ACCESSING QUALITY EDUCATION

A diverse group of children and adults, all wearing masks, gather together in a united display of safety and responsibility.

The CDA top-up programme: Giving support to pre-school children from low-income families

Pre-schools are especially essential in providing a solid foundation for children to get an education, and to also build confidence and impart social skills, which will stay with them for life. As such, The Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) is partnering with EtonHouse Community Fund (ECF) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) on a Child Development Account (CDA) top-up programme which will benefit around 1,300 pre-schoolers from low-income families this year.This programme is facilitated by the inter-agency taskforce Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families (UPLIFT) to provide eligible pre-schoolers with $500 this year and up to a cap of $1,500 over the next three years, with the government providing dollar-for-dollar matching contributions for the top-ups.

The breakfast huddle with Catherine Loh: A group of individuals gathered around a table, engaged in a morning discussion.

Start a donor-advised fund: plan your giving flexibly and sustainably

CEO Catherine Loh goes on Money FM 89.3 to speak about the donor-advised funds.Elliott Danker: Funds such as DAFs are especially needed during the current COVID-19 pandemic because that’s where you have more people in need. Many charities have shared that donations have been falling.

"Explore The Straits Times charity news page, highlighting philanthropic efforts and inspiring stories."

Charitable funds boost donations in a tough year for giving

SINGAPORE – More wealthy people are setting up charitable funds that give at least six-figure sums to their chosen causes.There were 143 donor-advised funds set up with the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS), disbursing $20.2 million to charitable causes in the non-profit organisation’s financial year that ended in March.

CEO Catherine Loh goes on MONEY FM 89.3 to speak about the Sayang Sayang Fund with Michelle Martin

Michelle: Let’s start with CFS and the work that it does. How does it support charities and why did the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) start the Sayang Sayang Fund?Catherine: The Community Foundation of Singapore is also a charity. We were founded in 2008, and our main objective is to inspire philanthropy in Singapore. We do that by helping donors achieve a greater impact with their giving in communities through charitable funds. Donors can establish their own funds or if they wish, they could support one of the Community Impact Funds that we’ve started up.

Children happily sitting on the floor, smiling and radiating joy.

Around 7,000 school children in need of support for meals

A four-week ‘circuit breaker’ is the latest challenge to hit Singapore, as a pre-emptive strategy to curb the spread of COVID-19. As students transition to over three weeks of learning at home, about 7,000 children will miss access to food they would normally get in school, compounding difficulties in continuing their education at home.As mentioned in Parliament by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Mr Heng Swee Keat on 7 April 2020, CFS today bolstered efforts to generate support for the Sayang Sayang Fund (SSF). Donations to this fund will complement the work of local public health, non-profit and government entities with emergency support.

Young learners sitting on the classroom floor, participating in educational exercises.

Let us continue to sayang our community

We have been overwhelmed by the generous show of support for our community-driven Sayang Sayang Fund; from private individual and corporate donors who donated to the fund directly or set up their own fund-raising pages, we have far surpassed our initial target.We have given out transportation vouchers to hospitals and polyclinics and are now looking to support vulnerable communities especially impacted by COVID-19’s precautionary measures.

A woman and two girls, wearing joyful expressions, pose happily in front of the camera.

Celebrating women who give in different ways

It is seldom that we honour the accomplishments of women who give their all without asking anything in return, whose humanitarianism managed to achieve great success against all odds.International Women’s Day is one such day of reflection and remembrance of the efforts of women all around the world, both past and present. It looks back on the struggles of women from the past like Rosa Parks, the ‘first lady of civil rights’, who strove for an equal and fairer society to empower the women of the future.

A woman joyfully laughs while carrying a backpack and holding a phone in her hand.

International Women’s Forum Singapore: Guiding Young Women towards Achieving their Dreams

Education is a powerful social leveller, and the youngest Nobel Peace laureate in the world Malala Yousafzai will readily attest to that. In fact, it is her life’s mission to make sure young girls and women all over the world are lifted out of poverty through receiving equal access to an education. For women all over the world, Malala is celebrated as a champion of women’s rights and is recognised for her immense achievements in the face of overwhelming adversity.The International Women’s Forum (IWF) Singapore Education Grant took a feather out of Malala’s hat when it was established in 2014 – to support women of all backgrounds to receive proper education and mentorship.

An Asian woman (Catherine) gracefully seated on a vibrant red and black couch, exuding elegance and poise.

Three donor trends shaping giving in 2020 and beyond

Widening social inequality, an ageing population, and climate change – these are the issues that frame our world, as Singapore celebrates its bicentennial year in 2019. Yet alongside these social challenges, we’re also reminded of our long history of philanthropy in tackling local community needs. Take for instance, the recent 200 Years of Philanthropy in Singapore at the Temasek Shophouse, where it was heartening to see philanthropy being celebrated as a vital thread in Singapore’s success story.But how will local donors continue to contribute to Singapore’s future? With the number of high-net-worth individuals here expected to grow by 22% to 250,000 by 2023, philanthropy is at an inflection point. We’ve already seeing broader shifts in our donor landscape: donors are getting younger; more Singaporeans are becoming socially aware, and technology is empowering new modes of giving.

10 charities received donations from Mind the Gap 200 (MtG200) fund at the SG Cares “Celebrating our Culture of Care” closing event at Tampines Hub in August 2019.

Minding the gaps: 10 friends collaborate to take on social issues in Singapore

Widening social inequality, an ageing population, and the threat of climate change – these are the issues that frame our world today. Amidst increasing recognition of these complex issues, a group of ten donors have come together to establish Mind the Gap 200 (MtG 200), a multi-fund project, with the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS). Thus far, S$10 million has been raised.The brainchild of Mr Tow Heng Tan, CEO of Pavilion Capital, MtG 200 is the first ever collective of donor advised funds to address social issues across multiple sectors in Singapore. MtG 200 will provide support to four areas of focus: community, education, healthcare and sustainability.