Events

CFS Celebrates 15 Years of Enabling Philanthropy

Events

Home Resources Events CFS Celebrates 15 Years of Enabling Philanthropy

Events

CFS Celebrates 15 Years of Enabling Philanthropy

March 22, 2024

On 14th February 2024, CFS marked its 15th Anniversary with a Chinese New Year “Lohei” (Prosperity Toss) celebration. The event was graced by Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, and Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and gathered nearly 160 donors, charity partners, and business associates, both longstanding and new.

As a community foundation, we aspire to champion effective philanthropy with purposeful and informed givers, to uplift lives and catalyse positive change. We want to build communities that care and thrive together.

Ms Catherine Loh, CEO of CFS

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Set up during the covid-19 pandemic, Sayang Sayang Fund raised $9.7m over three years, supporting over 400,000 lives
应疫情设立 Sayang Sayang基金三年筹970万元惠及40万人

Unveiling the Sayang Sayang Fund Report was a great way to mark our 15th year, as it displayed the power of collective impact and love for our community. Established as an emergency response fund at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to support vulnerable groups, the Sayang Sayang Fund (SSF) impacted the lives of over 401,000 beneficiaries in Singapore. In a span of three years, an impressive $9.7 million was raised, showcasing the remarkable generosity and willingness of the community to offer their support.

As a philanthropic advisor and grantmaker, CFS links donors with well-governed charities that champion the causes closest to their hearts, to offer funding for beneficiaries to thrive. Two SSF grantees, ITE and Care Corner Singapore, shared about their programmes for lower-income students and children with learning difficulties and special needs respectively. Guests were then charmed by a captivating performance by two talented scholars from The TENG Company, which is also a CFS grantee for their Music for Wellness and Comfort initiative. 12-year-old Li Zhixin took command of the stage with a melodic piece on the Ruan, while Ee Anzhi, aged 11, held the audience in awe by masterfully sustaining a long tone on the Dizi using the highly challenging technique of circular breathing.

As the luncheon drew to a close, Ms Radha Basu, Senior Director of the Centre of Applied Philanthropy (CAP) at CFS invited donors and partners to participate in The Collective for a Stronger Society. Convened by CFS in partnership with MFS and Community Chest, the Collective will bring together donors, non-profits, public and private organisations to offer a coordinated series of cross-sector programmes and initiatives to uplift, enable and empower lower-income families. Find out more here.

We extend our gratitude to everyone who contributed to making this event a successful and memorable one. Here’s to many more years of impactful giving!

Related Topics For You: ACCESSING QUALITY EDUCATION, ARTS & HERITAGE, CENTRE FOR APPLIED PHILANTHROPY, CHARITY STORIES, CHILDREN, COLLECTIVE FOR A STRONGER SOCIETY (CSS), COLLECTIVES, COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND, DONOR STORIES, EVENTS, FAMILIES, PARTNERSHIP STORIES, SAYANG SAYANG FUND, VIDEO, YOUTH

News

The Straits Times – Fund marks 20 years of marriage for couple

John Doe

About six months before Ms Trina Liang-Lin’s 20th wedding anniversary on June 2016, she mulled over how to make the occasion meaningful.

“My husband and I did not want just another party,” said Ms Liang-Lin, 47, managing director of investment research consulting firm Templebridge Investments.

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She is married to Mr Ed Lin, 49, partner and director of the Singapore office of Bain & Company, a global management consultancy.

The couple have no children.

“We wanted to do something meaningful that can last beyond a party,” she added.

Her friend Laurence Lien, chairman of the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS), suggested she organise regular donations to charity under a common fund, which the foundation could help to run. “We liked the idea. It saves us the work and resources needed to set up a private foundation,” she said.

In early 2016, the Lin Foundation was set up under the umbrella of the CFS with a six-figure sum, she said.

The fund has given money to the Singapore Committee for UN Women, a non-profit organisation that promotes women’s empowerment and gender equality, of which Ms Liang-Lin is the president.

