Donations were at an all-time high in 2013 on various counts, according to the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre, based on numbers from Singapore’s largest donation portal SG Gives.
$11 million was raised for charity in that year as compared to over $8 million in 2012. And over $4 million from that amount was raised in December alone.
The last day of 2013 also saw $560,000 in donations, a 42 percent increase over the same day in 2012.
In addition, top donors on SG Gives also gave a lot more in 2013 than they did in 2012, with total donations made by top 10 givers increasing by 70 percent to $940,000.
The health and social services sectors received a dominant amount of the donations, 37 percent and 57 percent respectively. Within social services however, the least donations — just over $400,000 making up 7 percent of donations to the sector — went to the elderly.
Said NVPC CEO Laurence Lien, “We are encouraged that people still make giving a priority and remember the needy even as they celebrate the festive season.”
Woon Wee Yim, chairman of the St. John’s Home for Elderly Persons, however, has this to say: “I hope that more donors, and more volunteers, will support the elderly sector. it is a growing sector.”
He also reminded that our older generation has contributed much to make Singapore what it is today.
Photo: AFP
