From next year, the Chinese, Indian and Eurasian self-help groups will raise monthly contribution rates. High-income earners face the largest increases. The groups said they need more money to cope with rising costs and to roll out new programmes. These contributions, which people can opt out of or give more if they choose, are deducted automatically from monthly salaries.
By Priscilla Goy, The Sunday Times, 31 Aug 2014
By Priscilla Goy, The Sunday Times, 31 Aug 2014
SINDA: Smaller community faces fund pressures
From the current $7 a month, those earning more than $15,000 monthly will be expected to contribute $30 from next year.
This is the steepest rise among the increased rates announced by three self-help groups, including the ones for the Chinese and Eurasian communities, yesterday.
"The new rates are more progressive," Senior Minister of State for Education and Law Indranee Rajah, who is president of the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA), told community stakeholders at a forum at PGP Hall in Serangoon. "Those who earn more will contribute more."
A majority of the contributors - those earning between $1,000 and $4,500 a month - will not see any changes. The lowest income tier has also been broadened, such that those earning between $600 and $1,000 each month will be asked to pay $1 a month instead of $3.
The changes are expected to add about $3 million to the fund's annual collection of about $8 million, excluding the Government's contribution, other grants and programme fees.
As salaries go up and operating costs go up, contribution rates have to rise too, said Ms Indranee. SINDA last revised its rates 18 years ago in 1996, and decided on the latest round only after several focus group discussions and consultations with community leaders.
As salaries go up and operating costs go up, contribution rates have to rise too, said Ms Indranee. SINDA last revised its rates 18 years ago in 1996, and decided on the latest round only after several focus group discussions and consultations with community leaders.
According to Deputy Prime Minister and SINDA board of trustees chairman Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the group had been spending more than it took in recently, and had to draw on its reserves.
SINDA has had annual deficits of between $1.3 million and $1.6 million over the past three years. Last year, its operating expenditure was $18.23 million, with more than half spent on education programmes. But its total income, including government grants, was $17.63 million.
"Looking long-term, we need a stable and expanded source of revenue. In the short term, we can run a deficit, not a problem. But in the long term, you can't," Mr Tharman said.
SINDA has programmes for both the old and young, including tuition and enrichment programmes which helped more than 6,500 students last year. It also runs a family service centre and a legal clinic offering free services to low-income families who have difficulty in engaging lawyers for advice.
As of last month, more than 127,000 employees of Indian descent - including Bangladeshis, Sikhs, Sri Lankans, Punjabis and Tamils - contribute to the fund. Workers on the foreign worker levy scheme do not have to contribute.
SINDA chief operating officer Ravindran Nagalingam said the Indian community's smaller size when compared with the Chinese and Malay communities means it needed to raise more to do more.
"The minority groups like Eurasians and Indians need to increase their contributions significantly more because of this," he said.
CDAC: Each member has a part to play: Gan
This is why those who earn up to $2,000 a month will still be asked to contribute 50 cents to the self-help group's endowment fund each month when rates change next year.
"We would like every member of the Chinese community to contribute. Big or small, it doesn't matter," said Mr Gan, who is CDAC's chairman.
"We want everyone to contribute where they can. But we know some of them are in the low-income groups, so we don't want to raise their contribution rates."
Only those with a monthly pay of more than $3,500 will be asked to give more each month - an increase of between 50 cents and $2.
About half of the contributors to the fund fall in this category.
The higher contributions are expected to add about $6 million annually. This is the first time CDAC has reviewed its rates since it was set up in 1992.
The money will allow it to extend more support to post-secondary students, and offer more skill-based courses that are targeted at low-wage workers.
Earlier this year, it also opened its first in-school student care centre in Bendemeer Primary and plans to open more of such centres.
But it is getting more expensive to run these programmes - from over $5 million a decade ago to about $22 million last year, outpacing the growth in contributions.
