SMA Charity Fund (SMACF) is turning five in April this year and we'd like to start by thanking our wonderful donors and volunteers for riding together on this journey with us.
2017 was an eventful year for us. In October 2017, Mr Sitoh Yih Pin stepped down as an SMACF Board Member and Audit Chairperson. The Board also appointed Mr Alex Koh Wei Peng as an incoming Board Member. Mr Sitoh and Mr Koh both share the same profession in auditing and a big heart for charitable works.
Together with the Board, our pioneer batch of veteran doctors and donors, SMACF has grown from a little sprout to a sturdy young tree in just a handful of years. Since 2013, SMACF has raised a total of $946,449*.
Current financial standing
In 2017, we raised a total of $300,000 (accurate as of 30 November 2017). We are now facing a very challenging situation where the total amount of funds raised is unable to meet the current needs of $450,000 per annum. The grant received from the Care & Share Movement (which matches funds raised in 2015 [34%]) will cease by June 2018 after the final disbursement is made and the remaining funds with the NUS Development Office will be fully utilised by next year.
To maintain our current reserve ratio of 1.39 while continuing to support needy medical students through our core programmes, SMACF has to ramp up our fundraising efforts to cover the huge shortfall.
What's next?
A recent study that surveyed medical students in NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine found that close to 19.5% of students come from households with monthly incomes below $3,000 and about 14.4% of medical students engage in part-time jobs during the course of their medical studies.1 In a positive light, we are seeing more gung-ho students who choose to bite the bullet and pursue their passion in medical studies. Despite their financial situation, they are mentally prepared to be debt-ridden for the next ten years upon graduation.
It is exactly this fighting spirit that spurs SMACF and our donors to want to do more. We know of many unsung heroes who lead by example, such as doctors who started online campaigns to mobilise the community and tapped on technology to raise more funds collectively. We also see a rising number of individuals who have entrusted SMACF to manage their legacy gifts, passing them on to those who truly deserve a helping hand.
Filling a huge gap in funding needs may be very challenging for small charities, but we are confident that we will make it simply because we are in the sector of healing and saving lives. Although our current donor representation makes up only 4% of the medical profession, we believe that with more publicity and awareness of SMACF's work, many will resonate with our cause and answer our call to action.
In celebration of our fifth year of doing good, we hope to mobilise the medical profession to come forward as one and double our donor base. This will aid our plans to continue the work we are doing so that every needy medical student can receive the assurance of continued support for living expenses throughout their education journey.
To be part of the cause, you may write to us at smacharity@sma.org.sg to request for a donation form or to submit an enquiry, or simply visit our website at https://goo.gl/YWXXni for a copy today.
Your kindness will help us to help more students in need.
*Total receipts (donations and grants) accumulated, excluding funds with the NUS Development Office. Each year, more than 75% of all receipts are spent on charitable activities.
