Safer Giving
It’s Good to Give Better!
Our charities need generous donations from members of the public to fund their important work to help our communities. We should make sure that our donations benefit the people or causes we want to support.
“Who to give” and “How to give” are two big questions anyone will have when approached for donations. This section provides tips to help you in supporting and donating to our charities.
Let’s Do Our Part and Practise Safer Giving!
Safer Giving is about ensuring your donation is used for a genuine charitable purpose. We strongly encourage members of the public to give safely and practise the following steps of “Better Ask. Better Check. Give Better.”.
You may also watch the Safer Giving videos below to find out the questions to ask and what are the checks to do before giving.
We can all play a part in making Singapore a safer place to give!
- Whom to Give?
- How to Give?
- Online Fund-Raising
- How and When to Report a Concern?
- Media
You want your donations to be used for the intended purpose(s). It is important to practise safer giving by asking for more details of the appeal such as how will the donations be used and doing simple checks. Below are some suggested steps to take.
Before Donating:
BETTER ASK
Ask for more details if you are unsure:
- How will my donations be used?
- Who is the beneficiary?
- How much of my donation goes to the beneficiary or charity?
BETTER CHECK
Fund-raising in Singapore can be conducted by charities and non-charities. Always verify if the organisation or beneficiary is a registered or exempt charity, or has disclosed its public fund-raising details on the Charity Portal. When donating to foreign charitable causes, verify that the fund-raiser has a valid permit from the Commissioner of Charities. You can check via these options:
(A) Visit Charity Portal
Use the search function on the Charity Portal homepage to find information on registered and exempt charities, or details of permit-holders.
Registered and Exempt Charities:
All charities must register themselves with the Office of the Commissioner of Charities (COC). The list of registered and exempt charities, and Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs) can be found using the search function on the Charity Portal. You can also use the search function to find basic information on charities (such as the objectives, mission and vision, and contact details), or access charities’ annual submissions published on the Charity Portal (such as the annual report, audited financial statements and Governance Evaluation Checklist (GEC)) to verify the usage of donations.
Please note that only IPCs can issue tax deduction receipts to donors for qualifying donations made.
Permit Holders:
Any person who conducts a fund-raising appeal for a foreign charitable purpose must have a valid fund-raising permit from the COC. Use the search function on the Charity Portal to find details of permit-holders and their appeals for foreign charitable purposes, including the registered name and UEN of the permit-holder, the permit number, collection period, and purpose of the appeal.
The Charity Portal also contains information on the regulatory framework governing the charity sector and fund-raising activities.
(B) Scan QR Code on Organisation’s Appeal Letter or Valid Permit issued by the COC Carried by the Fund-Raiser
Under the Disclosure Regime for Public Fund-Raising Appeals, charities and valid-permit holders must submit information on their public fund-raising activities via the Charity Portal at least 7 days before the start of the appeal. This information will be published for public viewing. When conducting the public appeal, collectors and fund-raisers on the ground must clearly identify themselves as conducting a collection for the charity or valid permit-holder. Collectors and fund-raisers must also carry and present an official letter from the charity or valid permit-holder containing the information on its fund-raising activity.
Both the official letter from the charity or permit-holder (for public fund-raising appeals for any local or overseas cause) and the permit issued by the COC (for appeals for foreign charitable purposes) will contain a QR code which will lead you to the disclosure details on Charity Portal when scanned.
(C) SMS Verification Service
SMS "FR<space>Organisation Name" to 79777.
E.g., FR ABD-Fundraising Ltd.
In line with the announcement by the Government on 13 June 2024 (refer to The Straits Times article "Government SMSes will show 'gov.sg' as the sender ID from July 1"), the sender ID for SMS queries related to fund-raising appeals will similarly change from “MCCY” to “gov.sg”
with effect from 25 June 2024. When potential donors perform SMS verification on your charity’s public fund-raising appeals, they will receive a SMS containing the results from “gov.sg” as shown below. In addition, every text message will begin with “Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth” and end with a note stating that it is an automated message sent by the Singapore Government, to indicate that recipients should not reply to it.
(D) Call Charities Unit hotline at 6337 6597
GIVE BETTER WITH A PEACE OF MIND!
- Do not feel pressured to give if you have doubts.
- Report any concerns to
mccy_charities@mccy.gov.sg.
- File a police report if you suspect a scam.
Unsolicited Appeals for Donations through Mailers or Email
The mailers or email may originate locally or from overseas.
If the solicitation is done on behalf of a local charity, you should verify that it is registered with the COC by using the search function on the Charity Portal. After you have verified that it is a registered or exempt charity that is seeking donations, you should contact the charity directly to find out more about its objectives, intended beneficiaries, and the people who are responsible for managing the charity/IPC.
- A well-managed charity subscribes to the principles of transparency and accountability;
- Refer to the charity's annual reports and financial statements to get an idea of its operations. The charity’s annual submissions are published on the Charity Portal;
- If necessary, you may ask the charity how the funds would be used, and how much of it would directly benefit its beneficiaries;
- If third-party fund-raisers are engaged in the appeal, take note that part of your contribution may be channelled towards the fund-raising expenses.
If the solicitation is for a foreign charitable cause, you should verify that the fund-raiser has a valid permit from the COC. It is important to remain vigilant and be discerning by only supporting appeals organised by charities or entities that have been granted the relevant permits.
