Imagine you have led Singapore’s first expedition to the highest peak on the planet. You return home to nationwide acclaim and media attention. Everyone lauds your hard-won accomplishment and, not surprisingly, you feel invincible.

But fate, as it turns out, has a capricious face. Imagine within weeks of your triumph, you succumb to a rare nerve disorder, which sends you to hospital for six months and leads to partial paralysis in both legs. How does one navigate such circumstances?

This is essentially what mountaineer David Lim went through. Fortunately, he was able to rise above his disability and, in an admirable mixture of grit and resilience, carve a new career as an inspiring motivational speaker.

But what is equally significant about this story is how he now thinks about his challenges and his legacy. Mr Lim said in an interview: “The disability, and my coping with it, has provided a foundation in conveying to others how we can all become more resilient.”

In fact, his personal legacy is now less about personal achievements or accolades, and more about paying it forward, advocating for those with disabilities, with the intent to “create a more equal society”. In 2023, as he approached his 60th birthday, he set up a charitable fund to support disability programmes and animal welfare.

Shining a spotlight on the givers

Stories like Mr Lim’s are inspiring and we need to hear more of them. Singaporeans, perhaps thanks to their Asian heritages, tend to be more reticent, and shy away from the spotlight. But such role models can help us reflect: What kind of legacy will I leave behind?

There is value in celebrating those who step forward. It is clearly a demonstration of what our founding culture minister S. Rajaratnam called “a democracy of deeds”. This phrase harks back to a society built not just on words or ideals, but on the actions of citizens working together to solve problems and build a better society.

Still, we must register that, of course, there is a deeply personal aspect to giving as a legacy. While all donors want to do good or even heed a national advocacy campaign, purpose is also driven by personal histories and values, as exemplified by Mr Lim.

Memorialising loved ones

That is why some of the donors who start a fund or foundation with us: They want to honour or memorialise someone who matters to them. Often, they were parents who sacrificed for their children, or grandparents who prized education when such opportunities were scarce.

Given how education captured the hope of one generation for the next, it is no surprise education is the most popular cause among our donors, with considerable funding going to named scholarships and bursaries in our universities, polytechnics and schools.

But donors don’t just memorialise their parents, or family members.

In 2024, this publication ran a story about a tech investor who started a fund named after his “majie”, or nanny. She had raised him and willed him some money after she died. The fund currently supports financially disadvantaged undergraduates pursuing social work studies and home care service for vulnerable seniors.

The background story was deeply personal. The nanny, while frugal and fiercely independent, had suffered poor health in her later years after she retired and had received visits from social workers in her Chinatown flat. Echoing the kindness his nanny had received, the young man wanted to support the people and services that had provided comfort and solace to her in her final years.

Transmitting values across the generations

A profound, arguably transcendental, idea can be found in author Irvin Yalom’s best-selling book Staring At The Sun: Overcoming The Dread Of Death. Dr Yalom turns to the image of a rock thrown into a body of water and calls this “rippling”. He says, “each of us creates – often without our conscious intent or knowledge – concentric circles of influence that may affect others for years, even for generations”.

But he goes even further to say that rippling doesn’t mean leaving behind one’s image or name, as preserving personal identity, when you look through the long lens of history, is futile. And yet, the ability to pass on a piece of wisdom, a trait, guidance or values, does matter. It provides comfort and counters the nihilistic argument that life is finite, and thus meaningless.

This probably is one of the deep-seated reasons why people set up endowment funds for charitable giving. It allows us to consider the “ripples” of positive energy across time and different generations.

One prominent example is the endowment fund set up by our late president S R Nathan. With the proceeds from his best-selling memoir and additional support from his network of pioneer leaders, he established a fund that has since outlived him. To date, the fund continues to uplift the lives of thousands of students from lower-income households in the universities, polytechnics, Institute of Technical Education and schools that give a leg-up to the less academically inclined.

The endowment fund’s impact has been sustained through the generations, and even through the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Nathan’s eldest grandson now carries on the same purposeful mission, taking an active interest in meeting beneficiaries and shaping the decisions on how the charitable funds are to be distributed annually.

On a related note, although estate planning isn’t the easiest conversation for families to have, there is merit in having the discussion earlier rather than later. How financial assets are to be distributed is important but, at the same time, it’s meaningful to talk about how philanthropy can potentially help the next generation carry on the family’s values and a sense of shared purpose.

Creating a generous society

As we enter the year-end festive season, the period that sees the most charitable giving, Singaporeans will see many appeals from our charities, representing a plethora of causes, from social services to healthcare to animal welfare. Often, charities will profile their beneficiaries and remind us of the challenges these beneficiaries face.

Donors are often persuaded by stories of those who are suffering or struggling to cope with their physical or financial conditions. Certainly, images of children and vulnerable elderly can tug at our consciences and remind us of the pressing needs in our society. This still works when it comes to fund raising.

But as society evolves, I believe there is a place to celebrate the donor, and in doing so inspire others to follow suit. Many have powerful stories to tell, and have grown in their journey of giving. They may have begun by writing a cheque, but over the years have deepened their understanding of the impact on the ground. Some do even more, including volunteering and mentoring. We even know of donors who have gone on to start ground-up movements in the community.

Encouraging more such stories will help us grow into a society where generosity is natural, not exceptional. The hallmarks for a strong society must lie in the interpersonal bonds of its members, and the capacity to care for one another. Ultimately, as the story of Ozymandias reminds us, legacies are not carved in stone. But what can endure is the positive energy, compassion and care embodied in people.

So as you decide on your year-end giving, mindful of the tax season deadline, hopefully, yours will be less a transactional gift and more the start of a longer journey of caring for your fellow humans, and the shaping of a better society.

• Paul Tan is chief executive at the Community Foundation of Singapore, which has stewarded more than 280 donor-advised funds that have collectively disbursed over $220 million to charitable programmes and agencies since 2008.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction