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Charities expect public donations to fall in 2009
SINGAPORE: Charities in Singapore are bracing themselves for
the worst in 2009, and some have already seen corporate funding dip
in the last quarter of 2008.
Getting the public to donate is set to be harder in 2009 with the
economic crunch.
One charity, the Singapore Red Cross, said it expects donations to
fall by at least 20 per cent in the coming year.
It is stepping up fund-raising activities, like holding its annual
flag day a month ahead in January. The Red Cross held its flag day
late February this year, and raised S$180,000.
It also plans to have another fund-raising gala dinner in September
as part of its 60th anniversary celebrations.
The humanitarian organisation said it needs to raise at least
another S$2 million or about US$1.4 million next year to run its
operations, which include running a home for the severely disabled,
blood donation drives and subsidised first aid training for the
public.
The Red Cross' annual operation costs come up to about S$6 million,
with about S$3.5 million coming from the government.
"I'm very reluctant to cut our services, because this will affect
the people who will need it most. We may have to cut on training.
We could delay that," said the chairman of the Singapore Red Cross,
Tee Tua Ba.
"We've already frozen all pay increases. We're also not filling up
posts that have been left vacant through resignations and
retirements. If need be, we may cut bonuses for our staff."
Another charity organisation, the Boys' Brigade, was forced to dip
into its reserves for the first time this year, after corporate
funding fell by half during its annual year-end donation
drive.
"We just need to work harder and push our timetable a little bit
earlier... We just need to talk and reach out to more people and
other organisations that we've not been talking to," said the
chairman of the Boys' Brigade Sharity Gift Box 2008, Lui Chong
Chee.
The Red Cross has no plans to dip into its reserves yet, adding
that donations given to disaster relief will not be touched.
To woo young donors, the Red Cross is taking its appeals online
through websites like FaceBook. It also plans to recruit more
volunteers to work on its corporate fundraising projects.
Community Chest, the fund-raising arm of the National Council of
Social Service (NCSS), has also lined up some key fund-raising
activities, such as a charity show on MediaCorp's Channel 8 in
March.
NCSS is also exploring other avenues to help charities reduce
costs.
- CNA