salt_2007_05_06

For Volunteers, Donors and NonprofitsNo. 21May-Jun 2007

Tomorrow’sWorld

Singapore’s plans to become a philanthropic hubHead of

the ClassParents go back to school

Baby LoveSanctuary House opens its doors

CommunitySpiritUBS AG’s Christine Ong

SalariesIn the Charity SectorHow much is enough?

How Not to GoBureau-crazy

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School’s In!Are Singaporean parents doing enough? Michelle Bong grades our parent volunteer scene.

SALT THOUGHTS

Heart Work, Less PayShould executives working in charity be paid more, to keep pace with the market? Willie Cheng believes they are already paid to market, but suggests that it’s the market that may need to change.

SALT SHAKERS AND MOVERS

Taking ChargeMany people would not consider a bank to be a great charitable source, but as Anita Kapoor discovers, UBS AG’s Managing Director and Singapore Country Head, Christine Ong is leading the charge.

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ON THE COVERFollowing the recent proposal by the government to turn Singapore into a philanthropic hub, Andrew Duffy finds that local NPOs are looking forward to more links with international groups, a bigger pool of expertise, and a growing interest in philanthropy. Page 16Cover photo courtesy of World Vision International–Singapore

2 LETTER FROM SALT SALT TIPS

4 MAILBAG

6 NEWS BRIEFSA wrap-up of events, programmes and activities in the People Sector.

PEOPLE MOVEMENTSAppointments and new postings in the People Sector.

9 VOLUNTEER PROFILEAnglo-Chinese School’s Parent Support Group chairperson Sharon Ho tells Michelle Bong how volunteering is her way of being a guiding light in her sons’ life journey.

11 PEOPLE SECTOR PEOPLEDr Ow Chee Chung tells Angelia Teo about his big plans for the Society for the Physically Disabled.

19 WALK THE TALKWith its extensive transport network, SMRT has found mileage for its CSR initiatives. Sakinah Manaff hops on for a ride.

21 NEW SALTSakinah Manaff learns how Sanctuary House provides much needed refuge for young mothers and their new-born babes.

27 SALT AND PEPPERSometimes, says Iain Ewing, volunteering just means doing what you do best.

28 SALT KITBureaucracy can be frustrating. Jack Sim plots a path for getting new ideas heard by the right people in government.

29 CALENDAR

30 SCENE AND SEEN

32 A DASH OF SALT

May-Jun 2007 S A LT • 1

contents SALT No. 21 May-Jun 2007

DEPARTMENTS

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2 • S A LT May-Jun 2007

SALT is a nonprofit magazine with a managed circulation for members of nonprofit organisations, grantmakers

and companies in Singapore. Those interested in receiving a copy,

please email [email protected]. We regret that the print run prevents

fulfilling all requests.

International readers please email subscriber requests and mailing details.

There will be an annual postage and handling charge for all international subscribers.

MANAGING EDITORTan Chee Koon

DEPUT Y EDITORDaven Wu

CONTRIBUTORSMichelle BongAndrew DuffyAnita Kapoor

Sakinah ManaffAngelia Teo

PUBLISHING CONSULTANT AND MEDIA REPRESENTATIVE

Epigram

SALT is published bi-monthly by the National Volunteer

& Philanthropy Centre7 Maxwell Road

#05-01 Annex B, MND Complex Singapore 069111

Tel: 6550 9595 Fax: 6221 0625

Website: www.nvpc.org.sgEmail: [email protected]

Copyright is held by the publisher. All rights reserved.

Production in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

The views and opinions expressed or implied in SALT are those of the authors

and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher.

Printed by Fabulous Printers

MICA (P) 003/11/2006 ISSN No. 17933-4478

To advertise, please call Cynthia Tay at tel: 6292 4456

Email: [email protected]

L E T T E R F R O M S A L T

Bold visions call for bold moves. And so it was that the announcement in Parliament early this year about plans to turn Singapore into a philanthropy hub was accompanied by significant changes to the existing charity tax laws. This was

no mere tinkering of the system. It was quite an overhaul, the most radical of which, to my mind, was the complete abolition of the 80:20 spending rule.

Now, some grantmakers, philanthropy advisers and others including NVPC had advocated a review of this rule which required charities to spend at least 80% of their annual receipts on charitable causes in Singapore within two years in order to enjoy income tax exemption. But to see it boldly abolished without any replacement criteria (eg spending a % of assets) was a radical move, if any.

There are economic benefits from attracting overseas funds to be managed and allocated out of Singapore. One can already see the benefits from the international not-for-profit organisations that have set up shop in Singapore in terms of employment, tourist arrivals, and so on, according to EDB estimates (pg18).

I wish someone would do the same for local charities – study the full economic impact of the close to 2000 charities that are doing good in one way or another. What would happen if for some unimaginable reason the charities and NPOs with their volunteers down tools and stop functioning? How many employees would be displaced that the local NPO sector currently employs? Or, if the government were to assume the running of these services with full-time employees taking over the work of volunteers, how much would it cost the government coffers? Imagine what it would be like to employ people to man the 24-hour SOS volunteer hotline, conduct the many reading programmes for children with the self-help groups and mentor the youth-at-risk? Some of these programmes might even have to close.

I have an agenda in suggesting this. For the longest time now, I have felt that our local NPOs could be better resourced. For many of them, a full-time employee to manage volunteers is a luxury. Social workers, counsellors, programme administrators double up in the role of volunteer coordination. Imagine what it would be like if the government were to set aside a Resource Mobilisation Fund for IPCs to tap on to fund a full-time volunteer coordinator. The typical response is the fear or a bottomless pit in funding headcount. Details can always be worked out if the vision is caught.

To be a philanthropy hub is great. To be a nation of volunteers is even greater. Radical notions call for radical actions. Let’s be radical.

Tan Chee KoonChief Executive OfficerNational Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre

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MAILBAG

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SHARE? We welcome your letters, news of upcoming events and pictures. Please send them to SALT, 7 Maxwell Road, #05-01 Annex B, MND Complex, Singapore 069111; or email [email protected]. Please include your name, address and daytime phone number. Letters and articles may be edited for space and clarity.

S A L T

T I P SAd Value

I wish to thank NVPC for accommodating my interest in placing a recruitment ad in SALT to advertise for fundraising positions at NTU’s Development Office. We had been trying to fill these

positions for 4-6 months with ads in more traditional places, but had no luck till we placed the ad in SALT. Since then we have been able to fill some of the positions. We are happy with the quality of applicants that came from the ad.

Marina Tan Harper, Director, Development Office, Nanyang Technological University

SALT as a forum for airing serious issues of volunteerism and corporate social responsibility

It is encouraging to read a publication such as SALT that devotes itself entirely to the business of volunteerism, philanthropy, not-for-profit organisations and corporate social responsibility. Your publication has a fine mix of news, inspiring

corporate and personality profiles, incisive journalistic pieces and business articles. No doubt, it helps organisations and corporations focus on the serious issues of corporate social responsibility and volunteerism.

As a nonprofit educational institution serving as an international resource for the understanding, practice and development of leadership worldwide, the Center for Creative Leadership shares your philosophy of benefiting society at large – in our case, through leadership education; in yours, through a media platform that facilitates information-sharing and discussion with respect to the important area of volunteerism.

I look forward to reading further issues of SALT and would venture to say that given the maturing landscape of volunteerism here, coupled with an awakening consciousness to today’s pressing societal as well as environmental concerns, your publication will certainly continue to gather an increasing readership.

Michael Jenkins, Managing Director, CCL Asia

Feeling Good

I read the article on NVPC’s survey of IPCs with interest and can’t help but agree with the value of volunteers in NPOs. Though I do not have any statistics on hand, I do continue to see how some donors are increasingly taking interest in coming on

board to volunteer in the organisations which they are supporting. Doing so, it seems to provide the donors with ways to become more involved in the organisation and to also get to know the organisation better. From conversations with volunteers, the reverse seems to also be true; volunteers seeming to be more ready to donate because they now have a “better feel” of the mission, vision and the kind of work done by the NPO they are in.

I personally do echo NVPC’s recommendation for a paradigm shift by NPOs from a “recruit, release, replace” mentality to a “recruit, review and renew” mentality. It is a much more effective way of engaging and working with our supporters, be it donors and/or volunteers. In the end, all supporters, donors and volunteers should never be taken for granted.

Thanks again for NVPC’s wonderful work in coming up with a publication like SALT and all the good work in promoting volunteerism and philanthropy.

James Lim Soon Leong, Volunteer Coordinator, Territorial Headquarters, The Salvation Army

Says Usha Menon, Chairman of The Resource

Alliance (www.resource-alliance.org), “It is

a mindset. The real situation is that we, as

NPO fundraisers, are not putting in as much time

and effort into donor education and relation-

ship building, as we do fundraising planning

and concept development. We must engage

people in a manner where they’re not asked to

sacrifice but are provided with a meaningful

opportunity to give. In an environment where

causes and fundraising methodologies prolif-

erate, organisations successful in fundraising

and resource mobilisation don’t just motivate

people – they inspire action; they invest energy

in the early stages as well as throughout the

relationship by engaging people with the cause,

building trust and making them feel part of the

solution. So when donors feel that they, together

with the VWO, are responsible for meeting

community needs, they will no longer be ‘tired’

of helping. Currently what the donor is ‘fed-up’

with are the incessant appeals by VWOs for

money to fix a problem, without engaging the

donor as to how they can be part of the solution.”

Robert Schlesinger, Chief Endowment

Officer, Advancement & Alumni, Singapore

Management University, also points out that

“a legitimate concern is how to keep existing

supporters engaged in light of the numerous

appeals they receive. Charities with sophis-

ticated fundraising operations often have

detailed solicitation strategies to secure major

support from top prospects. Often forgotten

is the stewardship strategy once the gift is

secured. How is the gift acknowledged?

What organisational players are involved to

continually engage and bring this important

stakeholder closer to the organisation?

It’s arguable that these aspects are more

important than solicitation: the cost of securing

new supporters to replace disengaged ones

is significantly higher. This is true for any

business and applies equally to the fundraising

sector. Some pointers:

1) Assign a key staff or volunteer to manage

the relationship.

2) Keep donors informed with feedback

about how the funds are being used,

including beneficiary testimonials.

3) Continually thank donors for their support

and involvement.

4) Carefully consider future asks based on the

donors’ relationship with the institution

instead of current needs. ✩

Donor Fatigue – Fact or Fiction?

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B R I E F S

N E W SA W R A P - U P O F H A P P E N I N G S A R O U N D S I N G A P O R E

CHANGES AT THE HELM

With Benedict Cheong’s move to the Temasek

Foundation, his position as the CEO of the

National Council of Social Service is assumed

with effect from 8 June by Ms Ang Bee Lian,

currently the Director of Rehabilitation, Protection

& Residential Services Division, MCYS. The position

she vacates will in turn be occupied by Mr Jason

Wong who vacates his position as the Deputy

Director/Chief of Staff, Singapore Prison Service.

Adieu, Geri LauThe Singapore Red Cross said goodbye to an era when it bid farewell to Mrs

Geri Lau, its long serving Secretary General. Over 200 guests gathered at the York Hotel on 31 March for the send-off that was themed “Aloha Geri”. The

party was secretly planned by the society’s staff and volunteers in recognition of Mrs Lau’s 12 years of service. Guests included Lt Gen Winston Choo, Retd. (Chairman, SRC), council members, past and present staff and volunteers who came dressed in their “Hawaii Best” to party the night away.

