Help VWOs in financial difficulty, not punish them

September 27, 2012

Help VWOs in financial difficulty, not punish them

When a voluntary welfare organisation (VWO) is in financial difficulty, what it needs is more help, not withdrawal of IPC status. -TNP
Leong Sze Hian

Thu, Sep 27, 2012
The New Paper

The exterior of the Singapore Action Group of Elders (SAGE), located at 19 Toa Payoh West, has been closed since the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) took back the land after the lease expired in March 2012.

I refer to the closure of the Singapore Action Group of Elders (Sage), leaving wages and bills unpaid.

In 2006, it lost its Institutions of a Public Character (IPC) status, which allows donations to be tax-deductible.

The reason, according to the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, was that it faced recurring deficits, negative accumulating funds and outstanding debts.

When a voluntary welfare organisation (VWO) is in financial difficulty, what it needs is more help, not withdrawal of IPC status.

The latter may be akin to the final nail in the coffin as it is much harder to raise funds when donations are no longer tax-deductible.

I would like to suggest that a listing of VWOs in funding difficulties be made public yearly, so that the public can consider channelling donations to those that may need them more than others.

Increasing competition

VWOs should be assessed on the good that they do, and not on their fund-raising abilities, for them to survive in an environment of increasing competition for the charity dollar.

Is it not ironic that a 35-year-old VWO like Sage that has been serving the elderly has to close while other VWOs can accumulate hundreds of millions in their reserves?

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About the Author

Leong
Leong Sze Hian has served as the president of 4 professional bodies, honorary consul of 2 countries, an alumnus of Harvard University, authored 4 books, quoted over 1500 times in the media , has been a radio talkshow host, a newspaper daily columnist, Wharton Fellow, SEACeM Fellow, columnist for theonlinecitizen and Malaysiakini, executive producer of Ilo Ilo (40 international awards), Hotel Mumbai (associate producer), invited to speak more than 200 times in about 40 countries, CIFA advisory board member, founding advisor to the Financial Planning Associations of 2 countries. He has 3 Masters, 2 Bachelors degrees and 13 professional  qualifications.