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Ask, check before donating money to charity

This article is more than 12 months old

Campaign hopes to get Singaporeans to find out more about causes they support

Many Singaporeans give to charity, but few actually take the time to find out more about the group they are giving to.

The Commissioner of Charities is hoping to change that by launching a campaign encouraging donors to conduct their own checks before they part with their money.

The commissioner, Dr Ang Hak Seng, said: "As more people do their checks, it's harder to abuse the system. When donors have more trust (in fund-raising appeals), they will also give more."

Dr Ang said the Safer Giving campaign, with the tagline, "Ask, check, give", was not triggered by any particular case or an increase in fund-raising fraud. His office receives fewer than 30 complaints about fund-raising appeals a year - a number that has held steady in the last three to five years.

He said of the complaints: "Many are not out to scam donors, but they may not know how to keep records or do proper disclosure."

The campaign, which starts today, will educate the public on the checks they can do when approached by fund-raisers. These include questions to ask or how to find out if the appeal is legitimate. (See report at right.)

The campaign will be conducted both online and offline, for example, through roadshows.

It comes after the Commissioner did a survey last year of over 1,000 Singaporeans that found that 86 per cent made donations in the past year, but only 6 per cent would ask questions before giving or contact the charity or fund-raiser to find out more about the cause.

The reasons for not doing checks include donating only small amounts, trusting that the charity genuinely needs to raise funds and being comfortable donating without the need for checks.

Take for example, housewife Huang Shi Mian, 43, who usually gives $2 or $5 to flag day collections. She said: "I don't usually ask questions before I give as I don't want to make it difficult for the person raising funds. Also, it's a small sum so I don't see the need to ask questions."

Charities welcomed the new campaign, saying that it would boost donors' confidence in giving if they did their checks.

Said Ms Katherine Sng, deputy director of community partnerships at the SPD: "Such practice may then ensure that fund-raisers are rigorous in their governance and transparent with their disclosures, which in turn builds trust between donors and the beneficiary."

In 2015, the latest figures available according to the Commissioner's annual reports, charities here received approximately $2.7 billion in donations, up from $2 billion in 2011.

What donors can do

Some questions to ask before giving

  • Who are the beneficiaries?
  • What will my donation be used for?
  • How can I receive updates?

How to check if the fund-raiser is legitimate

  • Go to the Commissioner of Charities website, charities.gov.sg, to find out if the group is registered as a charity.
  • Use your phone to scan the QR quote on the fund-raising permit that the fund-raiser carries to find out if the charity has a valid permit to raise funds from the public.
  • SMS FR licence number, the permit number or the name of organisation to 79777. You will get an SMS reply to verify if the fund-raiser is legitimate.
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