After 12 years of dedicated service with the Singapore

Red Cross, Mrs Geri Lau saves the last dance for her friends.

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

On 8 March, Motorola Singapore paid

tribute to some of the country’s

elderly womenfolk by treating residents

of the Asian Women’s Welfare Association

(AWWA) to food, games, and a makeover

at the Motorola facility in Ang Mo Kio. The

event was part of Motorola’s first global

celebration of International Women’s Day.

Female volunteer staff and professional

stylists transformed the residents with

make-up and manicures. Commemorative

bookmarks were distributed to staff in the

early morning. These bookmarks were made

by members of the Movement of the Intel-

lectually Disabled of Singapore, a long-time

Motorola partner. Special lunch packs were

sold at the staff cafeteria with $1 from each

sale going to AWWA. The event was organ-

ised by the Singapore Women’s Business

Council. Says Alina Rizzo, Chairperson of

SWBC, “We are...heartened by our female

staff’s enthusiasm in capitalising on the

occasion to give back to society.”

SCHOLARSHIPS TO GO GREEN

Celebrate the spirit of volunteering with friends from around the region at the XI International

Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) Asia Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference. Held in Nagoya-

Aichi from 7-11 December, the conference, themed “Collaborative Action for Global Environmental Issues”,

will feature four special forum sessions: Senior Citizens’ Volunteering, Corporate Volunteering, Large-scale

Events Volunteer Management and Volunteering, and Disaster Management. General sessions will cover

Youth Volunteering, Service Learning, Volunteer Management, IT and Volunteering and Multi-Cultural

Issues and Volunteering.

IAVE members who sign up before 31 August will get a preferential rate of US$270 (U.P US$350).

Be among the first to benefit from five Harvard Singapore Foundation-National Volunteer & Philanthropy

Centre conference fee scholarships of US$270 each for Singapore-based participants who are IAVE members.

To apply for a scholarship, log on to www.nvpc.org.sg ; for IAVE membership, log on to www.iave.org.

Motorola ladies in pink treating the elderly from the Asian Women’s Welfare Association to a glamorous make-over session at the Motorola office. The event was organised by the Motorola Singapore Women’s Business Council in celebration of International Women’s Day.



P E O P L E M O V E M E N T S

Winston Tang joined the Home

Nursing Foundation (HNF) as

its general manager in January

2007. Established more than

30 years ago, HNF has grown

to become one of Singapore’s

major providers of home nursing services to

the elderly sick, particularly the needy.

Manogaran Suppiah was

appointed the new CEO of

SINDA this past February. With

26 years of expertise in the

education sector, he is looking

to further sharpen SINDA’s focus

on education to excite, energise and empower

the community. He was also a grassroots leader

in Nee Soon Central for 10 years, and has worked

on the committees of the ComCare Fund and

the President’s Challenge.

Phyllis Tan joined the Metro-

politan YMCA as HR Executive in

1990. Her role quickly expanded

to include strategic planning

and communications, board

liaison and international

relations. This February, she was appointed

as the organisation’s first female executive

director and CEO. With the changing operating

environment for nonprofits, Ms Tan will work

towards meeting the threefold challenge of

greater institutional viability, social relevance

and mission clarity.

Christopher Chua joined the

Singapore Red Cross (SRC) as

senior manager of operations

in 2005. As the SRC’s new

Secretary General, Mr Chua will

be fully responsible for the

implementation of policies and directives laid

down by the Council and the EXCO of the SRC.

As a member of the Tsunami Reconstruction

Facilitation Committee, he also reviews and

approves the funding of reconstruction and

rehabilitation projects submitted by local

NGOs/VWOs.

Tan Suee Chieh took over as

the Chief Executive of NTUC

Income in February. He has a

first class honours degree from

the London School of Economics

and is a Fellow of the Royal

Statistical Society and Institute of Actuaries.

Mr Tan has been a consistent supporter of the

Singapore Children’s Society since 1989, as a

volunteer and a fundraiser. He is currently a

member of its Executive Committee.

Animal PlanetOn 3 March, Singapore Management University’s Campus Green played

Dr Doolittle to a host of animals. The celebratory atmosphere – people laughing, tails wagging and both feet and paws padding around the campus

– was an apt occasion for the university’s very first Animal Day. All the major animal organisations were represented as more than two hundred people, sixty dogs and two hamsters gathered to address the welfare needs of animals. Organised by People For Animal Welfare, the goal was to provide animal organisations with a platform to address the critical issues animals are currently facing. Guest-of-honour Louis Ng, executive director for Animal Concerns and Educational Society was joined by speakers from Action for Singapore Dogs and SPCA. Competitions such as Best Talent and Best Groomed were an opportunity for proud pet owners to show off their best friends.

Owners and their pampered pooches.

A GOOD FOUNDATION

The recent announcement that Temasek Holdings was setting up a foundation was

greeted with warmth from the community. Though it’s still early days, the impact of the

foundation – its mission is nothing less than to spur the development of people in Asia –

will be substantial and far-reaching. Given the value of Temasek’s investments, the size of

the foundation’s initial endowment is expected to be substantial – perhaps $500m or more.

Heading up the new foundation is Benedict Cheong who left his post as chief executive

at the National Council of Social Service to become the foundation’s CEO on 23 April.

Mr Cheong told The Business Times that the foundation will start off small. “The numbers

have not been finalised and it depends on the scale and scope of our work. We prefer

to start with a lean set-up and build it over time” with education and education-related

projects. He added that “the measure of success of the foundation will be the impact it

has made on the lives of the people we work with in programmes in each country. People

call it venture philanthropy. I don’t really like the term. It’s a big word. I just see it as giving

value back to the community.”


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Her weekday mornings are largely spent organising monthly meetings in a meeting room on

the fourth floor of Anglo-Chinese Primary School’s (ACSP) administration block. Here, members of the Parent Support Group (PSG) congregate after seeing their boys off to classes. In the afternoon, she zips back to her office to catch up on work as the director of a conference management company.

To say Sharon Ho is indefatigable is an understatement. For the mother of two boys, aged 16 and 11, such a lifestyle has become very much a part of her weekly routine. She first became a volunteer when her elder son was eight. Amazed by the strong network of parent volunteerism that has enjoyed an illustrious history in one of Singapore’s oldest schools, Ho was inspired to become an active fundraiser before gradually getting more involved in the PSG’s other activities.

As PSG’s chairperson, she organises and holds meetings every month to gather feedback about curriculum changes, brain-storm new ideas or fundraising initiatives and clarify new school policies among her fellow members. PSG comprises ten sub-committees in areas such as Christian Emphasis, Class Support, Gardening and Pastoral Care. It has built up a current pool of some 200 parent volunteers. They actively contribute to various school programmes and events, serving as chap-erones on field trips, library managers or coaches for various sports teams.

“In the ACS family of six schools, parent volunteerism is very strong,” explains Ho. “A lot of members cherish a strong attach-ment with the school and they send their sons here and feel that, to some extent, they are stakeholders of the school. They enjoyed their years here, and want the same for their sons. Over the years, a strong holistic environment has been cultivated and continues to be nurtured today.”

Ho’s dedication to parent volunteerism is fuelled by her desire to grow as a person alongside her sons. By being involved, she is able to work closely with the school management, have an active voice in the development of her children and get a clear overall picture of what is done and why. This allows her to have a better idea of the school’s mission, the reasons behind the implementation of policies and so on. At the same time, being a parent volun-teer allows her to be near her boys and be more involved in their day-to-day activities. Her husband has also joined PSG’s pastoral care sub-committee and is one of several fathers who gather for weekly prayer sessions.

“For me, satisfaction lies in how my boys and I enjoy a healthier relationship. For them to see me so involved in their

school life gives them a sense of comfort, knowing that I am there for them and have their best interests at heart. Socially, I have also made new friends, working alongside the other parents to achieve common goals. Most of all it gives me a deeper understanding of the struggles teachers go through every day in order to touch lives and empower the minds of their young pupils.”

She intends to continue being active in her role to facilitate collaboration between teachers, students, parents and the ACSP community at large for as long as possible.

And the one thing that remains a constant on her agenda is recruitment, thanks to the inevitable need to grow the volunteer pool. Although word of mouth remains a powerful tool, new blood is usually sought each year during the Primary One orientation process, when information about PSG is shared with parents of new students. Parent volunteers take the opportunity to mingle and help their potential-PSG recruits gain a better perspective of the avenues in which they can help.

While a little encouragement is always necessary to galvanise more support, Ho is not the least bit worried that the well will run dry. “It’s hard to explain, you just know that the strong participation of parents in the school will continue,” she laughs. “I daresay I can stand on the street and wave an ACS flag, and an alumni or ACSian will come forward to ask me how they can help!” ✩

Sharon (in purple), ACS Principal Richard Lim, Vice Principal Grace Tan and PSG committee members gather for a meeting session.

“ For me, satisfaction lies in how my boys and I enjoy a healthier relationship.”

V O L U N T E E R P R O F I L E

Where the Boys AreAnglo-Chinese School’s Parent Support Group chairperson Sharon Ho tells MICHELLE BONG

how volunteering is her way of being a guiding light in her sons’ life journeys.



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There is a quiet air of humility around Dr Ow Chee Chung, the executive director of the Society for

the Physically Disabled (SPD). He prefers a profile that highlights his “team role” and emphasises the “we” rather than his singular role in the achievements SPD has made in the past four years.

And there have been many. Last year, SPD was awarded the Nonprofit Organi-sation Award by NVPC for its management of volunteers, donors and resources. For instance, its Taxi Driver Income Tax Scheme, which offers free e-filing services, demonstrates how the physically disabled can play a part – they are the ones who do the e-filing for taxi drivers who are voluntary drivers, too.

And it’s this ability to bring people together that’s helped SPD grow from strength to strength. “We see them (volun-teers, donors and supporters) as fellow advocates, people who can help to advance the cause of people with physical disabil-ities and to help raise awareness of them, their challenges and issues,” says Dr Ow.

In recent months, SPD has come into the public eye with high-profile partner-ships. HSBC raised more than $400,000 for SPD and it also recently entered a strategic partnership with Microsoft to provide IT training courses to help improve

the disabled’s employment prospects. SPD also has their first regional centre opening in July and an SPD Charity Show, too.

“SPD has been around for more than 40 years,” says Dr Ow. “Through the years we have gained a good understanding of the needs of disabled people and have gone on to build a range of services to meet their needs.”

And key to helping these people is SPD’s use of technology. “We believe that technology can level the playing field,” says Dr Ow, “especially in our rehabilita-tion services. We have made much head ground in technology and rehabilitation.” Like how SPD has implemented assistive technology devices in its Shelter Work-shops and the Multimedia Centre.

For Dr Ow, seeing the number of lives SPD has touched is a highlight in his career. “We used to serve 400 clients but now we serve 2000,” the 40-year-old medical doctor says. “And I have seen many of our clients overcome their disabilities; stroke patients who have gotten back on their feet rather than just going to a nursing home to recuperate.”

Dr Ow credits his team and the board of directors for much of these achievements. “Everything centres on

our people,” he says. “I get satisfaction from working with them. To see what we can get done together; how we all gel as a team and to agree with the board on the direction for SPD.”