The committee supports the work of UN Women, the United Nations body that promotes gender equality and fights discrimination against women. The fund has also given money to the Singapore Management University, the Singapore Repertory Theatre and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

These were causes that she picked when the fund was set up.

On more younger, wealthy people like her setting up charity funds, Ms Liang-Lin said: “Increasingly, people are realising that they don’t have to wait till they are older or richer to give back and make an impact.”
Read more.

Photo: The Straits Times

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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: ACCESSING QUALITY EDUCATION, ARTS & HERITAGE, CENTRE FOR APPLIED PHILANTHROPY, CHARITY STORIES, CHILDREN, COLLECTIVE FOR A STRONGER SOCIETY (CSS), COLLECTIVES, COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND, DONOR STORIES, EVENTS, FAMILIES, PARTNERSHIP STORIES, SAYANG SAYANG FUND, VIDEO, YOUTH

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Stories Of Impact

Over $9 million raised for CFS’s Sayang Sayang Fund benefitting over 130,000 beneficiaries

John Doe

The Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) launched the Sayang Sayang Fund (SSF) in Feb 2020 as an emergency response fund, aimed to benefit Singapore’s underserved communities impacted by COVID-19.

As a result of the keen generosity from Singapore’s general public, over $9 million had been raised, enabling the SSF to expand its scope to support nine initiatives to ensure that the most vulnerable in Singapore’s communities did not fall through the cracks. This was made possible through CFS’s highly proficient understanding of grantmaking and close collaboration with our valued community partners. This was swiftly translated into impact supporting 298 grantee organisations and 136,000 beneficiaries.

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“It is with great pleasure that we thank all our partners and donors for their unwavering generosity in such times of adversity. CFS is honored to have brought together so many people from all walks to life to help those most vulnerable in need.

Without everyone’s support, neither the Sayang Sayang Fund nor its initiatives would have been birthed. We are humbled and proud of the part that CFS has played to be able to be in such a privileged position to do what we did,’’ says Joyce Teo, Deputy CEO of CFS.

Some of the initiatives that were supported by the SSF included SeniorsOK@Home, which provided relief to seniors unable to leave their homes because of social distancing measures, Recess@Home, which provided meal subsidies for needy students during their Home Based Learning (HBL) period and MigrantsOK@Home, which extended care towards our migrant workers in the form of free top-ups in their prepaid cards to call their loved ones at home.

The emergency response funds were able to reach recipients promptly due to the Fund’s nimbleness, alongside the combined efforts of informal grassroots networks and community groups outside of the regular charitable bureaucratic systems.

A summary on the SSF funds disbursed so far

CFS aims to disburse all of the donations raised to our allocated partners and beneficiaries. To date, over $7 million has been disbursed. The charity partners were required to provide a comprehensive report on how these funds were used and whether they were fully utilised.

Giving relief to migrant workers

CFS worked with Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME), Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) to provide funding for our migrant workers, whose assistance has been invaluable and support to this community would not have been possible without their help.

In total, $200,000 had been disbursed by the MigrantsOK@Home initiative through our partners, benefitting 90,000 migrant workers with care packages and free prepaid top ups.

“We are very happy to have CFS partner with us to support our migrant workers in the factory-converted dormitories,” says MWC Chairman Yeo Guat Kwang. “We are really very thankful to everyone for giving a helping hand to our migrant workers in this challenging time.”

Aiding the elderly with AIC

More than $1.5 million was also disbursed to seniors for assistance through the SSF through the SeniorsOK@Home initiative, who received immediate aid, food supplies, necessities and medical supplies.

CFS collaborated closely with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) and other agencies to distribute relief to this particularly vulnerable community. Much needed funding was delivered to nursing homes and other community care providers to enhance precautionary measures during the pandemic, and also to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the staff and residents of more than 90 community healthcare organisations.

300 infrared thermometers were also developed and distributed by CFS through the initiative, and helped to reduce the manpower required for temperature taking at nursing homes, hospices and eldercare centers, where manpower was sorely lacking during the COVID19 period.

