The SBFC is an Institution of Public Character and it has been authorized by the Ministry of Health to issue tax-exemption receipts. For members of the public who make a donation, their donation is automatically tax deductible. Through all these years, the SBFC has received the support of the Buddhist community and members of the public. Their donations are all tax-deductible.

Our annual report for 2009 is presented below.

Breakdown of Income & Expenses from April 2008 - March 2009

Donation

We also welcome all donations and support from the public.

Please download the Donation Form, print it out, and send it together with your crossed cheque to our office at:
48 Lor 23 Geylang, Singapore 388376.
Please indicated payable to: Singapore Buddhist Free Clinic

How to make donation through GIRO

To facilitate donation by the public, we started the GIRO donation scheme whereby donors may fill in the GIRO Donation Form (available at all our branch clinics), send it to our office, and your monthly donation will be directly transferred to us from your bank account. We will send you our official receipt for your donation for the year in January the following year for tax exemption purpose. However, if you have given your NRIC number to us, you can save the trouble as tax exemption will be automatically accorded to you by the IRAS.

Making donation via Credit Card transaction

You can also use Credit Card to transfer your kind donation to our Medical Fund, if you hold any of VISA / MASTERCARD / AMEX / DINERS Credit Card. Please download the Donation Form, fill in the amount, credit card number, expiry date, and authorized by your signature. Upon a successful transaction, an Official Receipt will be send to the address you supplied. Your donation will is tax-exempted.

Making donation through SG Gives

You can use credit card to transfer your donation to our Medical Fund Account through website www.sggives.org/sbfc On receiving the donation, we will send our official receipt to the address supplied. Your donation will is tax-exempted.

Guidelines on Donations

General Guidelines

All members of the staff in this clinic are to uphold honesty in order to ensure the public's confidence and continued support for charitable causes.
At all times, the clinic will ensure the accuracy of all information disseminated to members of the public.
In accordance with donors' desire, all donations received will be used to the fullest in funding the free clinic.
SBFC will place on record names of donors in annual report and website for contributions $1000 or more. Donors may request not to have their names published, in such instances their names will be kept confidential.

Types of Donation

Charity box: These boxes are placed at all clinics for collecting donations from the public. Donors' names are not recorded and they do not specify the usage of such funds.
Fund-raising activities: Donations collected from the holding of walkathons, fun fairs, as well as flag days are recorded in separate accounts. No receipts are issued for such donations.
Medical fund: For donations that are specified by donors for use in funding the operations of the free clinic, official receipts that can be used to claim tax relief will be issued.

Receipt for Donations

SBFC is an approved Institute of a Public Character (IPC) under the purview of the Ministry of Health. SBFC is also a member of the Health Endowment Fund. During the permit validity period, all qualified donations to the Medical Fund and Building Fund are tax-exempted.
Two types of receipts are issued:

2.1 Normal (Temporary) Receipt
This type of receipt is handwritten with a set of 3 copies. The first copy is issued to the donor. The second is kept for accounting purposes and the third is the stub. This book of receipt is printed and managed by the secretariat of the Board of directors, and is only issued to the various branch clinics and other approved donation collecting agents. All receipts issued must be signed by the officer with complete record. The chairman and the chief financial officer of the clinic will affix their personal seals on the receipt, or give written authorization to the executive secretary to affix the seals on their behalf.

2.2 Official (Tax-exempt) Receipt
This receipt is computer generated. For donations made in cash during office hours at all branches or credit card donations made at the main office, an official receipt will be issued on the spot. For cheque donation, an official receipt will be mailed to the donor five working days after it is deposited. No signature is required. However, the names and designations of the Secretary General and the Finance Director of the branch, as well as that of the issuing officer will also be printed on the receipt.

Donor who decided to claim income tax relief for their donation after having opted not to do so earlier must inform the clinic within the same calendar year, that is by December 31 at the latest, so that records can be amended before submission to the Inland Revenue Authority.
Should a donor lose his original receipt, any request for a duplicate should be made within two years.

