That’s right. Your $50 gift to an IPC just became worth $100, thanks to the Bicentennial Community Fund!
Giving just got a boost this year, thanks to the new $200M Bicentennial Community Fund (BCF).
Announced in this year’s Budget, the fund is named to commemorate – you guessed it – Singapore’s Bicentennial year. And it offers dollar-for-dollar matching for donations to Institutions of a Public Character (IPC), up to a cap of $400,000 per IPC.
What Does This Mean For You?
Small dollars add up. Just think: A $25 donation to Aidha, a charity which trains foreign domestic workers in financial literacy, will cover the cost of course materials for 1 student. A $50 donation to Save Our Street Dogs, a volunteer-run organisation dedicated to the welfare of street dogs in Singapore, will help to cover 1 day of hospitalisation for a dog.
The wonderful thing about BCF is that it doubles your impact, so that $10 donation will now be worth $20.
Here are some things to know:
- Just as there is only one Bicentennial year, this is a one-off initiative that only applies to donations made between April 1 2019 to March 31 2020.
- Donations can be made through any payment mode to be eligible for matching. This includes cash, cheque or e-payments through digital platforms like the SG Cares app or Giving.sg
- Only donations made to IPCs will be eligible for BCF matching. Basically, these are organisations that can issue donors tax deductible receipts and are held to a higher standard of compliance and governance. So you can rest easy knowing your money will be well managed.
Find out if an organisation has IPC status on the Charity Portal. Or, use Giving.sg’s search function and filter for organisations that are “tax deductible”.
On Giving.sg, charities with IPC status will have the word “TDR” (tax-deductible receipt) above their “Donate Today” button
Get Started On Your Giving Journey!
Singapore’s Bicentennial is not only a chance to reflect on how our nation has been shaped. You can now shape Singapore by giving to a worthy cause.
Here are our tips on giving well in the Bicentennial year:
- Consider “adopting” a charity for the year. It’s like building a relationship with someone – you take time to know your “better half” and help them grow with your strengths and talents.
- Start giving. You could commit to give a small amount monthly – like $10 every month for a year, or roughly the price of a movie ticket. That will add up to $120 by March 2020, and BCF matching can double it to $240.
- By building a loyal relationship with one charity, you may realise that you can make an impact in other ways such as by volunteering or pledging your birthday to them (ask friends to give donations, not gifts!)
