Which charity or voluntary welfare organisation (VWO) should I support?
How do I get information on a charity?
How do I give?
How will my donations be used to help the needy?
Can I give anonymously?
Do I obtain tax deductions for my donations?
Is it safe to give to charities online?
When I receive direct mail appeals with accompanied "gifts", what does it mean if I do not wish to make a contribution?
If I do not wish to give money, what other ways can I give to charity?

Which charity or voluntary welfare organisation (VWO) should I support?

With the large number of charities registered in Singapore, you should choose the charity that's right for you. Take time to find an organisation that does good work in a field that is important to you, whether it serves distressed children or families, the frail elderly, or people with disabilities.

If you have questions on whether the organisation soliciting for your donations is authorised, request for written information that includes their mission and what they do. Your favourite charity should be able to provide certain materials upon request, including

• Financial statements that have been audited by an independent accountant.
• An annual report / activity report that includes a list of the board of directors; the audited financial statements or comprehensive summary, and a description of services they provide.
• A statement of functional expenses, explaining expenditure details such as like rent, postage, salaries, fundraising, management/general, etc.
• A projected budget for the coming year.

How do I get information on a charity?

You can ensure that a charity or a VWO is legitimate if it has a formal registration with a legal authorisation body that incorporates its status as a charitable organisation. Some of these bodies include the Registry of Societies, the Registry of Companies and the Commissioner of Charities.

You can also approach the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), the coordinating body for voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) in Singapore, for an informed opinion of its member VWOs.

The Internet is also a great source of information and most charities have websites with information on the types of programmes they run, how funds are allocated, how they fulfil their mission, etc.

How do I give?

Consider giving to legitimate charities that make it their responsibility to manage your donations well. Such organisations will attach a high value to being accountable to their donors and will be open regarding the use of funds collected.

Community Chest, for example, publishes its financial statements in its annual report, selected collaterals and provides them to interested donors upon request.

Whether it is Community Chest or other charities that you choose to give to, it is advisable to issue your donations by cheque, not cash. Make certain that your cheque is made payable to the name of the charity and not to an individual.

Besides outright donations, other ways of giving can include purchasing merchandise, donation draw tickets, etc, from established charities for the purpose of fund-raising.

You may also be approached on the streets for outright donations. Charities do depend on such avenues to raise the necessary funds. However, you should not be pressured to give on the spot. If in doubt concerning the legitimacy of the fund-raising activity, you may ask about the fund-raising licence that fund-raisers have to obtain to conduct street solicitations. You may also ask about the benefiting charity.

How will my donations be used to help the needy?

Some questions you should ask will be: how much of your donations will be given directly to the appeal? How much will go toward administrative costs, other programmes and fund-raising costs?

Community Chest raises funds on a yearly basis to meet the needs of the social service programmes we help support. Community Chest ensures that fund-raising costs are kept to a minimum. As these costs have been sponsored by Singapore Totalisator Board and Singapore Pools (Private) Limited, every dollar raised by Community Chest will be made available to social service programmes under its care.

Community Chest raises funds for programmes that

• Nurture children to succeed
• Keep families together
• Dignify the lives of the elderly
• Help the disabled lead independent lives

Click here to know more about how Community Chest disburses its donations.

Can I give anonymously?

All charities honour anonymous donations. Specify your desire to remain anonymous, and the charity will respect your request.

Do I obtain tax deductions for my donations?

As a general rule, all outright cash donations given by individuals or corporations to charities with tax-deductible status will be entitled to double tax deductions. Donors are entitled to double tax deductions (twice the donation value) for such donations made on or after 1 Jan 2002. For instance, if you gave $100 to a charity, you will be entitled to tax deductions for the amount of $200. Outright cash donations made to Community Chest are also tax deductible to donors.

However, this is only applicable where outright donations do not provide a material benefit to the donor. For example, purchases of concert tickets and the cost of fund-raising dinners do not qualify for tax deductions.

Some charities issue tax-exempt receipts only upon request, or for donations beyond a minimal amount. Hence, as a donor, you may wish to find out before you donate.

If you are an individual donor, you may also wish to note that the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) now automatically acknowledges the tax-deductible status of your donations if the charity submits your identification number to IRAS on your behalf. This means that you will not need the tax-deductible receipts when submitting your annual tax assessment forms.

For more information on charities and donations, the IRAS's website @ www.iras.gov.sg can provide you with more details.

Is it safe to give to charities online?

It is good to make sure that the charity site has a secure server that uses encryption technology that ensures appropriate security of your personal and payment information.

For example, Community Chest's online donation page requiring credit card information is protected by Secure Socket Layer (SSL). SSL is a technology developed by Netscape and adopted by all vendors producing related Web software. It works by encrypting all information - scrambling it before the information leaves your computer and is only unscrambled when it reaches the charity server.

To verify that the page requesting your credit card information is secure, the letters https:// - rather than http:// - should precede the page's URL and/or there should be an unbroken key or padlock symbol located in the corner of the web browser.

If in doubt, contact the charity by telephone or by email before you provide the information online.

When I receive direct mail appeals with accompanied "gifts", what does it mean if I do not wish to make a contribution?

You need not feel obligated to give when you receive direct mail solicitations that come with greeting cards, stickers, calendars, key rings or other "gifts". Charities do this to increase donations but you need not make a contribution to keep the "gifts". It is considered unethical for a charity to demand payment for any unordered merchandise.

If I do not wish to give money, what other ways can I give to charity?

Many charities benefit enormously from alternative forms of giving. Volunteering your time and skills to help your community can be a rewarding experience. Most charities welcome volunteer help in various ways. NCSS (National Council of Social Service) can help you find ways to give back to your community by volunteering at charities. Call its hotline at 1800-210-2600.

You can also support your local charities by offering gifts in kind. These can include merchandise, furniture, office equipment and foodstuff, etc. Other forms of giving can take the form of bequests, charitable annuities and endowments. A legal practitioner should be able to provide you with assistance in setting such gifts up.