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Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth
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Press Statements

Code of Practice for Safer Giving Online

Sectors

Charities

Co-ops

MBOs

23 January 2018

Industry Code of Practice co-developed with the Commissioner of Charities to uphold standards of transparency and accountability

  1. Four major crowdfunding platforms in Singapore have committed to adopting an industry Code of Practice for Online Charitable Fund-raising Appeals, co-developed with the Commissioner of Charities. The platforms are Give.asia, Giving.sg, The Ray of Hope Initiative Limited and SimplyGiving.

  2. This was announced by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu at the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre's inaugural Giving Matters Forum. Minister Fu said, “I am heartened by the industry's support for the Code of Practice. Donors must also do their part to hold fundraisers accountable, by asking questions on the legitimacy of the appeal even when exercising their generosity. This underscores the need for co-regulation, where everyone has a part to play in encouraging safer online giving.”   

  3. The Code of Practice is a set of best practices for crowdfunding platforms in Singapore. The Code is based on ensuring the legitimacy, accountability, and transparency of charitable appeals 1 hosted on these platforms.

  4. As part of the Code, online fundraisers will be required to complete a declaration of compliance with the fund-raising regulations under the Charities Act 2, such as the duty to make accurate representations to donors, maintain proper records of donations, and to use donations according to the intended purpose. Please refer to Annex B for the principles of the Code of Practice.

  5. The Code of Practice and list of platforms that abide by it will be published on the

    Charity Portal

    . If a platform breaches the Code of Practice, its name will be removed from the list. In addition, the areas found in breach of the Code by the platform may be stated on the website.

1 Charitable appeals refer to fund-raising appeals for charitable, benevolent, or philanthropic purposes.

2All fund-raising appeals (including those conducted online) in Singapore for charitable, benevolent, or philanthropic purposes are regulated under the Charities (Fund-raising Appeals for Local and Foreign Charitable Purposes) Regulations 2012.

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