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WHEN it comes to pulling in mega-donations, universities lead the pack, The Straits Times has found.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) drew $112 million and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), $72 million, in their last financial year. In the case of NUS, four in five donors in its last financial year were alumni.
Both institutions are no stranger to big gifts. In the 2005/06 financial year, for instance, NUS received $154 million; NTU, $65.2 million in its 2005 financial year.
Director of the NUS development office Edi Fung said the success of any fund-raising effort lay in convincing donors of the impact of their gifts, be it in 'finding cures' or 'advancing technology'.
The lines pitched by fund-raisers were effective last year, a bumper year for charities despite the scandals swirling around some of them.
Altogether, they received about $820 million in tax-deductible donations, about 50 per cent more than in 2006.
Large one-off donations, such as the $100 million provided by the Khoo Teck Puat Foundation for a new hospital in Yishun, were a major reason for the jump, said the latest annual report by the Commissioner of Charities.
The report, released last week, said charities in the education, health and social services sector took the lion's share of the donation pie last year.
A check by The Straits Times bore this out. Major recipients of tax-deductible donations include:
The Community Chest, which raised $52 million last year and
The Singapore Management University, which received $20.6 million in its 2007 financial year.
The size of the charity's fund-raising machinery does matter, it seems, when it comes to reeling in the bucks. NUS, for example, has 34 people hired to raise funds.
The National Kidney Foundation (NKF), on the other hand, leans on only five under its new leader Gerard Ee. The small team raised $24.3 million in its 2006/07 financial year, three-quarters coming from the charity's regular donors.
When NKF was under Mr T. T. Durai, it had some 300 fund-raisers on its payroll. In 2002, that juggernaut raised $67.5 million.
Fund-raising strategies differ from charity to charity.
SingHealth Foundation, which received about $45 million in tax-deductible donations in its 2006 financial year, said it targets mainly companies and foundations.
Other charities cast their net wider. Flag days, charity draws and charity dinners remain popular.
To stand out from the crowd, YMCA roped in volunteer buskers to perform on its Flag Day last year. It raised $775,635 in total last year through fund-raising efforts spearheaded by volunteers.
But to get serious money, charities spend time cultivating 'big fish', selected individuals who are fabulously rich and the foundations, industry insiders told The Straits Times.
For example, it was reported last year that Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka Shing donated $100 million to the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS.
theresat@sph.com.sg
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