Covid-19 closures cause donations to religious groups drop but online platforms have helped

This article is more than 12 months old

Online platforms, most notably giving.sg, have helped some organisations

Apr 06, 2020 06:00 am

The Covid-19 outbreak has hit the coffers of several religious organisations here, with some saying donations have dropped by up to 50 per cent.

This comes after all religious congregations and services were suspended until April 30 as part of additional measures announced by the Covid-19 multi-ministry task force on March 24.

On the bright side, donations to giving.sg, a fund-raising site run by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), surged 111 per cent last month compared with February, an increment of almost $2.5 million.

A spokesman for Methodist Welfare Services (MWS) told The New Paper donations made by Methodist churches to MWS have dropped by 45 per cent compared with the same period last year.

This includes donations made through its fund-raising initiative, The Giving Methodist, launched earlier last month in conjunction with the season of Lent.

Through its network of 20 centres, MWS serves 12,000 beneficiaries which include the chronically ill, the elderly, at-risk youth, and people in distress.

The WHO is currently in the process of conducting an analysis of excess deaths during the pandemic.

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The MWS spokesman added: "All roadshows and publicity efforts have been cancelled or delayed, and this could have resulted in less visibility and significantly lower donations."

Likewise, the Singapore Buddhist Federation (SBF) said donations fell by about 50 per cent.

SBF's president, Venerable Kwang Phing, told TNP the cancellation of activities, especially those planned in the lead-up to Vesak Day on May 7, have affected SBF's fund-raising efforts adversely.

Ven Kwang said: "Our funds have dropped, but at the end of the day, money is not as important as public health."

SBF awards bursaries to needy students and conducts programmes for prison inmates.

CATHOLIC CHARITIES

Similarly affected is Caritas Singapore, the umbrella organisation for 27 Catholic charities here. The organisation said donations to its Charities Week appeal have taken a 35 per cent hit in the campaign's first two weeks.

However, it has continued to raise funds through its webpage on giving.sg

MWS has also encouraged donations through its own giving.sg webpage and offers PayNow or bank transfer as alternative donation channels.

Data provided to TNP by NVPC showed that donations on its giving.sg website have risen sharply during the Covid-19 outbreak. This includes contributions to non-religious charities.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SSVP) Singapore is a Catholic charity with about 3,300 beneficiaries including children and young mothers from low-income families.

It told TNP it has tapped online donation channels such as giving.sg and PayNow.

SSVP Singapore president Florence Tan told TNP: "Our donations during the outbreak have actually surged thanks to our online donations, which accounted for 70 per cent of our total donations in March."

The society's donations increased by about 35 per cent from February to last month, which Ms Tan attributed to an online campaign it launched on March 3.