We are pleased to share that the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) Annual Report 2021 has been published. Download your copy here to learn more about the year’s highlights and our impact on the community.Even as the pandemic gripped our nation, we are humbled to report that – together with our donors, charities, and partners – CFS delivered a year of bold action and made tremendous progress on our mission to facilitate impactful giving.
Winning the Goh Soon Tioe Centenary Award in 2020 was a pleasant surprise for talented violinist Natalie Koh, who was not usually recognised for her solo performances and had to prepare for the Award’s audition just after last year’s circuit breaker without any formal instruction.“I am deeply honoured to have received the Goh Soon Tioe Centenary Award in 2020. Violin playing has always been something that I am very passionate about, although my growth and achievements have not always been a given,” says Natalie.
They were immigrants who became titans of industry and philanthropists in their own right. Now the legacies endowed by and named for some of Singapore’s richest tycoons – the Lee, Lien and Shaw foundations – continue to be some of the biggest givers to charity here.All three were among Singapore’s 10 largest philanthropic foundations, according to a report released last month.
Dr Chua, a retired doctor, 80, gave $1 million to start the Bamboo Lotus Fund with the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) in July after being inspired by another retiree’s donation of $1 million to start a charitable trust that he did the same thing.Describing himself as an “ordinary” general practitioner, and not a “highly paid medical specialist”, Dr Chua said: “I hope (my example) dispels the myth that only prominent individuals or corporate organisations can make significant donations. “To me, $1 million is a significant amount that will get others to notice and start to consider how much they can give too.”
CFS’ LaLa Café is a virtual place to learn, socialise and rejuvenate for everyone at CFS. It is conducted by our employees, partners, and vendors to cultivate a growth-driven and dynamic work environment.For the latest edition of LaLa Café, we invited Desmond Lim, psychotherapist, wellness advocate, and coach from Mind Culture to share about Mental Wellness and Mindfulness Practice
The Community Foundation of Singapore’s (CFS) CEO, Ms. Catherine Loh, was invited to speak at a virtual closed-door Family Office Circle event titled Philanthropy in Singapore and the Region on the 22nd of July, organised by the MAS-EDB Family Office Development Team[1] in partnership with the Asia Philanthropy Circle (APC) and CFS.The event was attended by 55 international and local participants, involving single family offices and family foundations who had either set up or are setting up a presence in Singapore.
The Community Mental Health Champions Initiative, a collaborative project by the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) and Empact and supported by our corporate partner. It aims to recruit, train and retain 1,000 community mental health champions. Through this initiative, we will build a pool of mental health champions. These champions will actively support the sandwiched generation with a listening ear and signposting to professional services when needed – helping more people prevent or access support for mental health issues.The Community Mental Health Champions Initiative is carried out in two phases – Design Phase and Implementation Phase. During the design phase, eleven organisations will come together for a series of workshops to share their knowledge and build a collaborative understanding on issues regarding mental health and how to equip these champions. These eleven organisations are Be Kind SG, Bettr Lives, Caregivers Alliance, Community of Peer Support Specialists, Growthbeans, Loving Heart, O’Joy, Psychological Initiative, SG Assist, Singapore Anglican Community Services, Singapore University of Social Sciences.
CFS’ LaLa Café is a virtual place to learn, socialise and rejuvenate for everyone at CFS. It is conducted by our employees, partners, and vendors, to cultivate a growth-driven and dynamic work environment.For the July edition of LaLa Café, the theme was sustainability. One of our colleagues, Adam Reutens-Tan, a Principal Consultant at CFS with a personal passion for sustainability, introduced sustainability and how philanthropy could play a part.
Such funds give donors more say in the philanthropic process, and can lead to donors being tipped off about underfunded causes. These funds also make it possible for non-millionaires to do their bit.What do Jack Dorsey, Larry Page, Elon Musk, Jack Ma and Mark Zuckerberg have in common in terms of their charitable giving?
The Learning Initiatives for Employment (LIFT) Community Impact Fund (CIF) from the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) provides social enterprise funding to enable disadvantaged groups to obtain training in order to be more employable.The funding provided has allowed two social enterprises, the Bettr Barista Coffee Academy and Dignity Kitchen develop a more standardised training programme for their students, as well as expand the number of training places available to aid more disadvantaged groups to enter the workforce.
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