Individuals gave more to charity - StraitsTimes - 11 Aug 2010

Recession, tax break may have encouraged people to donate more

By Melissa Sim

EVEN with the worst recession since independence, Singaporeans did not shrink from giving to the less fortunate, and if anything, dug even deeper to help.


The Commissioner of Charities' (COC) latest annual report showed that tax-deductible individual donations last year reached $240 million, a 13.7 per cent increase over $211 million in 2008.

Charity sector players said donors may have been moved to give more because they felt others were more badly off, given last year's layoffs and pay cuts.

An increase in tax exemptions on donations, from 200 to 250 per cent, could have made giving more attractive too.

In contrast, corporate tax-deductible donations dropped from $476 million in 2008 to $447 million last year. The COC report said this was likely due to 'the financial turmoil in the past year'.

Ms Debbie Seah, chief executive of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, said donations to the charity, which helps fulfil the wishes of children suffering from life-threatening illnesses, hit a record $2 million last year.

'The public seemed more sympathetic, and those who still had their jobs knew that charities and other people needed more support,' she said.

The tax deduction meant that for every $10 donated to an Institution of a Public Character (IPC), $25 of a donor's taxable income would not be taxed. It was up from $20 previously.

It is an incentive for more people to donate, said Ms Ang Bee Lian, chief executive of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), noting: 'The donors are taxed less, so they have the capacity to give more if they wish to.'

The IPC status is given to groups whose activities benefit the Singapore community as a whole, and they must post their key financial and non-financial information online.

There were 532 IPCs as of December last year, compared with 504 the year before, mainly in the social services sector.

Tax-deductible donations remained around the same at about $687 million, below the record $820 million collected in 2007, during an economic boom. The money went to three main sectors: Education (32.1 per cent), Social Services (29.3 per cent) and Health (18.9 per cent).

Public generosity also extended to foreign causes, said the report. The amount raised last year is expected to be $25.6 million, up from the expected $17.6 million in 2008.

Singapore Red Cross secretary-general Christopher Chua said media reports helped to encourage donations.

Those in the sector said the public seemed to have shaken off past scandals involving mismanagement at high-profile charities such as the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and Ren Ci.

'People are coming forward again, and eager to donate. This is a good thing,' said NKF chairman Gerard Ee.

Charities seem to be complying with the Code of Governance for Charities and IPCs, launched in 2007.

NCSS said that most eligible IPCs and charities had submitted their governance evaluation checklists for the financial year 2009 and they showed that nearly all IPCs and three-quarters of charities had met governance standards.

'This is a boost in confidence for the sector,' said NCSS' Ms Ang.

The COC has also started a pilot SMS service to help the public verify the authenticity of fund-raising activities.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/PrimeNews/Story/STIStory_564641.html