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CFS signs Memorandum of Understanding with the Bank of Singapore
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Events

CFS signs Memorandum of Understanding with the Bank of Singapore

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cfs and bank of singapore memorandum signing ceremony

The Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) is pleased to share that we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Bank of Singapore. Through this collaboration, Bank of Singapore clients can partner with CFS, where we will provide them with the expertise and insight into Singapore’s charitable landscape to support their clients’ philanthropic goals and make an impact in local communities. The MOU aims to inspire philanthropic giving to help address the social and environmental challenges in Singapore.


The photo was taken at the MOU signing ceremony between Bahren Shaari, CEO of Bank of Singapore and Catherine Loh, CEO of The Community Foundation of Singapore. The ceremony was witnessed by Theresa Cheong, Head of Partnerships of The Community Foundation of Singapore and Zubin Dabu, Market Head & Chair of Bank of Singapore ESG Forum. Fund raising appeals will not be conducted by Bank of Singapore for CFS.

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Events

Visit by Moscow-based non-profit organisations

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A group of people smiling and posing for a photo in front of a sign that reads "Happy Human."

A Russian delegation comprising heads of various non-profit organisations and foundations recently visited the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) as part of a study trip organised by the NGOs Resource Centre of the City of Moscow.

The group’s main purpose was to meet with local non-profit organisations, exchange views and experiences as well as understand the impact the non-profit sector has on Singapore’s sustainability and quality of life.

The group represented various Moscow-based non-profit organisations providing support to disabled, sick or disadvantaged children, war veterans, environmental issues as well as promoting volunteerism and inclusive education and training with the help of new technologies.

During the lively two-hour session, we shared about our work with donors and charitable organisations, governance and marketing outreach. The participants and CFS team exchanged views on government support, tax benefits, fundraising and sustaining donor support – all of which are crucial to ensuring the long term survival of non-profit organisations around the world. The group was particularly interested in learning about how endowment funds generate sustainability for charities. They were also impressed by our recent ‘Portraits of generosity‘ campaign and how the role of marketing was important to achieving awareness and growth.

All in, it was an engaging and enriching experience with both sides gaining a better understanding of the common challenges non-profit organisations face. We hope to take up on the group’s invitation to make an exchange trip to Moscow one day

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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”。

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Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.

News

The Straits Times: New youth collective to level playing field for disadvantaged young

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Two people seated at a table with a 'City of Good' sign in the background.

By Seow Bei Yi

SINGAPORE – To help youth from disadvantaged backgrounds transition from school into the work environment, a new year-long programme will be launched this year to offer them workshops and vocational training.

Dubbed the “youth collective”, the initiative comes after a series of discussions involving 56 groups in the social service sector concluded that while education can help bridge social gaps, not every youth can fully tap its benefits.

Led by the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) and the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), the discussants found that economic, social and cultural differences contribute to a greater variance in academic performance among Singaporean students, compared to elsewhere.

The social gap may hence widen if disadvantaged youth here are not further helped, CFS and NVPC said.

Participants deliberated over the multiple challenges that disadvantaged youth face, with parents tending to work long hours or on shifts.

This leaves them little time to attend to their children’s learning needs, while the children often shoulder more adult responsibilities. It can result in poorer literacy and academic performance, and may lead to psychological issues such as depression and other conditions, CFS and NVPC said.

Contributing to the youth collective are a multi-national corporation, a Singapore firm, non-profit groups and researchers, CFS deputy chief executive officer Joyce Teo said yesterday. More details will be available when the project is launched later this year.

CFS and NVPC also released yesterday a 17-page guide on closing the gap for disadvantaged youth.

The youth collective is an early initiative sparked by Colabs, a series of discussions beginning last year that gathers disparate stakeholders across the social service sector to exchange ideas, including philanthropists, businesses, non-profit groups and sector experts. Colabs is led and funded by CFS and NVPC.

Explaining the need for it, NVPC Director of Strategic Partnership Darrel Lim said that, among other things, these discussions are designed to “uncover gaps in the current system and collectively devise ways to plug these gaps”.

“The challenge lies in what we call ‘wicked problems’, or very complex problems, that don’t lend themselves very well to any single party’s intervention. The only way to solve them is to bring together various parties and look at how we are working currently to serve beneficiaries, what are some of the problems that still exist, and why they exist despite everybody’s work,” he said.

Besides obtaining inputs from experts, beneficiaries and donors, the Colabs process involved a field trip and a poverty simulation exercise.

Following this first Colabs series, a second one ending in May looked at how to help those with disabilities. A third will focus on seniors. Spin-off projects from these series are likely to be announced later.

“There is information out there, but it is disparate,” said Ms Teo. “What we try to do is eventually distil that and say, there is something that we can do, and how can we go about doing it.”

“Collaboration is the way forward as the scale, scope and complexity of social issues today make it impossible for a single player or the Government to solve alone,” she added. Read more

Read the Colabs media release here.

