On 3 December 2019, the Charity Council held the 4th Charity Transparency Awards (CTA) and 7th Charity Governance Awards (CGA) Ceremony. 67 charities were recognised for their exemplary disclosure and transparency practices with the CTA. Among the group of 67, three charities received the CGA for achieving the highest standards in governance and four charities conferred the Special Commendation Awards. Graced by Guest of Honour, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Grace Fu, both sets of awards were given out at One Farrer Hotel. 300 guests from both charitable and non-charitable organisations attended the night of celebrations.
The Charity Council partnered Singapore Management University’s School of Accountancy to conduct an independent assessment for the awards. For this year's assessment, it was subsequently validated by the Institute of Internal Auditors (Singapore). Shortlisted winners of the CTA were invited to participate in the CGA assessment, co-developed with Ernst & Young, followed by an interview session with a panel of judges.
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At the Awards Ceremony, Silver Ribbon (Singapore), Caregivers Alliance Limited and Assisi Hospice were conferred top honours for achieving the highest standards of governance in the small, medium and large charity category respectively.
Special Commendation Award (SCA) was also given to four charities for their achievements in specific areas of governance.
Please click
here to download the Charity Transparency and Governance Awards programme booklet for full details of the 67 CTA winners, 3 CGA main category winners as well as the 4 Special Commendation Award recipients. You may read Minister Grace Fu speech
here, and Dr Gerard Ee's speech
here.
Charity Transparency Award 2019 Winners
Each of the CTA 2019 winner received a certificate. Some of them were featured in a Charity Transparency Award video.
Charity Governance Awards 2019 Winners
Each of the CGA 2019 main category winner received a plaque and a cash prize of $10,000 to further their charitable causes, sponsored by Mr Ang Hao Yao, Mr Robson Lee and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
Please find the video of the 3 charities that were conferred this prestigious award and more details about each of the winners below.
Small Charity Winner - Silver Ribbon (Singapore)
“Singaporeans, by and large, are very compassionate people as shown by the increasingly huge amounts of money donated to charities each year. Singaporeans instinctively trust our charities because they know that the Singapore Government demands strict compliance of charity laws, ensure incorruptibility, honesty and integrity of all charitable organisations, their board and staff. Donations received will usually be used for the needy and are properly accounted for through robust and regular auditing.
Hence, it is critical for small charities like us with limited resources to self-regulate, to maintain high integrity and competence while we carry out our mission to benefit our targeted group. We will always stay vigilant, relevant and transparent as a trusted charity.”
- Ms Ellen Lee, JP, PBM, President, Silver Ribbon (Singapore)
Medium Charity Winner - Caregivers Alliance Limited
“Caregiving is a long journey, but we want to walk every step of the way alongside caregivers. Together with a compassionate Board, committed staff and volunteers, alongside caring partners, we can build a community that makes a difference.”
- Mr Tim Lee, Executive Director, Caregivers Alliance Limited
(in picture: Mr Chew Sutat, Chairman, Caregivers Alliance Limited)
Large Charity Winner - Assisi Hospice
“Good Governance is the foundation for Assisi Hospice to achieve excellent standards in how we deliver palliative care to our community. This can only be done if there is full alignment between board and management in understanding our mission, as well as our strengths and weaknesses. Underscoring this is the deep sense of mutual respect, which the board and management has for each other, and the recognition of each other’s roles.”
- Ms Anita Fam, Chairman, Assisi Hospice
Special Commendation Awards 2019
Operational Efficiency – O’Joy Care Services
“Operational efficiency is the key to achieving our vision of bringing oceans of joy to older persons.”
- Mr Choo Jin Kiat, Executive Director, O’Joy Care Services/O’Joy Limited
Operational Efficiency - ARC Children's Centre Co Limited
“We are grateful for these awards and we remain inspired to continue to make a positive impact on the beneficiaries. As we remain focused on our vision and mission, we must also remember that love is the most important element to ensure integrity in good governance and transparency. The charity needs many helping hands to move ahead.”
- Dr Rita Yeoh, Chairman, ARC Children's Centre Co Limited
Clarity of Strategy - Viriya Community Services
“If anything is worth doing, do it with all your heart. If not, stop it right now. Don't do anything half-hearted.”
Ms Jenny Lim, President, Viriya Community Services
(In picture: Ms Evelyn Lai, Executive Director, Viriya Community Services)
Governance and Management – The Community Foundation of Singapore
“Ours is a business built on trust. Good governance is integral to our success and that of our stakeholders. We will not rest on our laurels, but continue to improve and innovate to ensure continued confidence in CFS.”
Ms Catherine Loh, Chief Executive Officer, The Community Foundation of Singapore
Special Acknowledgements
The Charity Council would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to our Strategic Partners – IIA, SMU and EY, as well as all our CGA judges for making this Award possible.
(CGA Judges (L-R): Mr Robson Lee, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; Mr Tay Woon Teck, Managing Director, RSM Risk Advisory; Dr Gerard Ee, Charity Council Chairman; Mr R. Dhinakaran, Managing Director, Jay Gee Melwani Group of Companies; Ms Angeline Chin, Head of Global Community Impact Asia Pacific, Johnson and Johnson; Mr Neo Sing Hwee, Managing Director, Head of Operations System & Control, Mapletree Investment Pte Ltd).
The Charity Council hopes that the best practices of good governance by the award recipients will inspire all to take action to raise the charity sector's standards of governance. A well governed and thriving charity sector is only achievable with the support and committee from all charities. Together, we can make a positive difference in the community.
Congratulations to our winners! Thank you for your passion, drive and commitment to pursuing excellence!