If the solicitation originates directly from an overseas charity, you ought to exercise more care before making a donation. Perform a simple online search to find out more about the charity and check if it is a legitimate charity registered with the regulator in its country. You should exercise greater caution when donating funds directly overseas. Please note that all fund-raising appeals for foreign charitable purposes conducted in Singapore, even by foreign entities, require a permit from the COC.
If a fund-raiser is fund-raising for a general cause without any other details, you should make more enquiries about how the money would be used.
Do not feel pressured to give. It is your right to find out more about the charity and their charitable activities before deciding to give.
If you have chosen a charity to donate, how can you donate? You can do so through:
Direct Donation
Most charities offer their own donation methods such as cash, cheque, credit or debit cards, internet banking or GIRO.
- Donate through the charity’s own website, or through well-established crowdfunding platforms.
- Make sure that these websites are secure (the website address should start with “https” and check for a padlock symbol beside it).
- If you wish to make a monthly donation, approach the charity, and ask about monthly transaction using credit or debit cards or GIRO.
Central Provident Fund (CPF)
The CPF Board collects
SHARE donations on behalf of the
Community Chest of Singapore. If your employer is already on the programme, there should be instructions on how you can participate in the programme. If not, contact
ncss_comchest@ncss.gov.sg to find out more.
Do note that the Ministry of Manpower advises donors to be careful in using CPF savings for donations as they are supposed to be for retirement.
Planned Giving
Planned giving refers to charitable gifts that are arranged with forethought and planning. They are executed over a long period of time or in the future. If you wish to do so, contact the charity you wish to benefit to discuss the options. Do seek a professional advisor like a financial planner, lawyer, accountant or insurance agent to discuss about such a gift.
Practise the same Safer Giving steps when donating online – Better Ask, Better Check, Give Better!
All online fund-raising appeals for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes that target the community in Singapore are regulated under the
Charities Act 1994 and the
Charities (Fund-raising Appeals for Local and Foreign Charitable Purposes) Regulations 2012.
This means fund-raisers need to fulfil certain obligations, such as disclosing clear and accurate information to donors about the beneficiary and the purpose of the donation, ensuring the proper use of donations, as well as keeping proper records of donations received and disbursed. Please read the
full legislative requirements.
Online fund-raising appeals tend to tug at the heartstrings, so donate with both heart and head to avoid giving to causes which may later prove to be illegitimate. Not all online appeals are conducted by registered charities.
The COC has issued restriction and prohibition orders to stop or limit improper fund-raising activities conducted by organisations and individuals.
Notices and Orders of the COC are accessible to the public. Where relevant, anyone who flouts the fund-raising laws can be fined up to $10,000 or jailed up to 3 years, or both.
If you have serious concerns regarding any fund-raising activities,
please feedback the matter to the COC. If fraud or scams are suspected, you should file a Police report immediately.
Online Fund-raising conducted by an Individual
1. Before donating, check on the following:
- Profile and background of the individual fund-raiser;
- Disclosure of clear and accurate information to donors about the beneficiary;
- The purpose of the donation and how they will be used;
- Any proper records of donations received and disbursed, with regular updates on the amount raised;
- The proportion of donations going to the beneficiary; and
- Whether the fund-raiser is responsive to queries from the public.
2. After donating, you can ask the fund-raiser these questions:
- How is the beneficiary? Did his/her condition or quality of life improve after the fundraising?
- Has the beneficiary received the donations?
Online Fund-raising conducted by an Organisation
Look out for copycat names or duplicate appeals that might mislead or deceive you into thinking you are donating to a legitimate fund-raising effort.
If the solicitation is by an organisation claiming to be a local charity, you can verify that it is registered by using the
search function on the Charity Portal.
Hidden costs on Crowdfunding Platforms
Read the terms and conditions of the online fund-raising platform. Some platforms have costs such as administrative and processing fees or include tips by default that require the donor to opt out of at the payment page.
Check the total amount charged to your credit card before making payment.
The Code of Practice for Online Charitable Fund-raising appeals
The
Code of Practice is a set of best practices for crowdfunding platforms in Singapore to ensure a safer giving environment.
Five major crowdfunding platforms in Singapore have pledged commitment to the Code. You may contact these platforms directly to find out more.
If someone approaches you for a donation (be it to support a local or overseas cause), they should be able to provide you with information on the fund-raising appeal, such as the purpose of the appeal, the beneficiaries and how the funds raised would be used.
You should probe further if the fund-raiser is unable to provide details of the fund-raising appeal. In general, the following scenarios should raise some red flags:
- Fund-raiser is ambiguous or unable to provide answers to queries on the fund-raising (e.g. uses of funds received and name of the beneficiary);
- Information provided is verified to be bogus;
- Charity or organisation is soliciting for donations without the relevant permit;
- Charity or organisation is conducting unlawful fund-raising activities;
- Commercial or third-party fund-raiser is unable to show proof that they are authorised by charity to raise funds;
- Fund-raiser is being aggressive or abusive;
- Donors are aware that large portion of the funds raised would be used to pay the fund-raising expenses; and
- There is reason to believe that the funds raised are being misused.
Reporting a Concern
If you believe that there is a contravention of the
fund-raising regulations, please contact us via email at
mccy_charities@mccy.gov.sg to provide the details.
If you would like to report on dubious fund-raising appeals conducted in publicly accessible places or from house to house, or those conducted without a valid license, contact the Police immediately.
Information to provide when making a Report
- Name of the organisation that is conducting the fund-raising activity;
- Details of the event that triggered the reporting; and
- Documents received in relation to the matter.
