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Business Times - 10 Feb 2007

Info on charities available via SMS

CHARITY donors will soon be able to check fund raising permits and charities registration via SMS, the mobile phone text messaging service.

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Click here for MCYS' press release

This is part of a new service including a web portal giving users one-stop access to charity organisations in Singapore launched yesterday by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS).

The site, www.charities.gov.sg, will be developed to give donors and others access to financial reports of charities.

All charities are to be encouraged to make financial records available to the public through the portal, but they will not be forced to, as the Commissioner of Charities (COC) recognises that many charities are run by volunteers and does not want to stifle this spirit.

Other features of the site will be a facility for members of the public to give feedback to the COC office, apply for charity or Institution of Public Character status, and to seek advice on regulatory compliance.

At a time when the whole charities sector has been affected by the turmoil at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), COC Low Puk Yeong aims to help charities regain donor faith.

He is taking a three-fold approach, by ensuring regulatory compliance, increasing cooperation with the Charity Council and making more information accessible to the public.

Mr Low said at a media briefing yesterday, 'Our mission is to strengthen and facilitate the growth of the charity sector.'

The MCYS said yesterday that a month-long public consultation exercise which ended on Dec 24 had shown public support of more than 80 per for tightening up charities registration.

Measures to be implemented include requiring more detailed background information about the charity and its directors, monitoring new charities more closely through semi-annual reports in the first year of operations, and specifying conditions for the refusal of charity registrations.

By March, if the Charities Amendment Bill is passed, the COC will be able to refuse registration for any charity failing to meet specified conditions protecting public interest.

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