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Minister backs NKF's 'sound record' in using funds
The Straits Times, 20 April 2004
By Wong Sher Maine
THE National Kidney Foundation (NKF) spends more than 80 per cent
of its funds on its beneficiaries, which is within the guidelines
set for charities, said Minister Lim Hng Kiang (Prime Minister's
Office).
Mr Lim, in giving his support to the NKF yesterday, noted that it
spent 56 per cent of its money on beneficiaries and put 26 per cent
aside into its reserves.
This 'puts the NKF on quite a sound record', said Mr Lim, who is
also the Second Finance Minister.
NKF's reserves of $189 million, enough to fund its programmes for
two to three years, had sparked controversy recently as many people
asked the charity body to explain how it spends the millions it
raises.
Some people also urged NKF to hold back its fund-raising efforts in
order not to crowd out the smaller charities.
But Mr Lim pointed out that it had to raise tens of millions of
dollars a year because it was 'very, very expensive' to treat a
kidney patient with dialysis.
The procedure of cleaning the impurities from the blood of a
patient with failing kidneys costs $25,000 to $30,000 a year, which
works out to around $60 million annually for its more than 2,500
patients.
Also, when the NKF takes on a patient, it is committed to him for
life, he said as he applauded its medical record, adding that it is
'better than world standards, so patients... live much
longer'.
This commitment also means it made sense to put some of its money
in reserves, Mr Lim said in reply to a call by Nominated MP Braema
Mathi for more accountability and transparency in how charities
spend money.
However, he sympathised with its 'dilemma' in whether to disclose
the salary of its chief executive.
'If they don't, then I think there will be critics who say they are
not transparent. If they disclose, I think there will also be
critics who will say that whatever they pay will be too high.
'So, I think they are caught between a rock and a hard
place.'
Mr Lim also defended the 30 per cent cap on expenses used for
fund-raising, saying it helped the smaller charities.
They run up higher overheads in fund-raising and would be hit if
the cap was lowered, he said.
On the controversial issue of sharing its database of donors with
its partners, Mr Lim saw 'nothing objectionable' as NKF had
declared that the data would be given only if the donor
agreed.
On aquariums and plasma TV sets at its dialysis centres, he said
they helped keep patients occupied during their treatment and
added: 'We do have aquariums and TV sets also in our blood donation
centres.'
Mr Lim does not see fund-raising as 'a zero sum game', maintaining
that there is room for big and small charities.
Singaporeans have big hearts, and 'if you convince them of the
worthiness of your causes, Singaporeans will open up their
wallets'. He also urged the smaller charities to pool their efforts
in fund-raising to 'get a bigger share of the pie'.
