Announcement: giving.sg is undergoing scheduled maintenance downtime until 28 Feb 2026. For enquiries, please contact [email protected].
Announcement: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. At leo non in lobortis faucibus aenean aliquam morbi. In neque orci aliquam consequat massa. Vitae aliquam scelerisque erat faucibus. Volutpat sem mattis velit sagittis vel
At NVPC’s Fundraising Forum, held as part of the City of Good Summit 2025, over 300 passionate fundraisers, charity leaders, and philanthropic partners gathered to chart a stronger, more resilient giving ecosystem for Singapore.
As the nation celebrates SG60 this year, the forum offered a timely moment of reflection and action to prepare charities to be future-ready amid an evolving fundraising landscape.
NVPC saw record-breaking donations on giving.sg, with S$27.2 million donated in December 2024 and S$3.9 million raised on 31 December 2024 alone—the highest-ever single-month and single-day records in the platform’s history. NVPC’s Great Singapore Give campaign and partnership with Mediacorp on Let’s Celebrate 2025 helped contribute to the surge in giving.
In her welcome address, Ms Chong Ee Rong, Vice Chairman of NVPC, set the tone with a message of unity and urgency. “Looking around the room, I see the beating heart of Singapore’s giving ecosystem,” she said, addressing the crowd of nonprofit leaders and changemakers. She emphasised that fundraising today is far more than just asking for money – it is about forging deep connections, telling compelling stories, and aligning values with meaningful action.
Ee Rong acknowledged the dynamic changes in the philanthropic space, from the rise of digital giving platforms such as giving.sg to shifting donor expectations and the growing need for measurable impact. She stressed that collective collaboration, rather than working in silos, is vital to navigate these changes. “This is the time to come together and elevate our collective impact,” she noted.
To that end, NVPC is responding with strengthened strategies and tools. These include enhanced board governance support through the Centre for Non-Profit Leadership, leadership development via the Next Gen Changemaker programme, and innovative giving approaches such as Giving Circles and SG Cares Giving Week. A major goal, she said, is to build a vibrant community of professional fundraisers who can learn, collaborate, and inspire one another.
Mr Lenard Pattiselanno, Senior Director of Community Leadership and Partnerships at NVPC, delivered a comprehensive overview of the fundraising landscape in Singapore, anchored by a stark statistic: that charitable donations amount to less than 1% of the country’s GDP. Rather than viewing this as discouraging, Lenard challenged the sector to do better and break through this ceiling.
He outlined three key forces impacting fundraisers:
Charities must be prepared not only to weather these changes, but also to adapt and innovate in response. Lenard emphasised the diversification of income sources—including corporate, community, and individual giving—as a strategic imperative.
From NVPC’s Foundation Landscape Study, we also see that Singapore’s institutional giving landscape largely mirrors the global situation, with private foundations dominating and driving growth.
The forum also spotlighted capability building. Lenard highlighted the importance of improving fundraising professionalism while avoiding rigid job demarcations. Fundraising, he emphasised, is an organisation-wide goal, not a single person’s responsibility.
NVPC’s partnership with the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) was showcased as a concrete step toward sector capability building. Through a revamped fundraising certification programme, skills-based workshops, and a community of practice, fundraisers will be better equipped to meet the evolving demands of the sector.
Lenard also explored how digital giving has come of age. Singapore’s digital platforms, particularly giving.sg, have enabled record-breaking donation volumes. Data shows that trust, convenience, and the ease of tax deduction are top motivators for online donations. Future-forward strategies such as AI-powered donor engagement, hyper-personalisation, and intelligent automation were also highlighted as tools that could redefine donor experiences.
As both speakers reiterated, the stakes are high but so is the potential. The forum’s true strength lay in its call to collective action—one where charities and funders align their missions, share their learnings, and co-create the future of giving in Singapore.
“None of us alone can solve the complex challenges facing our communities,” Ee Rong reminded the room. “But together…we can build a Singapore where everyone thrives.”
Stay tuned for our recap of part 2 of the Fundraising Forum where Mr Saurabh Sardana from Urooj Insights shared about The Segmentation Advantage: Power Fundraising, Supercharge Giving, as well as a panel featuring seasoned fundraisers who shared their invaluable experience and perspectives.