Inspiring Trust: Charities as Beacons of Transparency & Governance

Speech by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth & Second Minister for Law, at the Charity Transparency & Governance Awards 2024 on 14 November 2024

Ms Theresa Goh, Chairperson, Charity Council

Ladies and Gentlemen

Our distinguished guests

Introduction

1. Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much to all of you for joining us here this evening.
2. I am truly honoured to be here joining you as we come together to celebrate the really important role that all the charities have, and in particular, to celebrate all our achievements over the year and to look at transparency and governance in really being able to drive forward with meaningful change.
3. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many of you at our various events – at forums, conferences and even casual chats. Quite a number of you have emailed me as well. But each conversation has shown me that central to the passion, to the core of what drives you, is service to the community.
4. Every charity is common by that denomination, and I thank all of you for it, because all of you have shown me the unwavering passion that you bring to your respective causes, a passion that is very evident here again tonight.
5. This evening, we are here not just to recognize outstanding achievements, but to celebrate the collective spirit of our charitable community – a spirit built on trust, dedication, and a deep sense of accountability that drives real change.

Inspiring Trust: Charities as Beacons of Transparency & Governance.

6. The charity sector in Singapore plays a significant role in helping the "leave no one behind" motto that we have, by addressing social inequalities, supporting those among us who are not able to look after themselves, the most vulnerable across our population.
7. The sector is therefore multi-faceted. It’s complex, with various organisations, both governmental and non-governmental, working together to ensure that individuals and communities in need receive the support they require.
1. This has been the underlying theme of the many conversations which we've had, the discussions at our formal seminars and conferences as well as at our events.We have a shared commitment to create meaningful changes to improve the lives of others in this community and in this space that we call “home”.
8. I think we all agree that to do well for our community, to serve the community, to serve the underprivileged, and to reach out in a bigger way which we need to do, each of us - each charity, each organization must itself do well.
1. This is achieved when charities put in place robust transparency and governance principles. This evening, the 138 charities present are testimonies to that very important character of a charity.
2. We all know that it takes years and years, if not decades, for us to build up the trust that we have with our stakeholders, whether it is regulators or the giving public. But it is so easy to breach that trust. And once you breach it, it's very hard to win it back.
3. I want to give a special tribute to all of you for your commitment in upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability, setting a powerful example for the entire charitable community, inspiring public trust as well as confidence.
9. As the charity sector continues to evolve, I am encouraged by the growing number of participants in this year’s awards. This growth reflects your commitment to making our community a better place.
10. Tonight, we celebrate 138 outstanding award recipients who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to transparency and governance – proof that progress is being made one charity at a time, sometimes, a bit more than one at a time.
11. In this regard, two charities will receive the top award, Charity Governance Award; Six charities will receive the Special Commendation Award; 109 charities will be awarded the Charity Transparency Award.
12. It is very encouraging to note that among these charities, 62 of them were also Charity Transparency Award winners last year. This shows that you have taken onboard the underlying philosophy in incorporating good transparency practices as part of your daily work, and embracing good governance being an ongoing journey.
13. At the same time, we know that there are charities who regularly, consistently try very hard to improve their transparency practices. This is very commendable, and we want to find a way to recognise this dedication and perseverance.
1. The Charity Council is introducing a new Award category for this. The new Charity Transparency Dedication Award recognises charities’ efforts to put in place strong disclosure practices in line with the Charity Transparency Framework. And this evening, 29 charities will be receiving this new Award. My advance congratulations to all of you.

