More donors should find out more about charitable causes before giving

1. A survey conducted by the Commissioner of Charities in 2017¹ found that while most Singaporeans engage in charitable giving, with more than 80% of respondents having donated in the preceding 12 months, only 6% would ask questions or contact the charity, non-profit organisation or fund-raiser to find out more about the cause.

2. While 8 in 10 donors recognised the importance of knowing how their donations would be used and taking steps to ensure this, about half of them expressed that they do not conduct checks or research prior to giving. The reasons given for not doing so include being willing to donate without need for checking, donating only small amounts and trusting the need for charitable appeals. While it may not be a usual practice to conduct checks before giving, donors acknowledged that it is important to ensure that the donation reaches the beneficiary, to avoid fraud and scams and to ensure that the fund-raising organisation is legitimate.

3. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu said, “Singaporeans want to build a caring society, and more are stepping forward to donate their time and resources. We want to raise awareness for safer giving and hold our charities accountable, so that our donations can benefit the people or causes we want to support. Charities and fund-raisers can also do their part to give more information to the public and be transparent, so that we can encourage more acts of kindness. It takes three easy steps: ‘Ask, Check, Give’.”

4. To raise awareness of the importance of Safer Giving, the Commissioner of Charities has launched a campaign to remind Singaporeans to “Ask, Check, Give”. The campaign will include both online and offline materials as well as a video on how the public can easily conduct checks when approached by fund-raisers. In the coming month, a guide will also be launched to aid charities in putting out key information that donors surveyed had indicated they would like to receive, such as accountability of how the donations were used.

5. The Commissioner of Charities, Dr Ang Hak Seng said, “The giving eco-system can only thrive when everyone, including donors, do our part to ensure our donations are reaching the intended beneficiaries. Let us all practise ‘Ask, Check, Give’ to build a safer giving space and a more caring Singapore.”

¹ The survey was conducted in March 2017 with a sample of 1,006 Singapore citizens that was weighted to be demographically representative of the national population.