Background
1. Grantmakers are typically non-profit entities such as private family or corporate foundations, or businesses’ giving programs which only give out grant monies to specific charitable causes. They play an important role in the overall philanthropic sphere and contribute to the national drive to build a more caring and inclusive Singapore.
2. To promote charitable giving and develop Singapore as a philanthropic hub, a lighter-touch regulatory regime for Grantmakers was introduced in 2007. Under the Grantmaker Scheme administered by the Office of the Commissioner of Charities, some of the regulatory requirements for charities are waived or relaxed for qualifying Grantmakers1. The Guidance on Regulation of Grantmakers was published by the Commissioner in the same year to set out how qualifying Grantmakers would be regulated under this lighter-touch regime.
Review of the Guidance
3. Since the Guidance was first published in 2007, the charity landscape has continued to evolve and develop. In 2022, the Commissioner embarked on a review of the Grantmaker Scheme to clarify the parameters of the scheme and ensure its relevance to our Grantmakers. The review sought to provide greater transparency to Grantmakers in three key areas:
- Allowable allocations between local and overseas giving;
- Conduct of non-grantmaking activities; and
- Disbursements made through non-grant instruments.
4. To gather holistic feedback from key players in the Grantmakers’ ecosystem, the Commissioner engaged relevant stakeholders, including Grantmakers, from December 2022 to January 2023 through an online consultation and face-to-face engagement sessions on the key proposed changes to the Guidance. A summary of the key feedback received from the consultation and our responses can be found in the
Annex. We have considered the valuable feedback received from stakeholders, including from partner agencies such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Economic Development Board (EDB) which the Commissioner works closely with to grow Singapore as a philanthropic hub.
Issuance of revised Guidance
5. The revised Guidance on Regulation of Grantmakers can be found
here. It will take effect from 1 January 2024.
6. The Commissioner will continue to engage Grantmakers to ensure our policies remain relevant and effective to support the good work of our Grantmakers. As part of this continued engagement, the Commissioner will reach out to Grantmakers in Q1 2024 to collect data from Grantmakers regarding their activities which will help inform future policy refinements.
Footnote
1 For organisations which fulfil the criteria, the Commissioner will waive the following registration requirements under the Charities (Registration of Charities) Regulations:
a. the requirement under Regulation 3(1)(b) that there must be a minimum of 3 governing board members for the charity (or 10 governing board members for large charities) [Note: Qualifying Grantmakers will instead need a minimum of one local governing board member.]; and
b. the requirement under Regulation 3(1)(c) that the purposes of the charity must be beneficial wholly or substantially to the community in Singapore. [Note: Qualifying Grantmakers will not be required to apply their funds wholly or substantially in Singapore but are expected to apply some of their funds in Singapore.]
