社区基金会让善款发挥更大爱
随着出生率不断下降和人口老龄化,慈善事业下来可更专注在老人方面。新加坡社区基金会(The Community Foundation of Singapore,简称CFS)总裁罗佩仪告诉《联合早报》,政府虽然负责照顾老人的基本需求,但公众可协助提升老人的生活素质,维护他们尊严,让他们在暮年,可以过得更有意义和活跃。
HEALTH
The Community Foundation of Singapore spreads greater love through effective use of charitable gifts
Catherine Loh, the CEO of the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS), recently spoke to Lianhe Zaobao to share more about the work the organisation is doing. CFS has over 13 years of expertise in philanthropy advisory, fund administration and grantmaking and has been recognised for its commitment to transparency and governance. Hence donors can be confident that their grants will help meet the evolving needs of the community – now and into the future.As shared by Ms Catherine Loh, the CEO of CFS: “With falling birth rates and a rising elderly population, philanthropy can focus more on the elderly in the coming years. While the government take cares of the basic needs, there is much that the general public can do to improve the quality of life of the elderly, give them dignity and allow them to have a meaningful and active third age.
Dipa Swaminathan on what we can each do for Singapore’s migrant workers
Dipa Swaminathan is a force of nature. At 49, the Harvard-educated lawyer is an assistant general counsel for SingTel and the founder of ItsRainingRaincoats, an organisation created in 2015 to support migrant workers in Singapore and champion their cause. As the recipient of the President’s Award for philanthropy and volunteerism in 2017, Swaminathan knows a thing or two about advocating for a marginalised group—in particular, one that has built our nation from the ground up while bearing the harshest brunt of the fallout from COVID-19.“Migrant workers are not franchised and lack voices in the broader community,” shares Swaminathan. “The avenues available to us are not to them. They are often scared of speaking up for fear of getting their permits cancelled—which can happen within 24 hours.” The vulnerability of their situations are why migrant workers in Singapore are often forced to tolerate poor living conditions—leading to consequences like the one we have seen this year.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way … to give a legacy
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.
The Community Foundation of Singapore: Philanthropy, legacy giving; doing good and how to get involved
Through legacy giving, making a profound lasting change to people’s lives might be easier than you thinkDr Lim Boon Tiong had a long and distinguished career as a doctor, and it shaped his interest in helping the elderly and those suffering from urological conditions. So devoted was he to his causes that he set aside S$24m along with a list of charities he wanted to help. And when Dr Lim passed on, his daughters Sylvia and Ivy Lim had to execute his will.
Pragmatic reasons to engage In philanthropy
Educator George Jacobs became involved in philanthropy because he wanted to put his money where his mouth is. As someone who feels strongly about contributing to greater food security in Singapore, the passionate advocate for a vegan lifestyle established the Relaxed Fund to promote horticulture in the little red dot.“My wife and I wanted to encourage people to eat more plant-based foods, as these foods boost human health and address global warming issues. One way to convince people to change their diets is to immerse them in growing greens themselves, so they feel a sense of ownership. Thus, they want the greens to find a good home — in their stomachs,” he says.
S’poreans donated $90m in first five months of 2020, equal to whole of last year’s donations
SINGAPORE – Singaporeans have stepped up to help those in need and those most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.From January to May this year, $90 million was donated to the Community Chest, the Community Foundation of Singapore’s Sayang Sayang Fund which was set up in February, and through online donation platform Giving.sg.
Thank you for the Sayang Sayang!
Photo credit: Ng Teng Fong General HospitalTo mark the successful conclusion of the Sayang Sayang Fund campaign, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you for your generosity in contributing towards caring for and uplifting the most vulnerable of us during such times.
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 call to continue rallying together
Thank you to everyone who have generously supported the community-driven Sayang Sayang Fund. We have far surpassed our initial target of $500,000! This was made possible with help from many private individual and corporate donors who donated to the fund directly or set up their own fund-raising pages.Transport vouchers have already gone out to healthcare professionals in hospitals and polyclinics. We will soon be supporting other community healthcare staff and charities serving those who have been impacted by precautionary measures due to COVID-19, such as vulnerable seniors and low-income families.
