Stories Of Impact

Helping Clients Grow Their Giving

Stories Of Impact

Home Donors Stories Of Impact Helping Clients Grow Their Giving

Stories Of Impact

Helping Clients Grow Their Giving

John Doe

This article first appeared on CFS’s Legacy Giving Website. To find out more about Legacy Giving, please click here.

People like to give and I think people like to be effective as well [and] see the direct result, the impact of their giving.

Freaderic Tan

Legacy giving enables you to make a difference beyond your lifetime. In support of CFS’ campaign for “A Greater Gift”, IPG Howden has partnered CFS to inspire individuals to include gifts to charities in their wealth planning.

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Senior financial consultants Freaderic Tan and Kelvin Choo believe in the power of advisors to help clients realise and fulfil their giving intentions through legacy giving.

As Senior Vice-President and First Vice-President respectively at IPG Howden based in Singapore, they have a combined experience of over 35 years in the wealth planning, wealth management, and financial services industries.

“I think clients want to help by giving, and they also want assurance and for the source of advice to be a trusted source,” says Freaderic.

“I think these long-term advisors to the clients would be very well-placed to be giving this advice and I think the clients would feel like they have been done a favour,” he continues.

Kelvin believes that clients might not initially think of turning to their financial advisors for advice on legacy giving, but that greater awareness could help change this.

“I think many clients, by and large, who are wealthy currently are usually first or second generation wealth creators and perhaps the bulk of their priorities lie in growing that wealth further,” he says.

“However, with more education,” he explains, “I believe clients will begin to understand that even as they grow their wealth, they can also grow their giving.”

Legacy giving is suitable for clients of all ages, he points out, saying, “We believe that by having that discussion and planning for their legacy now, younger clients can actually make their gifts in the future.”

What advice on legacy giving do these senior financial experts have for their fellow advisors? How do they address questions that advisors may get when discussing legacy giving with their clients? Watch the interview below to find out more.

Related Topics For You: ADVISOR STORIES, COLLABORATION, LEGACY GIVING

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Events

[Webinar] Facilitating Philanthropy: Taxation, Structures and Legacy Giving

John Doe

We would like to give a big thank you to the Law Society of Singapore and the Singapore Management University’s Centre for Commercial Law in Asia for inviting our CEO, Ms Catherine Loh, to be a part of the panel for the Facilitating Philanthropy: Taxation, Structures and Legacy Giving webinar.

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Stories Of Impact

Following His Calling In Planned Giving

John Doe

This article first appeared on CFS’s Legacy Giving Website. To find out more about Legacy Giving, please click here.

As a trainer at the Insurance and Financial Practitioners Association of Singapore (IFPAS), I found my calling in the field of estate planning and planned giving. Giving is a good intention; planning is a wise action; and planned giving ensures you can leave a legacy and take care of your loved ones.

Do you need to wait until you are wealthy to start giving? For Allen Lim, the answer is an emphatic no, but with one distinct caveat. “It’s very important that giving takes into account your and your family’s financial security,” insists Allen, “That’s why planning is crucial, because with the right strategy, you can do both.”

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Though Allen says his father’s ways never threatened his family’s security, he also saw how his actions sparked disputes with his mother. That’s why as a financial professional today, Allen advocates taking the middle way.

Having found his “calling” as a trainer in planned giving, he is enthusiastic about raising awareness on this area of practice amongst financial advisors. His days as the Head of Training and Education at the Insurance and Financial Practitioners Association of Singapore (IFPAS) include everything from curating courses on planned giving to lecturing on the latest methodologies.

“Many financial advisors today stop at estate planning. Planning giving goes one step ahead,” reveals Allen, “Through holistic financial planning, a professional can help ensure that giving does not compromise the financial security of the family, while also strategising the most effective asset to complete the giving intention with the best possible outcome.”

And with Singapore’s changing demographics – from a greater number of singles to couples without children – more wealth is being directed outside of one’s family. Allen says financial advisors need to keep up with these trends and engage in these changing conversations.

“Planned giving is an important part of the equation,” he says, “Not only does it help deepen your relationships with your clients, helping to grow the number of legacy gifts to benefit our charities could contribute to well-being in our society.”

Related Topics For You: ADVISOR STORIES, COLLABORATION, LEGACY GIVING

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News

$1.35M Fund Set Up For Community Care Groups To Develop Fun Activities For Seniors

John Doe

Seniors can look forward to more activities to ease their loneliness and social isolation, thanks to a new $1.35 million fund that community care organisations can tap.

At the launch of the fund on Friday at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront hotel, Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) chief executive Tan Kwang Cheak said social isolation among the elderly is a key concern as it is linked with poor physical and mental health.

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“The current funding for the community care sector in Singapore generally supports capital expenditure, provision of essential medical care services to seniors, and solutions to increase staff productivity,” he said.

But the Fun! Fund will help organisations think of new ways for the seniors they serve to have fun, he added.

“We believe that participation in fun activities encourages seniors to feel connected, maintain their curiosity to seek new experiences, increase their life satisfaction and general sense of well-being, and bring much needed laughter and feel-good feelings for seniors.”

The fund was set up by AIC and the Community Foundation of Singapore.

Organisations can apply for a grant of up to $50,000 for each project, which should encourage seniors to be active, connect with others and keep learning.