‘’During this period, it is important that we combine efforts with our partners to support seniors in a timely manner. The Sayang Sayang Fund, within a short time frame, has helped to channel significant and meaningful support for our Community Care partners and seniors,’’ says Tan Kwang Cheak, CEO, AIC.

Distributing meals to needy students with the Ministry of Education (MOE)

Much credit goes to CFS’s partnership with the Ministry of Education with the Recess@Home initiative. The persistent efforts of the dedicated civil servants in MOE shone through, as they worked tirelessly with CFS in disbursing funds to needy students in the fastest way possible.

More than $1.3 million has been disbursed through MOE to the Recess@Home initiative and helping more than 28,000 needy students to receive their meals. The subsidies were disbursed via top-ups to the students’ School Smartcard which students could use to purchase food and essential groceries at some hawker centres, food courts, minimarts, convenience stores and supermarkets.

“Thank you for helping us with our daily expenses during the circuit break period. It really helped our family financially as our parents do not have enough money to give us pocket money every day. Having this really helped us because sometimes we try to save the money our parents give us. We are really grateful because not many people have this opportunity.’’ said Primary 6 sisters, Liyana and Hanayani.

Putting a roof over the heads of rough sleepers with SafeSleep@Home

For the initiative SafeSleep@Home, almost $200,000 was disbursed to help more than 300 rough sleepers to find shelter during the circuit breaker period and obtain more permanent housing in the long term. The funds also went towards providing them with daily necessities and food supplies.

CFS has collaborated with four charity partners to provide temporary housing, overhead support, and home transition funds for over 300 individuals, including families. About 10 percent had successfully transitioned into long-term permanent housing, while the rest are in the process of doing so.

Other Community Grants disbursed by CFS

Through our community partner Filos Community Services, CARE packs were distributed to 250 vulnerable and isolated elderly and 50 low income families. These CARE packs contained tip sheets on hygiene, hand washing, use of masks, home exercises and helplines. Essentials such as antiseptic soaps, dettol, vitamin c, tissue packs, stretch bands or water bottles to be used for home exercises, thermometers, biscuits and milo, hand sanitizer and masks were also included.

CFS also supported community partner Petapis, and provided funds to purchase essentials to 4 of their residential welfare homes to mitigate the risks of the infection such as personal protective equipment (PPEs) and thermometers. 300 beneficiaries benefitted from the essentials that the funds provided.

“The Sayang Sayang Fund’s measure of success is not by how much it has raised, but by the number of smiles on the faces of all the people it has helped. I feel tremendous gratitude for our partners both government and community, who have come together so compassionately to give aid to those in Singapore who are most in need. Thank you for your steadfast efforts and generosity,’’ says Catherine Loh, CEO of CFS.

To find out more about Sayang Sayang Fund, please visit https://www.cf.org.sg/sayangsayangfund/

Related Topics For You: ACCESSING QUALITY EDUCATION, ARTS & HERITAGE, CENTRE FOR APPLIED PHILANTHROPY, CHARITY STORIES, CHILDREN, COLLECTIVE FOR A STRONGER SOCIETY (CSS), COLLECTIVES, COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND, DONOR STORIES, EVENTS, FAMILIES, PARTNERSHIP STORIES, SAYANG SAYANG FUND, VIDEO, YOUTH

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Opinion

Speech by Chairman Laurence Lien at CFS’s 10th anniversary celebrations

John Doe

Thank you all for joining us in this celebration.

CFS was first incorporated on 8 September 2008; hence our 10th birthday celebrations now. Lehman Brother collapsed on 15 September 2008, so we are also commemorating 10 years of the Global Financial Crisis.

I spoke of how we were born in bad times at our Chinese New Year luncheon in March. I will not repeat what I said, except to emphasise again how difficult it was to start up. It was difficult to hire, because we were a start-up doing something novel here. Donors didn’t want to talk to us. And there were even people in the sector who did not want us to exist, as they saw us as competition for funds.