Prior to joining SPD, Dr Ow was the director of corporate services at the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. He also worked for the National Cancer Centre and the KK Women’s and Children Hospital. And the

crossover to charity sector has raised some important questions for him.

“I personally feel that it’s a miscon-ception that because it’s social work, you don’t need to be paid adequately,” he begins. “This concept of people who work out of passion, who volunteer, is a fair one, but are there enough of such people to go around? Another glaring miscon-ception is that the nonprofit sector is less complicated and therefore doesn’t require skilled professionals. We need to pay professional rates to, for example, therapists and counselors. Otherwise, how can we deliver these services?”

He adds, “With the tightening of governance control, operation of an NPO has gone up in cost and complexity.” Still, these issues haven’t deterred Dr Ow from keeping SPD on target with its goals to develop the potential within people with disabilities and teaching them self-reliance and independence. And the man has a plan, “We have mapped out a path for the next three years, up to 2010.” ✩

Dr Ow Chee Chung, who believes in personal interaction with staff, management and clients, chit chats with SPD’s Multimedia Centre trainee, 26-year-old Yeo Jie Wee. Since joining SPD in 2004, Jie Wee has picked up many skills and is now a digital artist who also engages in web and graphic design.


Man of ModestyDr Ow Chee Chung has big plans for the Society for the Physically Disabled, where he is

the executive director. ANGELIA TEO finds out how he hopes to grow it big.

“ Another glaring miscon-ception is that the nonprofit social service sector is less complicated and there-fore doesn’t require skilled professionals, talents or much resource.”

P E O P L E S E C T O R P E O P L E



Parents are heading back to school, not for a second education but to have a larger vested interest in Parents are heading back to school, not for a second education but to have a larger vested interest in their child’s holistic development. MICHELLE BONG scopes out Singapore’s parent volunteer scene, and their child’s holistic development. MICHELLE BONG scopes out Singapore’s parent volunteer scene, and

finds out where local parents stand in comparison with their famously-gung ho American peers.finds out where local parents stand in comparison with their famously-gung ho American peers.

Where can you find a dedicated number of individuals who devote their time, energies and professional expertise towards the grooming of tomorrow’s future? Ask anyone

that question, and nine times out of ten, the answer is likely to be “schools”.

But lest you assume teachers and principals are doing all the grooming and nurturing, think again. In many cases, behind every staff or faculty member lies a group of parents that plays an integral part of the scholastic fabric. Like supporting actors without which there would not be a play, they are the eyes, ears, hands, legs and above all, heart, of activities and programmes geared towards their children’s holistic development.

Commonly referred to as parent volunteers, they spend hours of their busy weeks juggling school meet-ings and brainstorming sessions with professional jobs, and in the case of homemakers, the caring of their other children and the running of the household. Their active involvement is not a reflection of desperate attempts to get their son or daughter enrolled in an elite school. Instead, it stems from an inherent need to be a bigger part of their child’s world. Granted, there are parents who become whirling dervishes of activity for the sake of helping their child gain entry into their school of choice, only to disappear once

that classroom seat is secured. However, there are parents whose efforts continue to be sustained by dedication and passion many years on.

Like MNCs, VWOs and NPOs, schools are a hotbed for volun-teerism efforts. Yet, they remain relatively untapped. In Singapore,

where a dual-income family is the norm, parents tend to plead time constraints as an excuse, opting to put food on the table instead of putting up a stall at the school carnival.

“As much as I want to be active, I can’t find the time,” says a parent of neighbourhood school-going teen, who declines to named. “My daughter complains that I am not like her classmates’ parents who pitch in to help at events. All I can do is shrug and say her school hours are my work hours, and practicality outweighs my best intentions.”

In stark contrast, the inclination to do something is a responsibility that one is loathe to shirk in American schools where the culture of parent volunteerism is strong. Parents are known to make the time to assume a myriad of responsibilities ranging from coaching Little League baseball teams to running on-campus stores.

This time-honoured US trend is mirrored some

Doing It WellDoing It Well

Parent volunteers at Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) lead the boys in songs of worship.

C L A S S STCA



9,525 miles away here in Singapore. At the Singapore American School (SAS), parents display active school citizenry by starting an ARTS Council that displays art created by students and better known artists around campus, organising trips to the theatre and symphony, and running a programme for teenage students that teaches social etiquette, table manners and ballroom dancing.

“Parents play a huge role in our school programme,” says school superintendent Bob Gross. “I don’t have the latest figures, but we must have at least 750 parents who volun-teer their services throughout the school year. Most of them are the mothers aged 30 to 55, whose spouses are employed in the diplomatic or international business community.”

It’s all hands on deck, led by the separate groups. The Parent Teacher Association’s (PTA) members serve as classroom moms assisting in organising field trips or all-day County Fairs and serving breakfast and lunch to all faculty members during Staff Appreciation day; a High School Booster Club supports gradu-ation breakfasts, gives financial aid scholarships and operates a school store on campus; another committee of parents annually organises a major fundraising dinner for SAS’ Development program (they raised a whopping $400,000 this year); and an after school group (SACAC) made up of parents coaches after-school activities.

Mae Anderson, a homemaker and secretary of the PTA Board’s Executive Committee, is an example of a typical SAS parent volunteer. She devotes up to 30 hours a week to meetings, planning sessions and other related events, and is troop leader for her 10-year-old’s Junior Girl Scout Troop and her seven-year old’s Brownie Troop. Not surprisingly, Anderson says her work brings much satisfaction. “You know you are doing something that really matters. I’ve always found it hard to reconcile ambition with motherhood, and my volunteer work allows me to keep abreast with working professionals, and stay on a decidedly steeper learning curve,” she says.

In comparison, how active is the parent volunteer scene here in local schools? A poll among 10 parent volunteers and three school

principals from elite as well as neighbourhood schools indicates that while more parents need to come forward, those currently leading by example through parent

support groups (PSG) are doing a commendable job.Lui Suit Cheng, whose son is in Catholic High School

(Primary), helps with the school’s “Teach Me to Fish” programme which imparts basic life skills such as sewing a button, cooking instant noodles and applying a bandage, and has overseen a PSG initiative to sell goodies during

the Lunar New Year. “For me, it is really a case of trying to spend my time in a meaningful way and using my skills appropriately. It’s also a good way to network with other parents and learn more about the school’s mission.”

Northlight School (NLS), which opened its doors in January this year to students who need a more custom-ised and vocational curriculum, has garnered strong support from the parents of its students, most of whom are 14-year-old former school drop-outs. According to principal Chua Yen Ching, “Meet the Parents” sessions have already galvanised a group of 27 parents to offer help in any way, while others chaperone swimming classes or supervise the baking of cookies as part of the work@NLS programme which inculcates work ethics.

Besides helping with events that develop the child in terms of aptitude or fitness, there are also

mothers who dedicate their time towards spiritual develop-ment. Sherry Goh and Koh Geok Cheng, whose sons are in Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), started out as parent volunteers for FunTime, a weekly one-hour programme on Wednesdays comprising games, praise and worship, and bible stories for all Primary One and Three boys.

Both mothers, who have been involved for some five years now, have also gone on to support other activities such as Racial Harmony Day, school carnivals and the annual Teacher’s Day lunch. Says Koh, “I am glad to be able to help the school with my time and effort. And since my professional training as an accountant didn’t equip me with skills like interacting with kids, my volunteer efforts have been a learning process.”

It’s heartening to know that volun-teerism is not limited to the mommies – the daddies are in on the act too. Bervyn Lee, whose daughter is in

Methodist Girls School, has been a volunteer for six years now, lending support by running fundraising projects, conducting school events such as night walks and school games and even teaching PE (having been trained in that

“You know you are doing something that really matters. I’ve always found it hard to reconcile ambition with motherhood, and my volunteer work allows me to keep abreast with working professionals, and stay on a decidedly steeper learning curve.”

— Mae Anderson

You Say ‘PTA’, You Say ‘PTA’, I Say ‘PSG’I Say ‘PSG’

Calling Calling the Menthe Men



7

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area and is MOE-certified). He says he is motivated by “the chance to work with children and other parents”, and joins other MGS parent volunteers who meet once a month and rely heavily on email for communication and updates after tasks have been divvied up among them. Says Lee, “Every year at orientation, I ask for more parents to help out, especially fathers. I think there is a special bond between dad and daughter!”

Meanwhile, father of two Edmund Wee, whose children are in Anglo-Chinese School (Interna-tional), has even made a culinary name for himself despite his ad-hoc participation. The self-professed cooking aficionado’s mascarpone cheese-laced mushroom soup proved to be such a hit during a Teacher’s Day lunch that he’s been approached to impart the recipe to students through a co-curricular activity class! “It’s actually a recipe by Anthony Bourdain,” he laughs, “but I will go teach that class when I can find the time. I like cooking, and volunteering among other wonderful, like-minded parents makes the effort fun.”

The dads at SAS must have thought so too. At the recent Staff Appreciation day, several took time out from work to arrive early at the school to help out in the kitchen. They may have assumed fairly simple tasks like frying omelettes and blending fruit smoothies, but they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

At the same time, all the parent volunteers who spoke to SALT say their child is proud of their efforts. Says Anderson, “My children say they enjoy seeing me at school every now and then, and my work helps to reinforce in their minds that their welfare is the top priority for my husband and me.” Goh adds that by understanding what is happening at her son’s school, she and her son are able to discuss what’s going on and enjoy a deepened relationship. “He loves it,” she says, “although his friends sometimes tease him that he’ll win more prizes during games that I help organise!”

Evidently, the first step towards parent volunteerism is as easy as saying yes when approached, or making a call to the school principal.

But to complement this, schools should also play a part to enrich their programmes, provide additional resources to enhance student life and support teachers in their work through creative ways.

“Partnering with parents is important as they are a vital component of the school community,” says Chua. “They are a good resource in terms of expertise and talents. For example, one of our student’s parents is a freelance editor who can help to edit our school publications, leaving teachers to concentrate on other areas. And during

International Friendship Week, the parents of one of the students came forward to give a presentation to the children on a project they had done in Cambodia. When parents are involved this way, they are also in a position to better understand the rationale for school programmes and how these are aligned to the overall vision.”

Daisie Yip, principal of Gong-Shang Primary, agrees. The neigh-bourhood school has a pool of 300 parent volunteers, out of whom 90 are fathers and eight form a core-committee. They participate in the school’s strategic planning every year, to become facilitators of activities such as Primary One orientation, field trips, Family Day and Scouts-related events. They also serve as Reading Mums, cooking instructors and line-dancing teachers.

“It takes a whole village to educate a child,” says Yip, adding that it is not enough for the school to teach values and lessons; parents have

a responsibility in the nurturing process. To complement this, schools can play a part by involving parents in the decision-making process wherever possible, and create events that add to the parenting role, such as school picnics.

A little cross-institutional learning can’t hurt either. Says Gross, “Singaporean schools can engage more parent volunteers by being very specific in where volunteers would be useful. Sometimes parents have a difficult time believing they are needed or could be useful. They seem to be much more consumed with raising their families and scheduling their children for various activities and tutoring sessions.

“It is critical that parents’ contributions are recognised; whatever the school can do to let them know their help is appreciated will quickly spread to others who may be reluc-tant to participate. And by being specific about the activity, approximately how much time will be required and on what day, schools can increase the number of volunteers.”

