DONATIONS TO LOCAL CHARITY BODIES

Column No : 1792

DONATIONS TO LOCAL CHARITY BODIES: 7.

Mr Arthur Fong asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports given the incidents at National Kidney Foundation, Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped and other charity bodies, (a) what will his Ministry do to stop or prevent the slide in Singaporeans' civic consciousness and generosity to donate to causes for the less fortunate; and (b) have the recent incidences raised skepticism and cynicism in Singaporeans who have been encouraged to do some part in helping the less fortunate in our society.

The Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan): Mr Speaker, Sir, in the light of recent incidents in the charity sector, the public has become more concerned about the integrity and efficacy of programmes run by the charity organisations. This, in itself, is not a bad thing, if it helps to bring about a culture of "informed giving" and, in turn, encourages charities to higher standards of transparency and accountability to their donors.

I am glad to say that there is evidence to suggest that Singaporeans' trust in the charity sector and their willingness to help the less fortunate in our midst still remain high. Let me cite a few examples. Inthe President’s Challenge 2005, a noteworthy point is thatmost of its fund-raising activities occurredafter the NKF saga. Total donations to the President’s Challenge this year have reached more than $9.3 million so far. This is more than the $8.8 million that was raised last year. A number of Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) have also indicated that their fund-raising efforts have not been adversely affected. For example, in September, Tulips Heart Day, an event runby the Children’s Cancer Foundation, netted over $300,000, pretty much the same as what they achieved in 2004. More recently, the Singapore Cancer Society’s Charity Show 2005 received more than 180,000 calls and raised a total of $3.2 million, more than what it collected last year. I am very encouraged by these figures, and it shows that Singaporeans still carefor the well-being of the less fortunate in our society, and are stillprepared to donate generously to worthy causes.

But our charities are notstanding still. They are drawing useful lessons from the recent developments. In September this year, when I met 300 heads of charities, I was heartened to note that many of them had been proactively reviewing their internal processes in order to become more accountable and transparent todonors. The National Council of Social Services (NCSS) has alsobeen helping the VWOs to improve their governance and management through conducting training courses and providing consultancy support.The VWOs under NCSS have alsostarted discussions to explore thepossibility of peer review of the services that they are providingto their beneficiaries. The National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre is also stepping up efforts to educate the public so that they canmake informed decisions when donating their time or money. These areallinitiatives which we should welcome.

On its part, the Government has set up an Inter-Ministry Committee just last month in order toexplore ways to optimise ourregulatory processes. This Committee willmake recommendations for a more streamlined, effective and efficient regulatory framework for charities and Institutions of Public Character. I would like to emphasise that, whilst doing all these, we do notwant to stifle the growth of a vibrant and active community. Self-regulation by the voluntary welfare organisationsis the preferred approach. In the light of this, ourpreference isto adopt a "light-touch" approach in regulating charities.