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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”。

Picture of admin bluecube
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Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.

Events

CFS Philanthropy Forum 2019: Looking to the future of community philanthropy

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A diverse crowd attentively observes a conference presentation, engrossed in the speaker's discourse.

At the CFS Philanthropy Forum 2019 held on 18 March, over 100 guests – including donors, charities and partners – gathered to hear from leaders and experts on what lies ahead for community philanthropy.

Headlining the evening was keynote speaker Eileen Heisman, President and CEO of National Philanthropic Trust (NPT), the largest independent donor advised fund (DAF) administrator in the United States. In her dynamic speech, Eileen – a founding member of CFS’s international advisory committee – shared NPT’s amazing journey to raising more than US$13 billion in charitable contributions, and encouraged all in attendance to rise to the challenge of taking local philanthropy to new heights.

Following her speech, Eileen was joined by Dr June Lee, Honorary Research Fellow, Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship & Philanthropy (ACSEP) at the National University of Singapore, and moderator Laurence Lien, Chairman of CFS, in an engaging panel discussion on how DAFs enable smarter, better giving by helping donors give more thought to the purpose of their charitable dollars.

Referring to how DAFs are gaining rising interest in Asia, Eileen commented, “A lot of people have chosen donor advised funds because they want something that’s easy, turnkey, relatively inexpensive and can be adapted to changing interests. Donors have many different types of philanthropic goals, so with a DAF, they can shape the fund according to their preferences and they can change their giving focuses over time.”

June noted DAFs offered specific advantages for families looking to give. “In a recent research paper published by ACSEP, we found that one of the biggest question families ask is ‘how do we engage family members in our giving?’” Setting up a DAF allows a founder to set aside funds for philanthropy without burdening his or her children financially, she adds, while also allowing flexibility down the line when a founder’s children wish to pursue to a different charitable cause from their parents.

Remarking on the opportunities ahead for community philanthropy, Eileen cited the growth of two major trends: micro donor advised funds targeting millennials, and new services enabling direct payroll deductions into donor advised funds. “These trends will change the face of donor advised funds as we go forward,” she said.

She challenged CFS to tap on these wider trends to expand its offerings, “As someone who’s very much invested in CFS’s success, I would like to see CFS be creative and thoughtful about expanding the horizon for donors and the community of Singapore to express their philanthropy in different and new ways.”

In his closing remarks, Laurence commented, “It’s clear DAFs are a trend that can’t be turned back. DAFs are there for us to use, to promote, and the only direction is up.”

The evening ended on a poignant note as CFS announced the handover of its chairmanship from Laurence to Christine Ong who takes over as Chairman on 1 April.

Indeed, CFS has come full circle and we are so grateful for the guidance, trust and support we have received over the last decade.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit dolor

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”。

Picture of admin bluecube
admin bluecube

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.

Stories Of Impact

Spreading the Holiday Cheer: CFS Contribute Year-End Meal to Melrose Home Residents & Staff

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As the year 2023 drew to a close and office parties were being planned, the staff at CFS decided to redirect their staff celebration budget from traditional year-end parties and gift exchanges. Instead, they chose to sponsor a special New Year’s Eve dinner for the children and youth of Melrose Home, and contributed by purchasing grocery vouchers, hoping to bring joy and warmth to them during the holiday season.

At CFS’s monthly Town Hall, representatives from Children’s Aid Society Ms Serlina Huang, Manager of Community Partnerships and Ms May Su Paing, Communications Executive from Children’s Aid Society, visited along with their colleagues from Melrose Home, Ms Michelle Chen, and Mr Timothy Pang. Together they offered the CFS team valuable insights into the home’s operations and needs, enhancing their understanding of how donor contributions can benefit the beneficiaries. Ms Tricia Lee, Director of Communications & Marketing at CFS then presented grocery vouchers that the CFS staff had contributed, to support the purchase of essential items for the residents of Melrose Home. 

Mr Alvin Goh, Executive Director of Children’s Aid Society shares, ‘We are grateful for this heartwarming gesture from the Community Foundation of Singapore and thank the CFS team for spreading the holiday cheer to our residents. It is heartwarming to see the community coming together to help improve the lives of those in challenging situations.’

Melrose Home, a service under the Children’s Aid Society (CAS), is a residential home for children and youths aged 6 to 21. Their residents have experienced challenging family circumstances or child protection issues that led to them being removed from their family homes. 

The organisation has been a CFS grantee since 2022, and our donors have generously contributed to supporting Melrose Home in its mission. CAS is currently appealing for donations to help transform its premises at Clementi Road into “Melrose Village”, which will enable residents to have more living space, and offer purpose-built facilities, advanced counselling and psychological services. To find out how you can contribute, visit https://www.cf.org.sg/giving/ways-to-give/ 

References:

https://childrensaidsociety.org.sg/melrose-home/

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