Liak Teng Lit, CEO of Alexandra Hospital who sits on various school advisory boards including NLS, Pathlight School and SMU’s School of Information Science, seconds this. He says, “It’s all in the approach. Invite parents to

Knowing How Knowing How to Leverage on to Leverage on Know-HowKnow-How

“ Schools are much closer to home than one would think. The government can deal with the bigger picture of ensuring a good education system, but ultimately, schools need the hearts and minds of people, including parents, to take things one step further.”

— Liak Teng Lit, CEO Alexandra Hospital and school Board member



showcase their abilities, let them know what areas they can help in, but don’t just give them a directive to be at a place at a certain time. Rather, ask them when they are free, and how they would like to contribute towards what needs to be done.

“Schools are much closer to home than one would think. The government can deal with the bigger picture of ensuring a good education system, but ultimately, schools need the hearts and minds of people, including parents, to take things one step further.”

Where do local parent volunteers – albeit truly dedicated ones – stand, as compared to their American peers? Principals decline to comment, but

parents are more vocal. Lui believes Singaporean parents are no less enthusiastic. “Up until I started volunteering, I thought, parent volunteerism in Singapore is behind that of the US and Australia,” she says. “But now I think we are on par. I feel that the problem in Singapore is that most schools try to turn to their own teachers first and only approach parents as back-up. It should be commu-nicated that there are all sorts of activities which require an extra pair of hands or eyes, and parent volunteerism is not just for the well educated or English-speaking. I came across a mother who told me she could not help the school due to her poor English, yet I understood her English perfectly!”

Meanwhile, Anderson, who is married to an American expatriate, points a finger at economics. She explains, “It does seem to me that American parents are more proactive, and will take pains to be involved even if they are working. However, since both husband and wife work in many Singapore households, there may not be a parent with free time to volunteer.”

Ultimately, Liak says in order to inspire the majority of schools that are not doing much, it is important to highlight success stories and commend those who do it well. To him, the ability of the school’s principal and faculty members to rally parental help is instrumental in how many come forward to step up to the plate. He explains, “They need to be engaging, enthusiastic, inspired. Then they will be able to convince others through their infectious energy. As the saying goes, insurance is always sold, never bought.”

He singles out NLS’ Chua Yen Ching and former Victoria Junior College (VJC) principal Lee Phui Mun as shining examples.

“Yen Ching has really turned things around at NLS,” he says. “At the last board meeting held in the school, I observed smiling, confident students. I felt a positive atmosphere, and their sense of energy. Yen Ching has worked well with parent volunteers. For instance, she proactively sought the help of a parent who’s a landscaper to create a lovely school garden, something to be enjoyed by all.

“Similarly, Lee was always excited about new ideas, and full of verve. To her, VJC was the best school in the world, and a breeding ground for new initiatives and activities. She was so fervent about what more could be done that it was impossible for any parent to turn her down when she asked for help!”

More can be done to encourage parents’ involve-ment, but till then, current successes should definitely be built upon. For instance, the formulaic membership drives for parents of new Primary One pupils, endorsed by today’s successful schools, should be maintained. And if more schools jump on the bandwagon, the isolated sparks that are evident around the island can become a strong blaze that grows in intensity and fervour every year.

At the same time, schools should also take advantage of training sessions that the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) will commence from September onwards to assist schools in developing an effective volunteer management system framework to actively recruit, engage and retain parent volunteers. (Interested principals can contact Ms Lam Moy Yin at [email protected]).

Nurturing the parent volunteerism culture is a marathon, not a race.

And every stride counts. Says Chua, “The greatest satisfaction

is to see the students looking forward to school and responding positively to the different programmes conducted for them. We intend to do more, and we are grateful for the encouragement and support provided by the

well wishers both within and outside the school community.” ✩

Sizing Up the Sizing Up the CompetitionCompetition

Ensuring Ensuring SustainabilitySustainability

Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) parent volunteer Koh Geok Cheng (extreme right) joins other parents in a sing-along.



A butterfly flaps its wings in Tokyo, and causes a tornado in California. Basic chaos theory, but it’s true in practice, too.

Natural disasters know no boundaries, and increasingly, philanthropy doesn’t either. A tsunami off Indonesia rocks Sri Lanka, and international help flows through Singapore. And even in the calmer waters of international trade, nonprofit organisa-tions (NPOs) are setting up everywhere.

In an increasingly globalised world, no nation can be an island – least of all this island nation.

So when Second Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam, in his Budget speech in February, unveiled the plan to make Singapore a philanthropy hub, the NPO sector was, and is, cautiously hopeful about what the changes are likely to bring.

The plan had four main points: a change in the 80:20 fund-raising rule; and another with the 80:20 spending rule; double tax deductions for donations to philanthropic grantmaking organisations if the funds are channelled into IPCs in Singapore; and tax breaks to attract NPOs that can bring economic value to Singapore.

Taken together, these points are designed to turn Singapore into a philan-thropy hub.

First question: what exactly is a philanthropy hub? The details won’t be out until September, and for now the ministries and statutory boards are reluctant to answer questions. But some things are clear.

For a start, Singapore is well placed, geopolitically. The coups and riots, tsunamis and earthquakes that have rocked neighbouring countries have missed Singa-pore, and this stability can help position Singapore as a philanthropic hub.

“We should leverage on Singapore’s strength of transparency in government,” says Zulkifli Baharudin, former chairman of Mercy Relief. “We have appropriate laws that help us to be custodians of funds to be spent in the region. For example, we were doing work in Aceh after the tsunami, and while a lot of funds could have gone straight to Indonesia, it was seen that Singapore was a safe conduit.”

So, will international funds looking for regional partners and a safe haven flood into Singapore? If only it were that easy. For a hub to grow, “we have to be friendly towards the region,” says Baharudin. “We have to be able to spend our own money more widely. If we can show that our own money is spent in the region, it is easier to attract international organisations to do the same.”

By the same token, a regime which is not keen on extending its charity beyond its own shores will find it harder to persuade outside agencies to do so.

So the message is clear: Singapore is looking to spread its benevolence more widely. Willie Cheng, chairman of the new Catholic Social and Community Council, points out that “regardless of what the detailed changes are, one important message is that we are no longer so narrow that we think charity stays at home. We are now a country which is mature enough to start giving more overseas.”

This is a radical change, the first one announced, in fact. The change is significant, because charities will have less restriction on how they use their funds. For instance, they will have more flexibility to spend in Singapore or outside Singapore, and may use their funds over time to sustain their programmes.

“With the 80:20 spending rule, it is almost like money becomes old stock, so you have to have a sale to get rid of it at the end of the year,” says Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation. “People are thrifty at the beginning of the year and then rush to spend at the end of the year. That’s not good. This change will encourage more prudence.”

So NPOs are now freer to plan long-term, but most want to see what details emerge in September before changing. Others, like the Student Advisory Centre, will carry on as usual: “My chairman, Peter Douglas, says the idea is that a charity should do as much good as it can with the resources it has as soon as it can,” says Trevor Xie, its founder and director. “We don’t prepare for the long term, we just spend money on our beneficiaries as soon as we have the funding to do so.”

A spokesman for World Vision Singa-pore, a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation, says that they took the announcements to mean greater delib-eration in shaping a country that cares for

JOINING HANDSFollowing the recent proposal by the government to turn Singapore into a philanthropic hub, ANDREW DUFFY finds the local NPOs looking forward to more links with international groups, a bigger pool of expertise, and a growing interest in philanthropy.

“ We will...capitalise on our strengths as a key financial centre to develop Singapore as an attractive hub for global philanthropic organisations.”

“ I will remove the 80:20 spending rule for income tax exemption for registered charities. This rule requires charities to spend at least 80% of their annual receipts on charitable causes in Singapore within two years in order to enjoy income tax exemption.”

8

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Hopeful children after the Tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia. Mercy Relief



Usha Menon, director for regional programmes and resource development, Asia-Pacific, at international house-building charity Habitat For Humanity International, says most of their funds are raised by individuals and corporations and their reach is overseas, so they are affected by changes to the 80:20 fund-raising rule, and can now do more. “People who cannot leave Singapore to volunteer abroad but can still contribute financially, can be involved more,” she says.

“For example, some Alexandra Hospital staff went to Jogjakarta. The doctors had money but no time, and the rank-and-file staff had leave to clear but not the where-withal – so we organised a matching scheme where the doctors helped the staff go to Jogjakarta. They came back and shared their experiences and both sides felt equally involved.” The change to the rules would help them to do more initiatives like this.

Habitat For Humanity has a regional presence, but also works locally, with teams helping in one-room flats across the island. But to president of the Nature Society, Dr Geh Min, local and regional are the same. “The sea knows no boundaries,” she says. “So it is necessary to act regionally. It’s the same for the haze and climate change.

“For example, we still have coral in southern Singapore – you can draw boundaries around it – but we know there is cross-fertilisation from other reefs, and the health of the coral reefs in the whole

region impacts on each other,” she says. She describes the Budget speech as “timely” because there is only so much anyone can do in the local context without a regional reach.

The Nature Society has long-term links with the World Conservation Union, as well as BirdLife International. They now seek to help fight deforestation by a coalition with BirdLife International, Burung Indonesia and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, with the Harapan Forest Project.

“We have managed to get the Indo-nesian government to change the laws on forest concessions... so you can buy up logging concessions and conserve instead,” explains Geh. “And it’s not just buying the land, it’s also running it as a viable forest, and giving local communities an alternative to logging. The change to the 80:20 rule will enable us to be partners in this.”

Other groups, such as the Lien Foun-dation, have had a regional vision all along. “There won’t be any impact, as our work has all the while been 100% regional,” says Lee Poh Wah, chairman of Lien Aid. “If the Lien Foundation is unshackled from the 80:20 rule, we will hunt and engineer more regional philanthropic opportunities, which typically offer twice the bang for half the buck compared to local projects.”

From an international NPO’s perspective, Habitat’s Menon is cautiously optimistic. Like most, she is waiting to see the fine details in September. “Am I jumping up and down? Not yet,” she says. “We need to see how it will pan out. But I am glad that steps are being taken, and that the pulse of the market has been felt a little.”

“ This will enable charities to optimise their activities in Singapore and in the region...”

“ We will relax the 80:20 fund-raising rule, which requires any organisation seeking to raise funds for any foreign charitable purpose to spend, in Singapore, at least 80% of the funds raised.”

8020

Sthe underprivileged, poor and oppressed beyond geographical boundaries. “If we can have an environment where there is a level playing field and Singaporeans can freely choose the charities they entrust their giving to, only then can we truly say we are walking the talk – to help Singapore develop the heartware that would make our ‘global citizens’ strategy concrete.”

Currently, charities raising funds for overseas causes must spend 80% of money raised within Singapore. Once the rule is relaxed, more of these funds can go overseas. Details are to be announced in September.

Home-based Eco4TheWorld, casting its sights regionally, plans to reforest villages in Indonesia destroyed by recent forest fires. According to its executive director, Vikram Raman, the organisation will start small and tackle just one of the 6,000 villages in need of reforestation. The plan is to plant indigenous trees, fruit trees and help villagers plant food too, so there will be a cash crop while the trees grow.

Locally, one of the first things Eco4TheWorld did was to bring in the Burned Trees sculptures that are raising awareness at locations around the island such as the Shangri-La Hotel and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. The organisation is also part of the UN Environ-ment Programme Billion Tree campaign which is working with South West CDC to plant 100,000 trees and plants.

