3 Observations of Effective Charities

Last week, our team was invited to a half day conference entitled “In Conversation With Commissioner of Charities & Charity Council 2023.”

There were several panel speakers involved, including Chairperson of the Charity Council, Ms Theresa Goh and Chairman of Pro Bono SG, Mr Gregory Vijayendran. While the sharings were very insightful, we found the talk by Commissioner of Charities, Mr Desmond Chin worth highlighting.

He spoke about 3 Observations of Effective Charities:

1) Increased Discernment

Over the years, the charity ecosystem has become increasingly discerning. People like donors and volunteers don’t just want to do good, they want to do well. This notion is also scrutinised across the various charities in Singapore.

As an example, instead of just donating to a particular cause, donors now look for 3 things; namely: output, outcome and impact. Effective charities know this and focus on these 3 aspects as well.

2) Vision and Mission

The charity’s vision and mission cannot be overstated. In fact, this needs to be over-communicated; especially by the leadership, board directors and management team. Vision deals with where we are going. Mission deals with how we are going to get there. To be effective, the leadership of the charity needs to be vision-centred and mission-aligned. Three aspects for the charity leadership team to always be mindful of:

→ Be future oriented

→ Be proactive

→ Have a succession plan

3) Lessons From COVID-19

The most effective charities did a few key initiatives during the coronavirus period. Firstly, they spent time reflecting on current processes. Were there any areas that needed improvement etc. Some leveraged on technology and tools to help them streamline their processes. Others expanded on funding sources so that they could build up healthy reserve pools.

Commissioner Desmond ended his speech by sharing 2 key highlights. Firstly, the key revisions to the Code of Governance for Charities and IPCs focused on moving towards a principle-based approach. Secondly, he encouraged all charities to make good governance a daily habit for the ultimate purpose of improving society for one and all in Singapore.