Last year, the fund received about $12.2 million from over a million working Chinese Singaporeans and permanent residents, and another $3.4 million from programme fees and other grants. The deficit was funded by government grants, the CDAC Endowment Fund and its reserves.
CDAC's operating deficit has also gone up in the past few years - $5.7 million in 2012, $6.4 million last year, and projected to grow to $7.5 million this year.
When asked if the contribution rates should have been raised further, Mr Gan, who was speaking to reporters after a visit to the CDAC's headquarters in Tanjong Katong, said: "We are very cautious, we are very mindful that we do not want to collect more than what we need... Our operating principle has always been that we try to work within our means."
Working together with self-help groups to organise joint-programmes has also helped to save on costs, he added. For instance, a joint ceremony was recently held to recognise the hard work of 571 students from the four ethnic-based self-help groups.
Mr Chua Thian Poh, chairman of CDAC's board of trustees, said it will also step up fund-raising efforts. "We are appealing to foundations, clan associations, (the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry), individuals and corporates. So those who are more well-off hopefully can come together to build our endowment fund."
EURASIAN ASSOCIATION: Rates to increase by $1 to $10 more
While the higher contribution rates will add a modest $150,000 to $180,000 to the Eurasian Association's (EA) community fund, it said the extra money will make a "huge difference" in reaching out to more needy families.
The new rates, which kick in at the start of next year, affect only those earning more than $2,500. They will pay between $1 and $10 more.
With the introduction of more tiers, those whose monthly pay is higher than $10,000 will be asked to contribute $20 - double the current figure.
But EA president Benett Theseira said that during discussions over the last two years, even "retirees had come forward to ask how they can make a regular donation".
"It's very heartening that many Eurasians have expressed their full support for the revised contribution rates," he said yesterday.
"The increased contributions will allow us to reach out to more young people and families in need, and make a positive difference in their lives."
There are around 6,200 Eurasian citizens and permanent residents who currently contribute to the EA's community fund (ECF), which brought in around $500,000 last year.
This is the first time that rates for the ECF, launched in 1995, have been revised.
The association said the ECF helps around 900 households with cash grants and food vouchers a year. It also aids around 400 students annually through transport vouchers and bursaries, for instance.
Funds are also used for community development, for instance, the preserving of the Eurasian heritage, traditions and increasing awareness of their culture.
Funding boost through govt grants
Currently, the Government matches the donations raised by the groups, subject to an annual cap. Last year, the cap was raised for the matching grant for Yayasan Mendaki, the Association of Muslim Professionals and Malay Muslim organisations from $4 million to $5 million from this financial year onwards.
The Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) now receives up to $1.7 million a year, while the Eurasian Association gets not more than $200,000 annually.
The Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) does not receive yearly grants. It received a one-off grant of $10 million when it was set up in 1992 to be used until 1997.
Senior Minister of State for Law and Education Indranee Rajah, who is SINDA's president, said at a community forum yesterday that the increased funding will be announced today. CDAC chairman and Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who gave details on CDAC's revised contribution rates, would say only that Mr Wong would be giving details soon.
Mr Wong had said in April that if the ethnic groups raised more funds, the Government would also provide more in matching grants. "It's in line with our philosophy that the Government and the community both work together to help individuals," he said.
Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim, speaking at a book launch by the Malay Heritage Foundation yesterday, explained why Mendaki was not raising its rates like the other self-help groups.
Mendaki last revised its rates in 2009, and Muslim employees pay $2 to $16 a month. Those earning up to $200 need not contribute.
He said: "I think we have taxed the community enough and we thank the community for their contribution, so we see no need for us in the immediate future to raise the contribution rates."
Govt to double grants for SINDA, Eurasian Association
They can help more families with extra funds; CDAC to get one-off $10m grant
By Toh Yong Chuan, The Straits Times, 1 Sep 2014
They can help more families with extra funds; CDAC to get one-off $10m grant
By Toh Yong Chuan, The Straits Times, 1 Sep 2014
The dollar-for-dollar matching grants for donations raised by the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) and Eurasian Association (EA) will be doubled so that they can help more families.
