The Town Hall Meeting series provides a platform for Board and Senior Management of charities to discuss and explore practical solutions to address common challenges faced by the sector.
Following the well-received Town Hall Meeting I (17 Mar 2015), Town Hall Meeting II (28 Oct 2015) and
Town Hall Meeting III (24 Feb 2016), the fourth Town Hall Meeting continued the conversation on best practices for charities in Singapore. It focused on best practices in Fundraising by Singapore’s Charities. The program included sharing by an international expert, insights from local research as well as a panel discussion. Town Hall IV saw an increase of participants from previous sessions with a total of 168 participants from the charity sector and 43 guests in attendance.
The programme included a sharing by an overseas speaker, Mr Tony Manwaring, from Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) to share on Charity Fundraising Best Practices and Challenges in the United Kingdom.
We were also very honoured to have Dr Isabel Sim, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Social Work, NUS share on research findings of the fundraising landscape in Singapore and challenges that charities face.
The Town Hall meeting will not be complete without a panel conversation segment. The session was moderated by Ms Usha Menon, Executive Chairman of Usha Menon Management Consultancy (Asia).
- Mr Gerard Ee, Chairman, Charity Council
- Ms Ng Ling Ling, Managing Director, Community Chest
- Mr Edmund Wan, President, Handicaps Welfare Association
- Ms Schutz Lee, Board Member, Treasurer and Co-Chair of Fundraising Committee, Society for WINGS
The panel had a robust discussion which revolved around some key topics of discussion. Below are some key takeaways from the panel session:
- The importance of creativity in fundraising to ensure that the charity constantly evolves and to prevent donors’ and volunteers’ fatigue.
- A transformation from a transactional relationship with corporates to one that is a partnership between corporates and charities, which is sustainable in the long run.
- A shift of perspective from competition among charities to collaboration with charities.
- The need for charities to articulate their causes and impact of fundraising to their beneficiaries, potential stakeholders and partners.
- The importance of maintaining a transparent and accountable relationship with donors and stakeholders before, during and after a fundraising campaign.
- Future of Fundraising – The Panel highlighted that there might be a shift towards the trend of participatory giving and online giving.
To learn more about what was covered during the Town Hall meeting, please see below for the materials that were presented:
This Town Hall Meeting IV was made possible with the support from partners such as Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) and National Council of Social Service (NCSS).
