Regulation of Fundraising Activities

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin asked the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth, Sports what is the regulatory policy towards fundraising activities such as the recent "Elephant Parade"; (b) whether such sales of products are allowed to be positioned as a charity fundraising event; and (c) whether the regulations will be tightened to protect the interests of the local charities and potential donors.

The Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (Mr Chan Chun Sing): Mr Speaker, Sir, any appeal to raise funds in Singapore where the entire or part of the proceeds is for charitable purposes is regulated under the Charities Act. If the organisers are raising funds for overseas charitable causes, they would have to apply for a permit from the Office of the Commissioner of Charities and comply with a set of conditions. These include providing clear information to donors on the fund-raising purpose and the intended beneficiaries and submitting audited accounts after the fund-raising event.

The recent "Elephant Parade" was an initiative by a commercial company to raise public awareness and support for elephant conservation projects in Asia. The organiser sought sponsorship for the production of life-size elephant statues, arranged for them to be painted by artists and well-known personalities, and exhibited them at various parts of Singapore for two months. These elephants were then sold at a private auction opened only to invited guests. This event has been held in other cities such as London, Milan and Amsterdam since 2006. "Elephant Parade Singapore" is not a pure charity fundraising event where the bulk of the proceeds go to charities. It is a sale of merchandise by a commercial company, where part of the proceeds is donated to charities and the remaining parts used to cover cost or retained as profits. In this case, 20% of the auction proceeds were donated to an overseas charity and another 5% to a local charity.

As required by the Office of the Commissioner of Charities, the organiser had to provide accurate information to potential customers and disclose how the monies raised would be used. They were not allowed to give the impression that the event was a charity fundraising where the whole or majority of the proceeds goes to the charities. They also had to announce the allocation of the auction proceeds before the commencement of the auction.

While "Elephant Parade Singapore" had met these conditions, some invited guests and members of the public have given feedback that they were under the impression that the event was a charity fundraising where the majority of the proceeds would go to the charities. Some commented that they had formed this impression because of the display of the painted elephant statues in publicly-accessible places, as well as the media coverage on the statues.

Such fundraising arrangements by commercial companies are becoming more common. While we would encourage corporate social responsibility and the giving spirit among companies, we also need to protect public and donor interest.

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To ensure better transparency and accountability for such events, the Office of the Commissioner of Charities will look into refining the rules and regulations. These will include making clearer distinctions between sale of merchandise with partial donations of proceeds and charity fundraising, as well as between public and private fundraising. It will also consider amending the rules for private fundraising, including the extent of public visibility, whether in the form of media publicity or public displays.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin (Potong Pasir): Sir, I thank the Minister for his response. May I ask the Minister whether the Commissioner of Charities can be more proactive in keeping the public informed on fundraising activities in the future?

Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Speaker, Sir, indeed, we share the same concern as the hon Member of Parliament. The Office of Commissioner of Charities can play a role in public education. As part of the move to promote informed giving, fundraisers are already required to inform donors upfront about how their donations will be used and how much of their donations will go towards charity. In addition, an up-to-date list of fundraising permits issued by the Office of the Commissioner of Charities and other authorities, which include the Police and NCSS, is posted on the charity portal to inform the public of ongoing fundraising activities. There is also an SMS facility where the public can send an SMS to verify the authenticity of the fundraising appeals they have come across. When the public is in doubt about any fundraising activity, they can also call or email the Charities Unit directly to voice their concerns. We will do more. For example, the charity portal will also be revamped this year, and one of the enhancements is to display information on fundraising and other information of public interest more prominently to raise public awareness and to promote informed giving. The Office of the Commissioner of Charities will also work with our stakeholders and step up and tap on various platforms to enhance the public education efforts on informed giving.