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Surviving those early days was a minor miracle. I was there at the start so I have my war stories. Frankly, before I became the CEO of NVPC in 2008, the first job that then Chairman of NVPC, Stanley Tan, offered me was not the NVPC one, but to be the first CEO of CFS. I rejected it, and took the NVPC one instead. But little did I know that after the first six months, I was to do both jobs, and became the acting CEO for nearly four years.

So there we were at the start helping donors give strategically, bridging them with charities, providing donor advice, grantmaking expertise and back end administration. What we still do today.

Writing a cheque is not difficult at all; but giving well is. In my years at NVPC, I kept hearing from people that they wanted to give, but did not know how. They didn’t know where the social needs were, or how to assess charities and programmes. So we helped them, cut out the hassle and thereby increasing the joy of giving.

But being a good idea is not enough. People had to believe that we could do what we said we would. We spent the best of our first five years just building credibility. And 10 years on, I am very proud of what we have built.

Catherine has already mentioned the numbers. Let me just include two more. One, at least three of our donors have gone on to form their own foundations. This to me is a sign that we have helped these donors learn and mature, and we can let them go on to do greater things. Two, when we conducted a comprehensive ‘Donor and Grantee Perception Survey’ a few years back, we had very high donor satisfaction ratings – with 83% satisfaction rates and 93% saying that they would recommend CFS services to others. But satisfaction among our grantee charities was even better: 94% rated CFS as efficient and effective. This shows that we are able to be close to the charities and help them bridge effectively to our donors.

As someone who has been so actively involved in the growing CFS, I am extremely proud of what we have achieved in these 10 years.

To come this far, there are many people I would like to thank, especially those who were there during our early years:

Our first Chairman Stanley Tan who not only was the architect and founding chair of CFS for its first five years till 22 Aug 2013, but he was also single-handedly responsible for bringing in the first $15 million in pledges.
The other founding board members – J Y Pillay, David Lim, Mary Ann Tsao, Kwek Siew Jin. As a young start-up, donors would typically ask who is on the board. When we mention J Y Pillay, they would immediately say, okay, I know I can trust you.
All staff who have helped make CFS’s first 1,000 days, without whom, we could not possibly be successful I would like to single out two amongst us today. Yvonne Yu who joined us in January 2009 and Joyce Teo who joined us in March 2009.
All our donors, particularly our founding donors who gave us a chance like Stanley Tan and MILK Fund, William and Mary Bird, Simon Cheong and UBS. We also have in our midst Yeoh Keng Joon, Vivien Goh, Changi Airport Group, Ascendas-Singbridge and the family of former President S R Nathan, who have all been strong supporters of CFS for many years. In fact, Mr Nathan officially launched CFS in February 2009, and subsequently trusted us with his S R Nathan Education Upliftment Fund which is now over $10 million in size and has helped over 1000 students.
Our international advisory council members – Clare Brooks, Eileen Heisman, Anne Boyd and Bob Edgar. These people had so much experience, and they were incredibly generous to give us time to share and guide us. Whenever we had a difficult question, we would shoot it to one of them, and we would almost always get a detailed and insightful reply within 24 hours. They were simply amazing.

And the many others who came along and played their invaluable role in making us the success that we are today. Thank you all of you. This has truly been a community effort, and I am privileged to have been part of that journey.

What would the next 10 years look like for CFS? Moving forward, I believe there is still much work there needs to be done. I think CFS has only reached out to a small fraction of our addressable market. CFS has grown rapidly, but the number of people with significant means and who want to give strategically have increased substantially.

What is my own vision for CFS in 2028?

One, that we be at the forefront of community philanthropy, that we build this sense that the many communities in Singapore can come together to solve our own problems, without always looking to the government. I hope that in 2028, we will see mini community foundations in our neighbourhoods, in places like Toa Payoh, Queenstown and Punggol.

Two, that we have democratised giving. Giving is not only for the rich; everyone should and can give. I hope to see young adults start donor advised funds with us, at smaller amounts of commitment, and our collective funds grow with widespread contributions.

