Giving.sg receives record high of $13.6m in donations in April
The Giving.sg platform received a record high of $13.6 million in donations between April 1 and 19, the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) said in a press release yesterday.
The surge came after the first wave of Solidarity Payments that were given to Singaporeans on April 14, and after NVPC announced on April 13 that it was waiving its 3 per cent transaction fee from now till March 31 next year.
The total donations to date this year on Giving.sg amounted to over $22.5 million, the highest since it was launched in 2015, with daily donations peaking at $1.6 million and $1.5 million on April 17 and 18 respectively.
The website also hit a record high of over 67,000 visitors on April 17, compared with the daily average of 3,000 to 5,000 visitors.
Mr Tony Soh, deputy chief executive officer of NVPC, said: "While this surge of donations will go a long way in helping address immediate needs related to Covid-19, we urge everyone to pace themselves for a marathon, not a sprint.
"We must also remember the charities that may not have Covid-19-related campaigns but are meeting critical daily needs of vulnerable communities that require as much or more attention than ever before."
NVPC previously said over 90 charities saw a fall of more than 50 per cent in donations, with the drop amounting to over $868,000. Most of these do not have Covid-19-related fund-raising activities but continue to serve vital community needs.
One such charity, the Christian Outreach to the Handicapped (COH), told The New Paper it experienced a 51 per cent drop in donations from its existing pool of donors last month compared with what it received in March last year.
Its campaign, Double Impact - Beyond 2020, on Giving.sg has reached only 15 per cent of its $400,000 goal, but COH said it will be relaunched on May 30.
Similarly, the Cancer Sub-Fund by KKH Health Fund has raised only 12 per cent of its $1 million goal, with donations set to end on Saturday.
To provide additional support for such charities, NVPC said it has shared free digital resources provided in partnership with private firms to help charities improve their digital marketing abilities.
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