Burned Trees exhibition project at the Shangri-la hotel.

Singaporeans getting involved packing play packs as part of Mercy Relief’s activities.

Zulkifli Baharudin, former chairman of Mercy Relief sharing a moment with students in Central Java.

ercy Relief workers at a field hospital in Pakistan.



The organisations Minister Shanmug-aratnam had in mind are “economically desirable NPOs with linkages to key economic clusters of our economy and regional or international focus”. These NPOs include standards organisations and research bodies, according to Kenneth Tan, the executive director of the EDB’s New Businesses Group.

They would join NPOs such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the Association of International Accoun-tants and the Asia Pacific Counter-trade Association.

The new scheme will be run by EDB, and overseen by Tan. He explained the reasons behind the move: “The new incen-tive scheme aims to attract NPOs with link-ages to key economic clusters to Singapore.

“Such NPOs can help support and entrench these industries here as well as generate economic spin-offs for our MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) sector. EDB has estimated that our fledging NPO sector has generated at least $30 million in total business spending and $60 million of value-added per year over the last three years, and about 50,000 visitor nights and $17 million in tourism receipts in 2005 alone.”

The Lien Foundation sees three advantages to attracting more NPOs here. “First, wouldn’t it be wonderful if Warren Buffet parked his money in the Lien Foun-dation instead of with Gates? More money into the Singapore system,” notes Lee.

“Second, philanthropy is a proponent of soft power. It will add more heart and grace to our Singapore brand, and we will be a richer nation for our contributions.

“And finally, philanthropy rides on the coat-tail of wealth creation. Any wealth management centre worth its salt must have a thriving philanthropy scene as philan-thropy gives meaning to people’s wealth.”

Zulkifli Baharudin from Mercy Relief sees other spin-offs, such as the

boost to employment here from the services that philanthropic foundations and charities and NPOs need.

It can also help Singapore’s image in the region, which is not always entirely benevolent. Terry Alan Farris, head of Philanthropy Services for Asia Pacific at UBS AG Singapore, compares it to Micro-soft and Bill Gates. “The perception was that they were trying to conquer the world, but they were just good at what they do. The perception is that Singapore is trying to buy things up and influence the region, because it has been good at what it does. Philanthropy can help enhance its image.”

Image is one thing, though: won’t more NPOs simply mean more competition?

One danger of attracting interna-tional VWOs is that large and small groups could end up fighting for the same pie. “If everything opens up to bigger founda-tions to give overseas, then some of the money will certainly not find its way here,” foresees Cheng. “But overall, it encourages philanthropy for its own sake.”

Xie at the smallish Student Advisory Centre cannot imagine that there will be a turf war, as NPOs here are so well established.

Others see the arrival of outside agencies as being all for the greater good. “NPOs are good at creating greater awareness, and any time you have greater awareness, it helps the cause,” says Farris. “Look at Hong Kong, which has always been open and they have been able to live side by side.”

Geh is optimistic about the arrival of more international NPOs (joining, among others, Helen Keller International and the World Wide Fund for Nature). She accepts that there would be competition for funds, manpower and volunteers, but to counter that, she thinks “there will still be a need for local NPOs, to have a feel of the ground. International NPOs know this, too.”

On balance, then, more ‘competition’ will be healthy. “The more groups we have

working for the cause, the better it is for the cause. We’re not working for the long-term growth of the society; we’re working for the cause,” says Geh.

Though having more NPOs in town might raise the bar for fundraising, yet, it’s not about competition. “The Nature Society has been a pioneer in many ways,” says Geh. “And pioneers do not take a proprietary view; the more people who come in, the better.”

Eco4TheWorld’s Raman agrees. “I’m sure international NPOs will come in and after a while, we will start to see how we can work together, pool our resources and get greater effect with the funding. Also with international NPOs coming in, we’ll have access to a greater knowledge base, with more international exposure to the cause.”

The National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre subscribes to this view. Its CEO Tan Chee Koon says the Centre recognises that many of the smaller local NPOs are understandably concerned about the competition for funds from the big boys setting up base in Singapore with their well-oiled fundraising machinery, but they also believe that the international NPOs would see value in collaborating with their local counterparts. “NVPC can play a valuable connecting role in putting together logical partnerships for the greater good of all,” says Tan.

No doubt, the government has opened the door; what happens next is still up in the air.

But the word from the Ministry of Finance is that “MOF and MCYS will be consulting charities and grantmakers on the implementation details of the philan-thropy initiatives in June/July 2007, so as to ensure that the changes will be imple-mented effectively. The announcement of the final implementation details for these initiatives will follow in September 2007.”

Whatever happens, the onus is still on the man on the street. Or in the Lexus on the street. According to Zulkifli Baharudin, “the opportunity exists. But until and unless the local population is philanthropic, especially the wealthy, then you are not going to expect others to be generous.” ✩

“ I will introduce a tax incentive scheme to give income tax exemption to other Not-for-Profit Organisations (NPOs) that can bring economic value to Singapore.”

“ The presence of more global philanthropic grant-makers will go hand in hand with the growth of local philanthropy.”


In early February this year, 526 people tried to squeeze into a train carriage – all for a good cause, of course.

Dubbed the SMRT Cram Jam, the event was one of six fundraising initiatives under-taken by the company for its SMRT Silver Tribute Fund just launched in December 2006. While most organisations throw a big bash to mark their 20th anniversary, SMRT decided to underline its commit-ment to the community by targeting to raise $1m in the Fund’s first year to benefit eight agencies that help needy elderly (and their caregivers) lead more meaningful and dignified lives.

As statutory boards go, SMRT has always done things a little differently, putting it ahead of the pack. Before it became common for local companies to demonstrate corporate social responsibility (CSR), SMRT was already committed to serving the public since it started in 1987.

According to Goh Chee Kong, SMRT’s vice president of corporate marketing and communications, “Every undertaking is anchored on our vision ‘Moving People, Enhancing Lives’ – be it providing safe, affordable travel, a meaningful career or contributing to the communities we serve. It is very much a part of our organisational culture.”

When it comes to CSR, one cannot accuse the company of having tunnel vision. Taking a holistic approach to engaging and enhancing its staff and the commu-nity, SMRT has established a sustained programme of corporate philanthropy, volunteerism and community outreach, which can best be described as vibrant, bold and innovative.

Goh says, “We create opportunities for staff to volunteer their time and skills to community projects, whether it is through

the corporate adoption of charities; supporting initiatives by charitable organisations; or supporting staff-initiated community projects that are aligned with the organi-sation’s efforts. Taking our CSR efforts outside of the organisation means we can leverage on our extensive network of trains, buses and taxis to reach out and rally some two million and more Singaporeans to support worthy causes we champion.”

This clever maximising of resources has helped launch successful initiatives like the Singapore Red Cross Blood Donor Recruitment Programme, where the public is encouraged to donate blood at selected stations and even on board an MRT train stationed at Ang Mo Kio, as it happened in one year. Staff were also roped in to

volunteer to man the booths or look after children while their caregivers donated blood. Goh reveals that in its three-year drive for the Singapore Red Cross, SMRT has helped raise over 1,811 units of blood.

Yet another is the President’s Tunnel Challenge in 2001, which raised

$900,000 for charity, through the sale of tickets to the public for a walk through the completed train tunnel between Expo and Changi Airport stations. Apart from working with various partners, the company has also put its money where its heart is. In 2006, it made community contributions totaling $3.18m in cash and sponsorships.Quite remarkably, SMRT does not

believe in giving its staff incentives to get into the spirit of volunteerism, unlike the practice with some companies. Instead, it believes in the giving of oneself without expecting personal rewards. And surpris-ingly, there is no shortage of staff volunteers at its CSR events. Goh says, “Through the SMRT intranet, email marketing and personal phone calls, staff have been galvanised to support activities of the adopted VWOs and the SMRT Silver Tribute Fund.”

To this end, SMRT’s corporate volunteerism programme focuses on institutions dedicated to the care of children, senior citizens and the sick or injured, and provides a channel for their staff to volunteer their time and skills on a regular basis. To facilitate this, three VWOs are adopted each year.

Says president and CEO Saw Phaik Hwa, “At the individual level, the staff experience a sense of achievement or fulfillment knowing that they have made a positive difference, whether it is in the business decisions they make or volun-teering their time and skills. At the corporate level, we are more focused and better able to harness the synergies of staff coming together as one in support of economic, environmental, social causes which SMRT champions.” ✩

SMRT’s President & CEO, Ms Saw Phaik Hwa raising

funds with her donation tin.


Fast TrackWith its extensive transport network, SMRT has found mileage for its CSR initiatives.

SAKINAH MANAFF hops on for a ride.

“Before it became common for local companies to demonstrate corporate social responsibility (CSR), SMRT was already committed to serving the public since it started in 1987.“

W A L K T H E T A L K


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Finding babies on her doorstep is nothing new for Rose Siow, one of the founders of Sanctuary House,

a nonprofit haven for abandoned babies. In 2003, Rose and a few other parents concerned about the increasing numbers of abandoned babies, got together and started an informal group to take in unwanted babies. Hoping to prevent spur-of-the-moment decisions by desperate parents, who may shy away from official agencies that would ask too many questions, they discreetly made it known that they were willing to take in babies who might otherwise be abandoned.

Almost a year later in late 2004, a young distressed couple rang the doorbell at Rose’s Bukit Timah home, by sheer coincidence, and asked her to take in their newborn. They had no idea about the group or that Rose was part of it. The mother handed Rose the baby and a bag with a few items, and left without leaving their names or contact details. After three weeks, when Rose realised that the couple was not coming back for their child, she called the police.

What started out as a casual volunteer group – comprising a financial consultant, a gynaecologist, a paediatrician and a few other professionals – has now become Sanctuary House, a registered charity and volunteer welfare organisation. It also has a board of advisors that includes high profile individuals like Washington Sycip, Chairman, Asia Pacific Advisory Committee of The New York Stock Exchange.

When it was officially launched in July 2005, Sanctuary House aimed to provide a safe haven for unwanted babies, while empow-ering parents to make informed decisions about their babies’ futures. Today, it has also expanded its services to include emergency infant care (for mothers who are incapacitated due to hospitalisation, incarceration and financial problems); pre-adoption infant care; post-adoption services; and family education programmes.

Noel Tan, Sanctuary House’s programme director and one of its founders, reckons that between 10 and 15 babies are abandoned every year in Singapore. He is quick to point out that Sanctuary House is a ‘below the radar’ niche service to help desperate young mums – usually children themselves – and their children. “We provide services that are not currently available in the social services network,” he says. “There are numerous agencies more capable than we are at counseling and providing financial assistance, so we work with them to streamline the processes and avoid redundancies.”

Today, most of Sanctuary House’s cases are referred by doctors, hospitals and crisis shelters. Typically, the clients are young single mothers, mostly from low-income and dysfunctional families. The fathers are usually not identified or present. According to Tan, when a case is directed to them, a Sanctuary House representa-

tive will meet with the client at the social worker’s office or, often, at the hospital, where they will be ready to receive the baby upon discharge. The procedures are explained to the client while the baby is placed in the tempo-rary custody of Sanctuary House.

