the help of financial assistance, I know how precious it is to be given an opportunity by someone who believes in you,” she says. “Everyone can make a difference,” says this young changemaker. “Start where you are, Use what you have, Do what you can.”

Begin your own journey of giving with CFS. Read more stories about the #MyGivingJourney series here. 