Methods of Donation:

Donors may choose any method listed below to donate to our medical fund:

By Cash Donation: Please proceed to our main office or branches during office hours, where an official receipt will be issued. After office hours (during the evening consultation hours), or in the event that the officer-in-charge is not present, the clerical officer will issue donors with a temporary receipt.
By cheque: Cheques can be sent by mail to the main office or hand delivered to any branches. When sending by mail, please state clearly the donor's name, NRIC number, address, contact number, amount and cheque number. Five working days after the cheque is deposited, an official receipt will be sent to the donor.
By Credit Card: Donations made by credit card is acceptable at the main office. Alternatively, donors can send their credit card details with their authorize signature to the main office. Once the credit card transaction is approved, an official receipt will be mailed to the donor according to the address furnished by them.
By GIRO: Donors can collect a copy of the GIRO application form from our branches. Upon filling up the account name, bank account number, monthly amount to be donated and the signature, mail the form back to our office. Once approved, our bank will deduct the monthly amount from the donor's bank account. On December 31 of every year, we will issue a receipt in total detailing the amount donated for that year.
By SG Gives: Donations can be made online via www.sggives.org/sbfc portal. Upon confirmation of receipt of donation by bank, tax exempted receipt will be issused.

Processing of Donations

Only the executive secretary, assistant executive secretary or other appointed officials of the various branches have access to the data stored in the computer and are authorized to generate receipts. Other officers can only issue handwritten temporary receipts.
Upon receipt of donation, all data related to it will be keyed into the computer. All cash or cheque donation received by us will be deposited in the designated bank account within the shortest possible time and once the donation is cleared, an official receipt will be issued. (Under normal circumstances, this should not exceed ten working days. If donors do not receive their receipts after two weeks, please make enquire by calling our office).
For cash donations, the various branches can process it directly and an official receipt can be generated by the computer. If cheque donation is made at any branches, a temporary receipt will be issued. The branch will then send the cheque and the duplicate of the temporary receipt to the main office. Once the appointed executive officer has deposited the cheque, an official receipt will be issued.
The main office of the clinic must maintain records of all donations. Serial numbers of all receipts issued, donors' name or companies' name, addresses, method of donation and the officer handling the donations must be recorded.
All data stored in the computer cannot be deleted. Should any data to be deleted, an approval by board of director’s secretary general and or the director of finance been noted.
The Executive Secretary will submit monthly donation statement to auditors for checking.
Within three weeks from December 31 of every year, the secretariat must complete the submission of donation data to the Inland Revenue Authority's IPCLINK systems so that tax-exemptions can be processed for qualified donations.
All stubs of temporary receipts as well as computer generated receipts must be kept for a period of seven years in accordance with the law.

Charity Vouchers

Members of the public can also purchase charity vouchers during celebratory events or during the demise of their friends or relatives. For amounts above $50, the purchaser can request for free delivery. (This service is not available for amounts of below $50).
For phone-in purchases of charity vouchers, details of the buyer or recipient and the method of donation must be stated and the details faxed to the main office.
All funds collected from the sale of charity vouchers will be deposited into the Medical Fund. An official receipt, which enables the buyer to claim tax exemption, will be issued.
For persons who request the sale of charity vouchers at a particular location, please ensure that power supply points are available so that the computer can be used on the spot. Such request must be made in writing.

Managing Charity Boxes

Companies that wish to assist fund raising efforts through the placement of charity boxes at their premises are to sign an agreement with the clinic, stating that they are willing to manage the charity box.
The secretariat must ensure that all charity boxes are serially numbered, so that records are available for checking when issuing or collecting the boxes.
Officers will be dispatched to the location of the charity boxes for the purposes of accounting for the donation. The charity box may also be brought back to the main office for ascertaining the amount collected by two of our executive staff.
Once the amount in the boxes are counted, a receipt stating the name of the company, that is "XXXXX Company (Charity Box)" and the amount collected will be issued.
Donors who make donations to the charity box will not be able to seek tax exemptions.

List of Donors (S$1,000 and above)