The child then goes to one of the volunteers’ homes, where it will be

cared for a period that can last from two weeks to three months. If the mother eventually decides to keep and care for her child, the baby will be returned to her. However, if she opts for adoption, the baby remains with the volunteer until the adoption process is completed, and is then transferred to the custody of the adoptive parents. To date, Sanctuary House has handled 18 cases with a quarter of the mothers choosing to take back their babies.

Apart from two full-time staff, Sanctuary House is mostly supported by volunteers who handle the day-to-day running of the organisation as well as infant care. Through NVPC, Sanctuary House received some ‘seed’ money but generally relies on ad hoc corporate donations for funding. The good news is that this coming 23 August, for the first time, it will be a co-beneficiary in a charity gala dinner organised by the Association of Women Doctors in Singapore.

“The charity dinner is a great way to raise funds for us because we don’t adver-tise our services for fear that desperate parents will be encouraged to abandon their babies,” says Tan. “The idea is for us to be extinct over time so that there is no need for our services.”

Now that’s an unusual baby bonus. ✩For more information about Sanctuary

House, visit www.sanctuaryhouse.com.sg.

Baby LoveSanctuary House was initially set up as an informal volunteer group to help desperate

unwed mothers, but as SAKINAH MANAFF discovers, it has now successfully carved a “below the radar” service niche for itself.

N E W S A L T

“ The idea is for us to be extinct over time so that there is no need for our services.”

A workshop on the secrets of discipline conducted at Tampines Regional Library.


Christine Ong knows a thing or two about numbers. After all, she’s been a banker for more than 20

years, the last 14 with UBS AG where she is currently head of the Singapore branch as well as the regional market manager of the wealth management division in Taiwan.

Working for the world’s largest wealth manager and one of the leading global financial institutions has taught her a thing or two about keeping promises, making solid commitments, and creating long-term partnerships – qualities that, incidentally, are core to successful CSR programmes. No surprises then that over the past five years, she has ably steered the bank’s community programme, overseeing UBS’ involvement with both a philanthropic eye and big-picture practicality.

From UBS’ perspective, giving back to the communities in which it operates isn’t the latest novelty; rather, it reflects a set of values and actions that has been stitched

into the fabric of the bank over the years. And by all accounts, during Ong’s watch, UBS has created an empowered system that goes beyond the idea of ‘mere’ dollars and cents charity. In particular, Ong is careful that UBS’ efforts are not viewed as a public relations exercise.

“The purpose of having a community programme in place for a firm like us,” says

Ong, “is about finding ways to be involved in a committed, relevant manner. It’s about creating and sustaining both relationships and participation.”

This focused pursuit of developing and growing relationships has yielded high-value results.

Key to the bank’s corporate commit-ment is that each market is given ample leeway to set its own direction, keeping within the themes of community regenera-tion and education. You see this autonomy most clearly in the depth and breadth of UBS’ community commitments such as the encouragement of in-house volunteerism and a donate-as-you-earn charity scheme that the bank matches dollar for dollar. You also see it in the partnering of regional projects like Yayasan Bhakti Luhur which educates, trains and cares for disadvantaged

youths in East Java; volunteer and financial support of Bangkok’s slum kids through the Human Develop-ment Foundation; and support of relief missions through projects like the Tsunami Relief Fund 2004 that are established to collect and match donations from UBS employees around the world.

There is too, the decision to focus a considerable amount of attention and resources on children. “They’re the foundation of the future,” she says simply.

Out of this mindset has emerged support for charity organisations such as Child’s Dream. Started four years ago by two ex-UBS employees, the organi-sation was a response to the plight of

children used as mules in the drug fray of the Mekong sub-region. Today, Child’s Dream supports more than 16 humani-tarian projects across the same region, providing relief to street children, AIDS orphans and children exposed to extreme poverty; UBS, in turn, supports Child’s Dream through volunteering efforts and its in-house donate-as-you-earn scheme.

“We were looking to do more than just shovel out money,” says Ong. “We have the resources, the network, the reach.” And UBS has certainly reached out.

Another example: UBS’s partnership with the nonprofit Asian Women’s Welfare Association (AWWA) which targets the elderly, disabled and families in need. UBS sponsors the ‘Teach Me Inc’ programme which works at school-level to prepare disabled youths to enter the


Heart, Soul and CentsMany people would not consider a bank to be a great charitable source, but as

ANITA KAPOOR discovers, UBS AG’s Managing Director and Singapore Country Head, Christine Ong is leading the charge to change the mindset.

“ We were looking to do more than just shovel out money. We have the resources, the network, the reach.”

S A L T S H A K E R



workforce. But the mentoring does not stop there. The ‘I Can’ programme helps youths from ‘Teach Me Inc’ learn business presentation and writing skills. There is also an internship programme under which disabled youths gain work experience at UBS – a number of graduates now work for the bank. UBS also hooked up with a nonprofit employment agency, BizLink, “because we want to establish a demand for their minds and abilities beyond their disabilities,” Ong adds.

Another significant initiative, this time partnering with AWWA and The Young Entrepreneur Mastery Academy, is the Youth Regeneration Programme which empowers physically-challenged and out of school youths by tapping into employment opportunities in the real estate industry. At last year’s National Volunteerism & Philan-thropy conference, the programme won UBS-sponsored seed money to the tune of $50,000. Early reports indicate success stories of trainees already concluding sales.

All these instances bear witness to Ong’s careful negotiation skills and reading of the community’s needs. Still, she shies from the suggestion that UBS’ CSR achieve-ments are the result of inspired leadership itself. According to Ong, it really does take a village.

Ong credits much of the success of these programmes to the enthusiastic support and participation of UBS Volun-teers throughout the branch. “”You must bear in mind, there’s a team behind this,” she says. “There are many people here at UBS like me who are looking for the same meaning and fulfillment in their lives,” says Ong. About 2,000 people to be exact, all of whom she describes as the heartbeat of the programme.

Tellingly, Ong credits her professional training, both prior to and at UBS, with teaching her how to approach, build and develop an effective community affairs programme. “We’re taught to think struc-turally and to balance resources. As a financial institution, our core skills are

practical ones – this is what we can do well. Why not add value by finding ways to transfer these skills to the community?”

Clearly, Ong’s approach to UBS’ CSR efforts is very much influenced by her personal desire to maintain an environment for employees that gives them a sense of

belonging and purpose which, in turn, hopefully spurs involvement and commit-ment to initiatives. “It’s not just about work – it’s about living out your life,” she says. “Looking at just profit and loss is not sustainable – without soul you’re just a machine. Humans can’t operate like that. This is not about charity,” she adds. “It’s about real life.”

And real life involves many challenges, not least of which are the building of bridges that inform, re-educate, and encourage an entirely new attitude and mindset. A pipe-dream perhaps, but all indicators show that the wheels are turning.

Late last year, in an attempt to open minds towards providing equal opportu-nity employment environments, and to encourage employer participation in the form of a committed group alliance, UBS and AWWA presented the first ever ‘Towards

Equal EmployAbility Employers Forum’, and rolled out the “Equal EmployAbility Alliance” to industry and business leaders.

Both the forum and alliance were a solid attempt to do just that. “In the rest of the world, the disabled are equipped with a sense of their personal rights, self-respect, community-respect, awareness and mobility. We’ve yet to bridge that chasm here in Singapore,” says Ong, explaining the motivations behind the move.

First, the forum and alliance provided a platform for employers to witness the abilities and potential of the disabled,

and to discuss how they should and could be employed. Secondly, employers were given an opportunity to pledge their commitment towards providing equal opportunity employment in their businesses.

Social conscience and responsibility, equal opportunity employment, targeted donations, community involvement, internship programmes – UBS’ list of empow-ered community affairs is long and varied. It takes a particular

type of person to not only believe, but to advocate and put into practice these values in a manner that encourages and motivates others to do the same.

Yet, Ong remains something of a wallflower about the impact of her role in all this. She credits her personal drive to her faith, and a desire to enable others to have a meaningful journey through life. Her ability to juggle her many roles, she credits to motherhood: “I’m mother to three kids aged 22, 17 and 12. At any one time, each is going through some sort of angst or another – you certainly learn to cope in the most practical ways!”

In the end, Christine Ong’s reluctance to take credit – preferring, instead, to look at the bedrock on which she stands – is the very essence of the spirit she so ardently champions through UBS’ community programme. And that may well be the lasting hallmark of her success. ✩

“ Looking at just profit and loss is not sustainable – without soul you’re just a machine. Humans can’t operate like that.”

Ms Christine Ong, at a teambuilding off-site in Chiangrai with Child’s Dream (UBS’ adopted charity for the Donate-As-You-Earn scheme in Singapore).

R S & M O V E R S


Pay, especially when it is funded by the public, tends to be a lightning rod for public scrutiny and media

attention. So it has been in Singapore with CEO salaries of certain charities and publicly-listed companies, social workers wage rises, and most recently public service pay increases.

For the nonprofit sector, there are strong views both ways about whether charity staff are fairly paid.

A Common BaseA starting point is to determine how charity sector compensation compares with the commercial world. A good way to do so is to compare the same jobs across the different sectors. One such area is in corporate services such as human resources, finance, administration and information technology – jobs needed in every organisation.

However, there is a lack of good data on pay in the charity sector. This is partly due to the general lack of focus on compensation in charity work – and this may be one reason why it is low in the first place. I spoke to an executive compensation firm and some headhunters: the sense is that charity executives are paid 30-50% lower on average compared to their commercial counterparts.

Perhaps not much more proof is needed. Amidst the debate, there seems to be pretty much agreement on one point – charity sector workers are generally paid lower, much lower, than those in the commercial and the public sector.

But is that fair?That’s where the divergence of views begins. A 2004 survey by the U.S. charity watch

organisation, Guidestar showed that more than half of its readers (many of whom are from the charity sector) felt that charity workers were not fairly compensated, while only 28 percent said they were. The rest were unsure.

By contrast, a 2005 poll by the Straits Times on Singaporean attitudes towards charity found that 60% feel that charity organisations should be run by volunteers or staff paid below-market wages. In general, the public reaction is for donor dollars to go towards mission and cause, and there is a reluctance to put money into the administrative budget.

What Market?Those who view current pay levels as unfair call for charity sector pay to be leveled up to be in line with market. By market, they mean the commercial market. The implication is that nonprofit pay is not market-based.

I would argue that they already are market-based. The nonprofit market for full-time staff is as capitalistic a market as that of financial services, infocomm or other industry. As in the commercial world, employees join and stay in nonprofit organisations voluntarily – it is a classic case of willing buyer and willing seller, with full disclosure. No one is compelled to do nonprofit work. People choose to work in charities at wage levels that they

know of upfront and therefore fully accept.In fact, the human resource market

is one single large capitalistic market made of different market sectors, one of which happens to be the nonprofit sector. And within the nonprofit sector, like other sectors, there would be different market segments.

And each market sector and segment comprises of individual organisations who decide how they want to price their executives and the law of supply and demand works to move the players around (over the long run). The fact that we have charity organisations that pay their CEOs annual sums of $600,000 (former NKF CEO) or $250,000 (former Youth Challenge CEO) which are deemed much higher than what many comparable sized commercial companies might pay is evidence that the capitalist system for human resources is working. These organisations (however governed) independently decided on their executives pay taking into account sectoral and other considerations.