Charity Governance Award

14. This evening’s most esteemed award, the Charity Governance Award, will be presented to HCA Hospice Limited and The UWCSEA Foundation Limited. This is a recognition of their exceptional achievements and being a role model for our charity community. Let me say a little bit about both.
15. The first winner, HCA Hospice Limited’s mission is to ensure the best quality of life for its patients by delivering professional palliative care and providing compassionate support for their families.
16. HCA has performed well in many areas of governance. It has a comprehensive succession planning framework and leadership development plan that includes assessment, training, as well as identification of development opportunities.
1. This helps to ensure a strong leadership renewal process which is critical for the long-term sustainability of any organisation, let alone an important charity like HCA. It helps to mitigate the risks associated with sudden leadership changes and helps us to ensure continuity, not just the continued existence of the charity, but to remain close to its core mission and values.
2. We can all learn from HCA and strengthen our charities by ensuring we have such excellent board and leadership practices in place.
17. The second winner, The UWCSEA Foundation Limited, aims to promote and support educational institutions, initiatives and programs that promote race, ethnic, class and gender equality.
1. I think we can all agree that, especially in today's context where everyone is looking at inward, facing or focusing less on collaboration than individual effort, I think the work that you do is going to be particularly important as we navigate community challenges.
2. The Foundation was one of the five Special Commendation Award winners last year and participated in the Awards again. Now, this year, they have done enough to win the Charity Governance Award and I want to congratulate both HCA as well as the Foundation.
18. These two charities have shown us what they can do - they have taken part in the awards for some time. They have taken onboard the lessons, built it into their own DNA. And now, they achieve tremendous success.
19. I am very heartened by the commitment and the example shown by these two charities to build in competent boards and implementing systems for continuous improvement. They have a forward-thinking and proactive approach which secures the future of the organisation and, by extension, which is important.
20. When you secure the future of the organisation you serve, you also secure the future of the beneficiaries you serve. And this maximizes positive community impact, ensuring that they remain fit for purpose. My warmest congratulations to them.

Development of framework to evaluate charity’s governance and transparency standards.

21. Over the past 12 years, we have given out 464 CTA awards, with 23 charities of them being awarded CGA. All these charities, large and small, serve a wide array of cause, communities and needs. They have all displayed common traits of dedication and commitment to their chosen passion and cause.
22. Importantly, they have all strived to do better in making sure their governance is always beyond reproach. They have embraced change, been transparent with their stakeholders, and their impact has been amplified as a result.
23. During last year’s Charity Governance and Transparency Awards, Theresa shared that the Charity Council would review the Charity Transparency Framework and the processes for the Charity Transparency and Governance awards. And that we should continue to do so from time to time in order to stay relevant and keep ahead of the curve because as we evolve, so will challenges. We need to keep up to date and modern, and relevant to the community we serve.
24. The landscape is ever-changing, and this is a sector, as I said right from the start, where trust is paramount; so we do need to make sure that our framework remains fit for purpose.
25. We hope the new framework will not only allow charities to benchmark their practices against established standards, but also be able to guide charities to self-identify areas for improvement and redemonstrate their commitment to good governance. More details of the new framework will be shared with the charities in due course.

Closing: Building a Sustainable and Impactful Charitable Community

26. Finally, I want to add my thanks to everyone, whether you are on the stage or otherwise, for really strengthening the charity community. The work that you do is important. It continues to be important, and I would say it will be more important as we move on.
27. We all know that it takes many helping hands; different people coming from different backgrounds to see the problem through different lenses, stepping up with the different skill sets, contributing in our own way and dealing with challenges which also will evolve from time to time and from generation to generation.
28. And oftentimes, these challenges are not solvable just by giving financial resources. Perhaps in the past, it was a big part of the solution, but today, it is just one part of the solution. It is complex, multi-faceted and it really takes a strong, dedicated community to address these problems.
29. It is not something that in government we can do alone, so we rely a lot on all of you here to help us fill up the gaps, to be those many helping hands to address the needs of the community.
30. When we want to make Singapore more inclusive, more caring, I think this is a partnership that endeavors to deliver that for Singaporeans today, as well as for the next generation of Singaporeans. So, this is how important your work is.
31. We should strive to ensure that we strengthen and enhance the professionalism of everyone in the charity sector. We have to make it as professional as any corporate sector. If we do that right, we will serve our beneficiaries even better.
32. And so, with that commitment, I'm very grateful to all of you for all the work that you have done. I'm very pleased to be able to honour some of you today, but remember, the work really goes on and we are not there yet. We will continue to work hard to support all of you to get to our destination.
33. Thank you very much.