The programmes must be easily sustained and replicated by different organisations and allow for the building of staff and volunteer capabilities.

The new fund is part of an agreement signed by AIC and the Community Foundation of Singapore on Friday to collaborate on initiatives to promote active ageing and business continuity for the community care sector.

The three-year partnership will focus on active ageing initiatives, supporting community care organisations in enhancing community spaces for seniors’ social activities, manpower development and recognition, and allow staff to continue operating in times of crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Kenny Low, the executive director of City Harvest Community Services Association, which runs a senior activity centre, said his organisation plans to scale up its Rummikub friendly competition, which it has organised for 130 seniors from six active ageing centres.

Similar to mahjong, the table tile game helps to prevent dementia as it requires hand-eye coordination and the manipulation of numbers.

He is also toying with the idea of a gesture remote-controlled car competition to encourage seniors to move about and visualise the motion of the cars, he said.

Sree Narayana Mission chief executive S. Devendran said he is keen to get young people on his team to brainstorm ideas and also join in the activities with seniors.

“When we think of fun, the most fun we had was when we were young. I’ll prompt them (the youth volunteers) with the tagline: When was the last time you did something fun for the first time?”

If you’d like to learn more about FUN! Fund, you can read more here.

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: ADVISOR STORIES, COLLABORATION, LEGACY GIVING

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Opinion

Where there’s a will, there’s a way … to give a legacy

John Doe

Where there’s a will, there’s a way … to give a legacy.
(Adapted from opening remarks at a Community Foundation of Singapore-LSPBS “Legacy Giving” Webinar on 1 September 2020.)

Legacy giving is one of the best kept secrets in town. For many years now, I’ve often wondered why more charities had not jumped on the bandwagon of legacy
giving. Why aren’t charities proactive in encouraging individual donors to give legacies whether via wills, CPF nominations, or even insurance policies? Examples
abound overseas. I saw firsthand one such stellar example of a pro bono law firm utilizing this modality of legacy giving during our Law Society “Lawyers Go
Global” mission trip to Sydney in 2018.

We went to Sydney as a team to learn from cutting edge innovative Sydney based law firms on law firm models harnessing technology and niche services in order to consider adopting or adapting them in Singapore. The law firm that left a deep impression on several of us in the team was Salvos Legal, affiliated with the Salvation Army. They offer humanitarian legal services and have an outstanding history and genesis you can research on. They combine the best of both worlds in fee earning lawyers sitting side by side and working hand in hand with pro bono legal practitioners. Fee earners cross-subsidise the provision of pro bono legal services. It was a joy to see both pro bono practitioners and fee earners working harmoniously in a single setting and committed to doing good (directly or indirectly) as a firm.

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Salvos Legal turned legacy giving to charities into art form. They use radio announcements and organise Community Wills Days (where generous local solicitors
prepare simple wills in return for a donation to the Salvos). They have built up a fair amount of expertise and essentially encourage the public to donate via legacy
giving.

In Singapore today, death is still a taboo topic in some quarters. As an aging society with a silver tsunami, we need to speak about this elephant in the room. We need more discourse about prudent asset stewardship, legacy giving and planned and sustained giving long after we have left the earth. From the charity’s point of view, this could represent a creative fundraising modality. Indeed, local charities such as the Kidney Dialysis Foundation and the Singapore Children’s Society have started using donation via legacy giving. Closer to home, recently, to commemorate the life of CLAS founder, visionary and architect, the late Harry Elias SC, the Law Society Pro
Bono Services in collaboration with Harry Elias Partnership have set up the Harry Elias SC CLAS Fellowship Fund. This Fund is a continuing and cherished memorial to Harry that will fund expenses arising from the CLAS Fellowship such as their remuneration and practice-related costs to ensure that young lawyers have a glorious
opportunity to follow in the footsteps of legal legends and trailblazers like Harry E.

For the gift-giver, legacy giving has four distinct, discernible advantages. First, it allows the donor to give their own voice to their unique personality, values and beliefs
for pet causes. Second, it creates a meaningful memorial of legacies that will perpetuate. Third, it positively impacts subsequent generations through a sustained
giving. Fourth, it deepens the connection between the charity and the donor.

Where appropriate, probate, wills and administration specialists, private wealth law experts and general practitioners in client advisories could suggest legacy giving to clients.

There are nuanced issues to consider for the donor and the attending lawyer. The form of the giving, whether it’s memorial giving, legacy giving and so on, and the
attendant risks involved. I shall not gloss over this aspect. Questions that need examining include: (1) how do you communicate to the testator or testatrix (person
making the will)? (2) are the template clauses appropriate to express the donor’s wishes? (3) what about the testator’s/testatrix’s mental capacity; or more precisely,
testamentary capacity? (4) from the donee charity’s point of view, what are the risks in accepting such gifts? These issues are fact-sensitive, complex in some cases and need careful analysis to avoid something going wrong (including misexpression of the testator’s/testator’s wishes).

The old saying goes, where there’s a will, there’s a way. But the new saying I have for you is where there’s a will, there’s a way …. to give a legacy. You can have the nous and the know-how, to find that way for your donors. Legacy giving leaves a legacy for life.

Source:Law Gazette

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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