The collective pricing for a particular job by all the organisations in a particular sector of the human resources market results in a narrower band of acceptable compensation levels for that job; this merely reflects prevailing common char-acteristics of that sector. And this leads to its competitiveness of pay relative to other sectors. Thus, the charity sector – minus the outliers like those cited above – would generally pay a CEO of an 8-10 staff welfare organisation a sum averaging $6,000 to $8,000 a month. In contrast, a commercial organisation providing say IT services would likely pay more than $10,000 a month.


Heart Work, Less PayShould executives working in charity be paid more, to keep pace with the market?

WILLIE CHENG argues that they are already being paid to market, but perhaps the market needs to change.

S A L T T H O U G H T S

“ The nonprofit market for full time staff is as capitalistic a market as that of financial services, infocomm or other industry.”


The Heart FactorSo, if the job market works according to natural market forces, what accounts for the wage differential between the charity sector and the others?

Most observers, inside and outside the sector, cite the noble spirit of altruism as the reason. In other words, the sector is about charity, so workers should also be charitable. Like volunteers who donate 100% of their time to do work for the sector, charity staff are asked to also

“donate” part of their labour back to the organisation by not being paid fully for it.

This is seen as a “discount” given by employees for working in a charity organ-isation. Perhaps a more positive way to express it is as a “premium” that the individual gets for the joy of heart work.

Is this heart factor a good reason for the supposed premium of charity work? I think so.

In many sectors and in many organi-sations, there are intangibles why people would take on the job for a lesser sum than they could command elsewhere. It’s what Frederick Herzberg, a noted psychologist, describes as a motivator factor versus a hygiene factor. Motivators increase job satisfaction, while hygiene factors – one which is pay – only cause dissatisfaction but their presence has little effect on long term satisfaction.

Many technology companies rally their employees behind the idea of changing

the world. Apple tells its employees that “the best way to predict the future is to invent it”. HP’s slogan is simply “Invent”. Accenture was launched with the vision of “bringing innovations to improve the way the world works and lives”.

A good instance of an organisation that motivates some of its employees far beyond pay is Club Med. Guests at a Club Med resort would not fail to notice and be impressed by the GOs (short for gentil organisateur). GOs are live-in staff that provide all front line services to vacationing guests. They make a guest’s stay at Club Med memorable. What is surprising is that they work under tight work regimens, have little discretionary time and very low pay. Club Med has succeeded in creating an environment in which adventure loving and multi-talented young men and women would want to work at a Club Med resort for six months at a time, “earning a bit, enjoying a lot”.

These intangibles often relate to our very human desire for meaning in life. What is unique about charity work is that sense of nobleness, of doing good, of giving back to society as part of one’s job.

There are other sectors where sacri-fices of pay are expected for noble reasons.

Many (although not all) religions require their religious leaders to live a modest life as part of their higher calling. A 2006 Sunday Times survey of religious pay showed that many Taoist and Buddhist temples give only a small allowance plus food and board for its workers. The Hindu Endowment Board pays its priests $500-$1000 a month based on their seniority. Catholic priests in Singapore receive $500 per month with lodging, far less than what any common person would ever accept as adequate compensation for the 24/7 service they provide.

Even our public service sector which leads the rest of the world in paying well seeks to factor in a one third discount for ministers and top civil servants compensation from the benchmark pay. (Critics however question whether the benchmark pay which is determined using the top eight earners from six professions is appropriate).


“ These intangibles often relate to our very human desire for meaning in life. What is unique about charity work is that sense of nobleness, of doing good, of giving back to society as part of one’s job.”



For sectors driven by nobleness, the relative disregard for pay levels provides the moral authority intrinsic to the sanc-tity of the sector and which is sometimes very necessary for the incumbents to be effective in doing their work. Revving up their pay to commercial levels would be corrupting that very value of charity.

The Head FactorYet, I find it difficult to explain the whole difference between current charity and commercial pay as being due to the sacrifice for nobleness.

Most people who have straddled both charity and commercial sector would attest to the significant differences in work environments between the two. The pace in the nonprofit sector is much slower. Outcomes are less clear – if they are talked or thought about at all. People are much nicer to each other.

Hence, I would say that part of what accounts for the differential between charity and commercial pay is this envi-ronmental aspect of lower stress, slower pace, and less demanding expectations. You could say it is the head factor, in contrast to the heart factor.

Differential pay for different envi-ronmental factors is a common phenom-enon across the capitalistic human resource market. Foreign currency dealers are very well paid because their hours are odd, they face the stress of making instantaneous decisions that can have catastrophic consequences and their tenures are highly insecure and short.

A lawyer in a legal firm who is defending clients, working to tight court schedules, bearing the risk of personal liability for any shortcomings in his work generally gets paid more than if he were employed as a legal counsel in the more stable, less risky legal department of a large corporation.

This occurs even within a company. Those on the revenue-generating side of an organisation generally are better compensated than those who are not. Usually, the demands and uncertainties are higher in the front line. Thus in many organisations, where a market-facing

person such as an external auditor in a public accounting firm, decides on a career switch to do similar kind of work for the same organisation in the corporate back office, say internal audit, he or she is often asked to take a pay cut.

The Cost of HeadIn tandem with the call to level up charity pay is the call to level up the quality of charity work. Over time, the lower pay of the charity sector has resulted in a work culture and effectiveness that lags far behind the corporate world. Why is this so?

Consider a professional of a certain calibre who is worth/earning $12,000 and who is willing to take back 25% less (let us say that this is the value of the heart factor for him) for performing exactly the same job in a charity organisation. Assuming the charity organisation he is interested in offers only $6,000, two possible scenarios result. The first scenario is that another commercial candidate of a lower calibre earning a lower pay of $8,000 takes a 25% pay cut (same heart factor) to do the job at $6,000. The second scenario is that

the first candidate earning $12,000 joins at a 50% pay cut, the first 25% for heart and the second 25% for head i.e. he judges that the charity organisation he is going to is less demanding and there-fore merits a further 25% pay cut. Both scenarios mean that the quality of work and outcomes would be less than what it would be in a commercial organisation.

Certainly, the charity sector has many examples of successful professionals who have given up well-paying jobs in the

commercial world and taken very big pay cuts to follow their heart. However, the number of such people is probably not large and if anything, they may create the illusion that the premium for the heart factor is very significant. When it gets to large numbers of workers, the average value of the heart premium would come down. So to populate the many jobs available, the sector has likely attracted staff which at the margin may not have been paid much more in the commercial world anyway.

It is the law of supply and demand at work again. Without enough properly qualified people who value a high heart premium, the old adage “pay peanuts and you get monkeys” applies. And it does not help in the effectiveness of the charity sector even if these monkeys come with a heart of gold.

Losing Head and Keeping HeartSo, my take is that the capitalistic job market in the charity sector is alive and well. People are being paid what they are prepared to take for the jobs they do.

In charity, the heart factor is a drawing point and should never be replaced by money. However, the price gap established by charity organisations seems to be too big (for the quality level desired by many) given the large number of charity workers needed. The sector thinks that the price gap is for heart. But over time, in addition to the heart gap, a head gap of lower quality and slower pace has built up.

The situation looks poised to change going forward. There are greater demands for accountability and professionalism in the charity sector. These demands will push charity organisations to pay what it takes to bring on appropriate staff – which is more than what they have been paying. With the arguments being made for rising public service pay scales, not relying purely on nobleness to bridge the pay gap is also becoming more acceptable.

As individual charity organisations raise their pay, it will generally lift charity sector pay. Hopefully, the pay rises will only serve to narrow and even eliminate the head factor, but hopefully, it will never reduce or remove the heart factor. ✩

“ Without enough properly qualified people who value a high heart premium, the old adage “pay peanuts and you get monkeys” applies. And it does not help in the effectiveness of the charity sector even if these monkeys come with a heart of gold.”


Volunteering by Doing What You Do Best

How pro-bono work is a great way to volunteer.


Let me tell you a story. I came to Singapore 21 years ago, with no job. I was very lucky to get a

contract at the Singapore Polytechnic. Soon after, I was invited to run a seminar at the National Productivity Board. There I met Professor You Poh Seng, from the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM). He asked me to teach a public speaking course at SIM. At my first SIM seminar, a lady named Geri Lau was my student. She was in charge of the volunteers at the National Council of Social Service. She had paid for my seminar, and I felt bad. After all, she was working for a charitable organisation, and I felt that as much of their money as possible should go to the beneficiaries. I told her that I would like to run a similar seminar for free for her volunteer group, and she organised my first seminar for NCSS.

This is how I discovered what I think is a great way to volunteer – by doing what you do best. At Ewing Communications, we contact charities and NGOs, and offer to run seminars for them for free. We call it “pro bono” training. Our pro bono clients include not only the NCSS, but also the Handicaps Welfare Associa-tion, Habitat for Humanity, the new NKF, the National Committee for UNIFEM Singapore, the Rainbow Centre, and the

Spastic’s Children’s Association School (among many others).

I travel on business about 200 days a year, and for the last several years, before taking a business trip, I have contacted charities and NGOs in the places I am visiting and offered free training to them while I am there. Our overseas pro bono

clients include the Blind People’s Association Ahmedabad, the Spastics Association of Tamil Naidu, Fauna and Flora International Indon-esia, Canada World Youth, and Wetlands International. Traveling on business can be a chore, and often you find yourself spending most of your time in offices, hotels and airports. However, when I run a pro bono seminar, I get out of my hotel, meet new people, and make new friends.

I love my work, and the only thing I love more than doing a seminar is doing a free seminar. The people who come to

the free seminars invariably appreciate them much more than participants who have their companies pay for me to train them. Often, for my students at these seminars, it is the only opportunity they are ever going to get to experience this type of training. I always feel very fulfilled at being able to help in this way. Just for fun, last year I asked my staff to keep track of the value (if we had charged our regular rates) of all the free training we did that year. And, in 2006, Ewing Communica-tions did more than S$250,000 worth. It made me feel good to know that we were doing something which we all felt was making a significant contribution.

So, take a look at what you do at work, and also at what you do best. How could your expertise help a charity or NGO, in Singapore or abroad? Can you create a template for a proposal that you could email to the charities and NGOs that

you would like to help, describing your expertise and what you

could do for them? You may find that the best way to volunteer is by doing

what you do best. And, by the way, last year I had

the pleasure of running another free seminar for Geri Lau at the Singapore Red Cross of which she was the Secretary General until she stepped down recently. The friendships are the best part of pro bono volunteering. ✩

To learn more about Ewing Commu-nications, log on to www.ewingcomm.com.

CEO & PRINCIPAL TRAINEREWING COMMUNICATIONS PTE LTD

IAIN EWING

BY

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“ Take a look at what you do at work, and also at what you do best. How could your expertise help a charity or NGO, in Singapore or abroad? You may find that the best way to volunteer is by doing what you do best.”


If you are an innovator and you require government help (it is easier if you don’t), you may first need to prepare

and train yourself to master “The Fine Art of Vomiting Blood”. You know what I mean. But don’t get angry with the bureaucrat. Here’s why.

Singapore is a model of how a non-corrupt bureaucracy with good leadership can efficiently transform a developing country without any natural resources (except its citizenry) into the prosperous and modern city-state that it is today. As one of Asia’s most important economic power-houses, we are the envy of the world.

Yet, you soon realise that while effi-ciency is our strength, creativity is not. Our top leaders in government set the direction and the bureaucrats translate these directions into simplified boxes and game-rules that are fair to all and which are easy for everyone to understand because they adopt the common denominator.