Three, I hope to see CFS raise $1 billion in donor funds, maybe not in 10 years’ time, but at some point in the future. I believe we are at an inflection point. As we grow legacy giving, we are planting seeds for growth that will bear fruit in the future. I hope to encourage Singaporeans to give when we are alive and able to enjoy giving.

But this is my own vision. Over the next few months, we will be transitioning to a new chair. We already know who the new chair is but will announce only a little later. So the new chair, together with the board, will develop and own the vision for the next 10 years. I can only step back and cheer them on.

All I know is this. CFS has come so far. Moving forward, CFS is well-positioned to continue to grow from strength to strength. We count on you present today, to continue journeying with us, to grow this community of givers. We all are part owners of CFS because we are all the part of the Singapore community. Be engaged. Broaden and deepen our community. Give more. And invite me back in 2028.

Thank you.

Laurence Lien
Chairman
Community Foundation of Singapore

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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

中心“常胜将军”胡锦盛：比赛限时反应要快

Related Topics For You: ACCESSING QUALITY EDUCATION, ARTS & HERITAGE, CENTRE FOR APPLIED PHILANTHROPY, CHARITY STORIES, CHILDREN, COLLECTIVE FOR A STRONGER SOCIETY (CSS), COLLECTIVES, COMMUNITY IMPACT FUND, DONOR STORIES, EVENTS, FAMILIES, PARTNERSHIP STORIES, SAYANG SAYANG FUND, VIDEO, YOUTH

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Stories Of Impact

#MyGivingJourney x Hauw Soo Hoon: Insuring the future for vulnerable students

John Doe

#MyGivingJourney is a series by CFS to celebrate women and their work in philanthropy. This story features Hauw Soo Hoon, Programme Director at Ulu Pandan Stars and a member of CFS’s Programmes & Grants Committee.

Hauw Soo Hoon has always loved mathematics. So when she discovered some students in her estate were struggling with the subject, getting just 15 marks out of 100, her heart plummeted. She wanted to help them and even get them to love numbers. An opportunity came through her grassroots contacts who were looking for someone to helm a programme to tutor children from rental flats and troubled families.

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That was in 2008 and the qualified actuary had just retired after a 30-year career in the insurance industry, which included senior roles at the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Great Eastern Life Assurance. Together with five volunteers, Soo Hoon started up Ulu Pandan Stars (UP Stars), an initiative of the PAP Community Foundation and Ulu Pandan Citizen Consultative Committee.

UP Stars began with maths tuition but classes have since expanded to reading, phonics, science and computer applications. It also runs non-academic activities such as sports, social-emotional learning and digital literacy. Every year, UP Stars have about 60 students and its pool of volunteers has swelled to 110. Most are youths from tertiary institutions.

Soo Hoon was blown away by the commitment and big-heartedness of these young Singaporeans. “But having a good heart is not enough. You need to equip them with skills or you will have volunteer fatigue,” she says. She brings her wealth of public and corporate sector experience of managing teams, developing talent and running an organisation to UP Stars. Volunteers, meanwhile, come away learning about project management, human resources, leadership – as well as empathy.

“Our youth volunteers truly understand what poverty means and how education is no longer a social leveller,” says Soo Hoon. Her fervent hope is that her volunteers become future leaders who are compassionate and that the ones who choose public service roles will create sound policies that benefit the vulnerable in society.

Aside from UP Stars, Soo Hoon is on the board of the Special Needs Trust Company (SNTC), a charity that provides affordable trust services for people with special needs. She also serves on the Medishield Life Council and the CPF Advisory Panel, besides being a partner at iGlobe Partners, a venture capital company. For her services with SNTC, Soo Hoon received the 2019 MSF Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Soo Hoon and her husband also give back regularly with the help of CFS. The couple decided to donate via CFS as it can pinpoint causes that best fit a donor’s area of interest. “CFS can also identify charities which are under-resourced as they will check on reserves and funding and do the necessary due diligence,” she adds. “When there is proper matching, giving back becomes more fulfilling and effective.” While education is the focus of their giving, they have also donated generously to support needy families.

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

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.