SINGAPORE - Charities will receive a boost as the Government announced a top-up of $100 million to the Tote Board's Enhanced Fund-Raising Programme for another three years.
Charities can apply to receive dollar-for-dollar matching for eligible donations capped at $250,000 per charity every year. This applies to donations raised during fund-raising events, or on approved digital platforms.
Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, who delivered the Budget in Parliament on Friday (Feb 18), said the top-up was to provide more support for the charity sector and encourage residents to give back to the community.
Citing donations received at online platform Giving.sg, which increased to around $100 million in 2021, Mr Wong said: "The community plays a critical role in building a caring and inclusive home. Through the course of the pandemic, we have seen an outpouring of generosity, kindness and support from Singaporeans.
"We will build on this momentum to strengthen the culture of giving in our society."
After a charity utilises the annual $250,000 matching cap, the Tote Board will continue to provide 40 per cent matching for eligible fund-raising projects capped at $100,000 per project. Each charity may submit up to five applications a year.
More support was also announced for the arts and sports sector, including a top-up of $150 million for the Cultural Matching Fund, which will be extended for another three years.
The fund encourages cultural philanthropy through dollar-for-dollar matching for private cash donations made to eligible arts and heritage charities.
Charities will also receive support through the Charities Capability Fund (CCF), which will receive a top-up of $26 million and be extended for another five years.
"This will help to nurture a more productive and innovative charity sector and enable them to do more for the community," Mr Wong said.
The CCF provides support to strengthen the governance and management capabilities of charities, offering five different grants in the areas of training, consultancy, shared services , infocomm technology, and collaboration with other organisations.
More information will be available on the charity portal www.charities.gov.sg from April 1 when the new tranche starts.
To support the nation's athletes and strengthen the ecosystem of high-performance sports, Mr Wong announced that the Government will be extending the One Team Singapore Fund (OTSF) for another five years.
"This will provide dollar-for-dollar matching for donations to rally support for our Team Singapore athletes," he added.
The OTSF grant matches cash donations to support Team Singapore athletes. Cash donations are eligible only for matching if they are donated to the Vision 2030 Fund or eligible national sports associations. Vision 2030 refers to the blueprint drawn up for Singapore sports in 2011.
Mr Wong also touched on support for people with disabilities over the last decade, including the increase in employment opportunities and inclusive workplaces that cater to their needs through SG Enable.
The launch of the Enabling Masterplan 2030 later this year will strengthen support in areas like employment, lifelong learning and respite care for this group, Mr Wong said.
"We will continually review every aspect of our social policies to see what needs to be further adjusted and improved. This is a major multi-year agenda, to strengthen our solidarity with one another, as we prepare Singapore for the next bound," he said.