Everything works well if events unfold according to the system. However, if a idea is innovative and original, it becomes a problem. In such cases, the bureaucrat’s mind works something like this:

Step 1: Does this fall into any of my existing boxes?

If Yes: Process.If No: Step 2Step 2: Can I not handle this? Some

options include giving FAQ answers, saying this is the wrong department, refer the matter to the superior who will then refer it to his superior who is usually not available, drain applicant’s patience, and if the applicant persists and insists that I take action, go to Step 3.

Step 3: What will my boss think? And even if my boss agrees, what will his boss think?

To be fair, we have to empathise with the bureaucrat in that we cannot expect him to be strictly mission-driven as he works on policies and procedures which have little built-in flexibility. And at the risk of sounding cynical, the bureaucrat is keenly aware that to keep his job, he can’t rock the boat.

When dealing with bureaucrats, lots of patience is needed. Otherwise, you should look for your own solution and don’t wait for their answers. This is where many people with great ideas give up.

The point is that you need to care enough about your country and the people not to care what the bureaucrats say or do to you. State the facts and do it for the sake of the nation’s progress. Besides, bureaucrats like to support winners. Show them early signs of success, and they’ll feel safer to support you.

Meanwhile, ministers and politicians tend to be mission driven, but they too are limited by their senior bureaucrats’ interpretation and implementation of their intention into policies and procedures. The result is usually a compromise where the main body of problems is solved

efficiently, while unique and innovative solutions and ideas get lost in the lalang.

As we do not have a culture of creativity, foreign talents fill in the gap. We pay (because we can afford to) the world’s best brains as our consultants to design our IRs and monumental buildings and teach us best practices. Yes, the job gets done but we continue to lament

that we lack local talents.Innovators have to understand they

might be partially-helped and partially-obstructed by bureaucrats. The ratio is directly proportionate to how innovative your idea is. The more out of the box your idea is, the more uncomfortable the bureaucrat becomes.

Ultimately, you have to survive by your own determination and belief. That, and say, at the end, to yourself that you survived despite the bureau-crazy. There’s just no point trying to judge bureaucrats as good or bad. They are neither. In their personal life, they are just as creative as you and me. It’s just that he is often frus-trated: he may agree with the proposed innovation, but he is restricted from doing so. Once he arrives at the office, he follows procedure.

That said, surely there must be a better way to give the bureaucrats some space for innovation? I would like to suggest “The Right to Mistakes” policy. This practice by large French corporations assumes that the only person who doesn’t make mistakes is the one who does nothing new. Perhaps, we should learn from the foreigners again. But the big wave has to be government-led.

Will this article create repercussions for me? No. It’ll only make things better. ✩


Bureau-crazyOften, it’s not easy trying to get a new idea to be heard by the right people

in government. The bureaucracy can make life very confusing. JACK SIM has some ideas about how to navigate the maze.

“You soon realise that while efficiency is our strength, creativity is not.”

S A L T K I T


20 JuneMan Fut Tong Nursing Home Flag DayVenue: Island wideTime: Shift 1 – 8.30am to 12.30pm; Shift 2 – 12pm to 4pm; Shift 3 – 3.30pm to 7.30pmVolunteer as a flag seller for Man Fut

Tong Nursing Home’s Flag Day. Funds

raised will enable the home to provide

quality medical, nursing, rehabilitative,

social and psychological care for its

230-plus elderly residents.

For more information, call Victor

Lim at 6368 3301 or email victorlim@

mft.org.sg

1 JulyHair For Hope 2007The Children’s Cancer Foundation’s

annual fundraising event “Hair for

Hope” is back for its fifth year to raise

awareness of children’s cancer and

to raise funds. The public’s support

for the cause can be through the

symbolic gesture of shaving one’s head

bald or lending monetary support.

Through Hair for Hope, the Foundation

hopes afflicted children with cancer

know that their battle is not being

fought alone.

To find out more about being a bald

volunteer, please visit www.ccf.org.sg/

gallery/video.html

19 JulySMRT-Singapore Symphony Orchestra Charity Gala ConcertVenue: The Esplanade Concert HallTime: 7.30 pmSMRT will be organising a Singapore

Symphony Orchestra Charity Gala

Concert conducted by acclaimed

music director Lan Shui. The cause:

to raise funds for needy elderly and

their caregivers as part of the SMRT

Silver Tribute Fund. Proceeds from the

sale of concert tickets will go to eight

beneficiaries and their programmes

to help abandoned, lonely or needy

elderly lead more meaningful and

dignified lives, as well as to strengthen

the families and communities that

care for them. Tickets from $150.

For more information, please

contact Karen Chow at 6331 1140 or

email [email protected].

24-26 JulyRisk Management TrainingVenue: NVPCNVPC is organising a special series

of volunteer management training

by Linda Graff, an internationally

renowned trainer on volunteerism

and risk management. Designed

for CEOs and staff of nonprofit

organisations, the programmes are

run in two parts.

For staff and volunteer programme

managers: a) “Volunteer job design

– it’s a privilege to volunteer here”, 24

July, 2-6pm, from $63; and b) “How to

risk proof your volunteer programmes”,

25-26 July, 9am – 5pm, from $252.

For CEOs/ Executive Directors:

“How to risk proof your organisation”,

24 July, 9am – 1pm, from $63.

To register, call Joyce Chen at 6550-

9598 or email [email protected]

*Course fees are after the NTG subsidy.

11 AugustGeylang Senior Citizens’ Health Care Centre Flag DayVenue: Island wideGeylang Senior Citizens’ Health Care

Centre is a not-for-profit rehab day care

centre which provides rehabilitation,

day care, medical treatment, home

nursing, sub-acute care, free meals and

ambulance services to the needy sick

and elderly. For its biggest fundraising

event for the year, it needs volunteers

to help rattle donation tins and bags.

All volunteers will be given appre-

ciation certificates. Interested persons

should contact Anu or Michelle at 6746-

8671, email [email protected] or

visit www.seniorcitizens.com.sg.


D A T E S T O N O T ECALENDAR

DO YOU HAVE AN EVENT YOU WOULD LIKE TO PUBLICISE? We welcome your news of upcoming events and pictures. Please send them to SALT, 7 Maxwell Road, #05-01 Annex B MND Complex, Singapore 069111; or email [email protected]. Please include your name, the name of your organisation, address and telephone number. SALT reserves the right to edit submissions for space and clarity.

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SCENE&SEEN

Wonder WomenWomen’s Register Launch, 10 March, SCWO Centre

The Women’s Register was launched, appropriately on International Women’s

Day, by the Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports,

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon. The register is a secure online database for women that

aims to raise the profile of women by connecting women to organisations at

the national and international levels for opportunities in leadership, public

speaking, and voluntary work.

Red AlertGo Red for Women Charity Gala Dinner, 16 March, Ritz-Carlton Millennia

One of the highlights of the

Singapore Heart Foundation’s

four-month long campaign

(Feb-May) to encourage

women to take charge of

their heart health was its

glittering red-themed, fund-

raising fashion show choreo-

graphed by Daniel Boey featuring four international

fashion labels. President SR Nathan, Patron of the

Foundation, was the Guest-of-Honour for the event

which raised over $600,000 to support the Foundation’s

mission through education programmes.

Launch of Women’s Register (WR) by Guest-of-Honour Mrs S R Nathan and Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon. To the right are Mrs Arfat Selvam, Chairperson of WR, Mrs Ann Phua, co-chairperson of WR and Mrs Wee Wan Joo, President of Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO).

Up in the AirGulf Air adopts Make-A-Wish Foundation, 16 March, JetQuay CIP Terminal at Changi Airport

Gulf Air Singapore kicked-off its community

outreach programme by adopting Make-a-

Wish Foundation whose mission is to grant

the heartfelt wishes of children in Singa-

pore, between the ages of 3-18, that are

challenged with a life-threatening illness.

The celebrations, themed ‘Wish Children’s

Party’, were attended by more than 100

Wish Children and their families, and Gulf

Air’s Sky Nannies. Mascot Gulfy was specially flown in from Bahrain for the party

where young children had fun with balloon sculpting, face painting, playing

interactive games amongst other activities.

(From left) Celebrity emcees Jamie Yeo; Nadya Yuti Boru Hutagalung and Eunice Olsen.

Family TiesOpening of Singapore’s first Ronald McDonald Family Room, 12 April, KK Women’s & Children’s Hospital

With the opening of the Ronald Macdonald Family

Room, parents can now, for a small fee, have a ‘home

away from home’ to rest in the next time their sick

children are hospitalised. The opening was graced

by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community

Development, Youth and Sports and Second Minister

for Information, Communications and the Arts. The

Family Room, in one of the closed wards in the Women’s

Wing, has 12 bedrooms, a dining area, a pantry, ‘quiet

rooms’, an adult/children’s library, a children’s playroom,

TV lounge and internet corner, and will be run by a

specialist panel of volunteer doctors and other volun-

teers comprising professionals from different sectors.

(From Left): Declaring the Ronald McDonald Family Room open were Ronald McDonald, Mr Bob Beard, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and Associate Professor Ivy Ng, CEO of KKH.

Mr Jeff Lim, Gulf Air’s Area Manager of Singapore, with four-year-old Venus whose heartfelt wish, a Sony digital camera, was granted following the Wish Children’s Party.


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A D A S H O F S A L T

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“If my life’s work has been in the film and entertainment industry, then my life’s pleasure has been in public service and philanthropy.”Dr Shaw Vee Meng, Chairman of the Shaw Foundation and Shaw Organisation

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“It’s hard to escape the conclusion that in our world, some lives are seen as worth saving, but others are not. And that realisation really forced us not only to start our philan-thropy earlier but also to make reducing inequity the central priority of our giving.”Bill Gates, The Way We Give, Fortune Magazine, Volume 155, Issue 1

“In Singapore in the future, foundations may be the way to do things. My sense is that philanthropy needs to be a bit more structured. It’s not about grant-making any more. It is about social investments – an investment in people, in communities.”Benedict Cheong, Chief Executive, Temasek Foundation in an interview with TODAY

“I don’t think you ever stop giving. I really don’t. I think it’s an on-going process. And it’s not just about being able to write a check. It’s being able to touch somebody’s life”.Oprah Winfrey – talk show host, actress and media personality (The Oprah Winfrey Show)

“Philanthropy is one of the greatest tools in keeping a family together. It’s an easy way to engage different generations.”Terry Alan Farris, Head of Philanthropy Services, Asia-Pacific, UBS AG, in an interview with The Business Times

“We must reject the idea – well-intentioned, but dead wrong – that the primary path to greatness in the social sectors is to become ‘more like a business’. Most businesses – like most of anything else in life fall somewhere between mediocre and good. ...So, then, why would we want to import the practices of mediocrity into the social sectors?”Jim Collins, in his Good to Great and the Social Sectors monograph

“It is about pursuing the art of the possible in the end...doing the right thing in an imperfect world”Mr Lee Tzu Yang, Chairman, Shell Singapore at The Shell-SIIA Forum on CSR and the Environment 2007

“Forget failures. Take them in stride and let them make you stronger. However, if something seems like it’s bound for success, then pour all your energy and resources and focus to make success a reality.”Chinese Filipino taipan John Gokongwei, in his retirement speech in Manila


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