Speech by CEO Catherine Loh at CFS’s 10th anniversary celebrations
Minister Grace Fu, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,The power of informed giving
CHARITY STORIES
Speech by Chairman Laurence Lien at CFS’s 10th anniversary celebrations
Thank you all for joining us in this celebration.CFS was first incorporated on 8 September 2008; hence our 10th birthday celebrations now. Lehman Brother collapsed on 15 September 2008, so we are also commemorating 10 years of the Global Financial Crisis.
Speech by Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth at CFS’s 10th anniversary celebrations: Working together to build a caring Singapore
Mr Laurence Lien, Chairman, Community Foundation of SingaporeMs Catherine Loh, CEO, Community Foundation of Singapore
Business Times: Size no barrier to structured corporate giving
Liontrust hopes its charity fund will spur fellow SMEs to make their giving countMany owners of Singapore’s small and medium-sized enterprises would gladly give back to their community. But, without the heft larger corporations have, it is easy for them to resign themselves to thinking that each dollar they give won’t go as far, says Lim Wei-Jen, 47
Media release: Community Foundation of Singapore celebrates 10th anniversary
September 5, 2018 – The Community Foundation of Singapore (“CFS” or the “Foundation”) turns10 this year and marked the milestone with a celebratory event at the Arts House today. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu was the guest of honour at the event, which was also attended by more than 120 guests comprising donors, charities and other partnersMore than 110 charitable funds have been established with CFS since its inception in 2008. Over the past decade, it has raised more than S$100 million in donations and given out grants amounting to around S$60 million to over 400 charity partners that support a wide range of causes. These include animal welfare, arts and heritage, children, education, the environment, families, health, persons with disabilities, seniors, sports and youth. This puts CFS in good stead to help donors identify gaps and opportunities in the ecosystem, undertake due diligence on charities, and manage grants with a high degree of accountability to deliver lasting benefit.
Business Times: As they received, they now give
Education is a force for good and a cause that Trina Liang-Lin and Edmund Lin are passionate about supporting.Education has been pivotal in both their lives, paving stones to their successful careers. Ms Liang-Lin, 47, is the managing director of investment research consulting firm Templebridge Investments, and married to Mr Lin, 49, partner and founding member of Bain & Company’s Singapore office.
Portfolio Magazine: Helping others help others
“These six years at CFS have definitely been a fulfilling learning journey for me,” says Ms. Catherine Loh. She smiles for the first time since we sat down to discuss how she traded her successful banking career to one in charity – as CEO of CFS. “I developed greater empathy and learned to see things from another person’s perspective. I’m also humbled by the selflessness displayed by so many in the social sector as they strive daily to help their beneficiaries overcome life’s challenges.”Set up in 2008, CFS currently manages 110 donor funds, including the SR Nathan Education Upliftment Fund, and has raised over S$100 million in total donations. It also works closely with over 400 charities to identify the gaps in the community that need support.
Ms. Loh sees her work as stimulating attempts at innovation and problem solving. “The needs of donors and beneficiaries are always changing, and there are constantly new ways that we can work with donors and charity partners to solve complex social issues.”
Business Times: The beauty of giving to those you do not know
Govind Bommi, 71, is well known to regulars at the Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre for the Elderly.The businessman and philanthropist spends his Thursday mornings volunteering at the Tampines centre, befriending seniors who are there to receive physiotherapy or other forms of rehabilitative care after conditions such as a stroke, Parkinson’s or arthritis
Business Times: Preserving a century-old legacy of giving
Following his great-grandmother’s footsteps, Keith Chua set up a charitable fund to carry on his family’s legacy of giving through the generations.To Keith Chua, the boy, she was the stern matriarch of their large, Peranakan family, to be approached with deference. To the older and bolder teenager, she drew closer – the great-grandmother glad to chat about his day over tea or a shared meal.
CFS’s first brand campaign ‘Portraits of generosity’ to inspire giving
In tandem with its 10th anniversary, CFS launched its first ever brand campaign ‘Portraits of Generosity’– a series of heart-warming donor stories uncovering each donor’s motivation for giving.Looking back at their lives, donors share their motivations for why they chose to give back to those in need. Be it an act of kindness, a family member’s compassion or a long tradition of philanthropy, the campaign unearthed the diverse experiences which left a mark on each donor’s life and spurred them to give back. Donors also open up about their philanthropic journey, why they chose to support specific causes and how seamless the giving experience can be through starting a fund with CFS.