Giving in the digital era: How Singaporeans are redefining charity
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Madam Sonia Wong donates money and volunteers with Be Kind SG, while Mr Reshveen Rajendran donates to Rare Disorders Society (Singapore) and other charities.
ST PHOTOS: TARYN NG, CHONG JUN LIANG
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SINGAPORE – Every two years, the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) takes the pulse of generosity in Singapore through its National Giving Study. In the 2023 edition, it surveyed 1,951 people islandwide and held 33 focus group discussions with 112 participants from a wide range of age groups and giving profiles.
Of those who donated, 37 per cent did so online in 2018. This rose to 43 per cent in 2021, before settling at 39 per cent in 2023. The trend suggests that digital giving has become a steady part of Singapore’s charitable landscape.
“One interesting observation is how younger Singaporeans, in particular, are embracing innovative, alternative ways of giving, from online fund raising to micro-volunteering,” says Mr Lenard Pattiselanno, senior director of NVPC’s community leadership and partnerships team.
“Especially with the greater ease in online giving, donors will need to be discerning on which platform engenders trust for them,” he adds.
Among those who did not donate in 2023, one reason stood out: the fear of scams
On the flip side, the study found that trust makes all the difference. Respondents who had a positive perception of charities – believing they use funds wisely and are generally reliable – were far more likely to give, and to do so more frequently.
Madam Sonia Wong, 54, regularly donates money and volunteers with Be Kind SG, a charity that supports parents with children with special needs. The full-time caregiver and mother of two does not set aside a specific amount of money for charitable causes every year, preferring to donate as and when she feels like it.
She has a 21-year-old autistic daughter and got to know Be Kind SG’s founder Sherry Soon in 2019 when she and her daughter attended an art activity for children with special needs.
Be Kind SG was started by a group of volunteers in 2017 to shine the spotlight on often overlooked communities and champion the message of kindness. Among other activities, the group befriends residents living in adult disability homes and takes them for outings.
During the pandemic, it started supporting other charities that were short on manpower and started organising Play.Able, a programme that organises play events for children with special needs.
“To sustain it, I decided that I needed to pivot to being an organisation so that it opens doors,” says Miss Soon, 44, who runs the charity full-time.
In March 2023, Be Kind SG became a registered charity.
Madam Wong says: “I am always very cautious actually, donating financially to any of these (charity) institutions, but my views changed when I saw how many other families were impacted by the programmes that Sherry was doing.”
After seeing first-hand how the programmes helped families with neurodivergent and special needs children, she signed up as a volunteer, becoming a parent coordinator at the Play.Able toy library and other events.
Madam Sonia Wong with balloons she received after attending the Purple Parade, a movement to support the inclusion of people with disabilities and celebrate their abilities, in November 2024.
ST PHOTO: TARYN NG
Mr Reshveen Rajendran was just 21 when he was driven to lead a fund-raising campaign for Rare Disorders Society (Singapore) (RDSS).
In 2011, he visited the home of a colleague who has a child with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare genetic disorder that affects the nerves that control muscle movement. It left the child able to move only her eyeballs.
“It was a life-changing day for me. When I left the house, I told myself, I want to do whatever I can in my capacity to help these children and their caregivers,” he recalls.
A few years later, when a leadership programme he was in decided to organise a charity drive, he immediately suggested supporting RDSS. Within just four weeks, he and his teammates successfully raised around $60,000 for the non-profit.
Mr Reshveen Rajendran is committed to donating at least six figures to charitable causes every year.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Today, Mr Rajendran, 32, is still a regular donor to the charity, as well as other local and international charities.
“Charity and giving back are very integral to my own personal beliefs. I don’t see it ever as an expense. I always see it as a way in which we can... bless other parties and be able to help them as well,” says Mr Rajendran, who runs a financial education company.
In 2023 alone, through personal contributions and donations from his company, he gave more than $200,000 in cash to charitable causes. While the exact amount varies with his income, he is committed to donating at least six figures every year.
“Hopefully, it gets into seven figures very soon!”
He donates larger sums through Giving.sg, the national giving platform by NVPC that connects donors and volunteers with registered non-profits in Singapore. He is comfortable not going through official platforms only for smaller donations.
“Some newer (charities) and some of these other people that we support, you know, they might not have necessary proper accounting and stuff, so I do what I can. But with bigger sums, for sure, I will definitely do it through registered sites.”
Mr Rajendran has seen crowdfunding campaigns organised by influencers
“People are sold on emotions – you have to be able to tap on heartstrings. When people’s emotions are moved, that’s when you get people into action,” he says, adding that charities could be more creative and tell beneficiary stories more effectively.
“If it’s for a good cause, it’s to really help more people, to be able to help more kids, I think it should be done. At the end of the day, it’s all about marketing.”