The Chinese self-help group, Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), will get a one- off $10 million grant for 2014 to 2018. It received a similar $10 million grant for 1992 to 1997.
These grants will help self-help groups run more programmes, said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong. "We will do our part to support what they are doing and support their good work," he said.
The amounts were based on the sizes of the communities and the programmes proposed by the groups, he told reporters after a visit to a CDAC tuition centre at Rivervale Primary yesterday.
He added that the CDAC does not get an annual matching grant like the rest because the Chinese community, being the largest, is in a "much better position to raise funds on its own".
"We do lean a bit more generously towards the smaller ones," said Mr Wong.
The increases in grants announced yesterday came one day after the self-help groups said they will be raising the contribution rates from next year to cope with rising costs and to pay for new programmes.
The monthly contributions rates go up by between 50 cents and $23. These donations are deducted from workers' salaries, but workers can opt out of giving.
The matching grant for Malay self-help groups Yayasan Mendaki, the Association of Muslim Professionals and Malay Muslim organisations was already raised from $4 million to $5 million earlier this year.
Self-help groups welcomed the extra government funds.
An EA spokesman said that it will explore running more programmes, without giving details.
SINDA's chief operating officer Ravindran Nagalingam said the group will expand programmes targeted at Indian families. "We are the only self-help group that runs a family services centre," he said.
CDAC executive director Goh Chim Khim said: "The one-off grant will help us to serve more lower-income families and individuals."
It is also looking at expanding enrichment classes for primary school pupils, on top of basic tuition.
Housewife Wong Y.L., 42, whose two daughters in Primary 4 and 6 attend the CDAC's weekly tuition and enrichment classes, supports the expansion of tuition programmes.
"The CDAC teachers are volunteers and they are passionate about teaching. My daughters' grades have improved," she said.
Helping self-help groups
Editorial, The Straits Times, 11 Sep 2014
Editorial, The Straits Times, 11 Sep 2014
THE Government's decision to increase its matching grant to the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), the Eurasian Association (EA) and the Singapore Indian Development Association (Sinda) reveals the self-help groups' continuing importance in complementing official efforts to ensure that no ethnic community falls behind on the national road to progress. Malay self-help groups Yayasan Mendaki and the Association of Muslim Professionals and other Malay-Muslim organisations were not cited in the latest move because the matching grant for them was raised earlier this year.
Matching grants play a crucial role in furthering the work of all these groups. The Government's intervention helps to redress the imbalance caused by the different sizes of the communities. Recognising that smaller communities face greater constraints in raising funds, it correspondingly is more generous in the funding approach which it adopts and in the quantum of the help that it provides.
The move by the CDAC, the EA and Sinda to revise individual monthly contribution rates to their funds thus should be seen in the light of a national imperative that requires the support of citizens as much as the State to sustain valuable programmes even as the groups' outreach expands.
Some Singaporeans greeted the inauguration of the self-help-group scheme with dismay because it appeared to underscore the racial aspect of community needs instead of focusing on educational and other needs across the races. There were also concerns that the scheme might encourage Singaporeans to think along racial lines because it called on members of each community to help the disadvantaged within that community.
However, the scheme has earned its keep because it is realistic. Members of a community are more likely than others outside it to know the specific kinds of problems besetting the community. Likewise, leaders involved with the self-help groups are more likely to appreciate the cultural resources they can draw on, and be aware of the cultural sensitivities within which they must work. And the work of the groups should not necessarily sharpen racial consciousness because of the overall effort to reinforce the national consciousness of being Singaporean.
Today, the self-help groups have become household names whose records are judged not by the old concerns but by new expectations of how well they look after the most vulnerable segments of the community. The individual contributions under the revised rates will help improve the reach and depth of schemes that have proved their worth. At the end of the day, rising tides in every community will raise the Singapore boat as a whole.
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