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Fundraising and Constituency
Fundraising Overview
2021 was another exciting year for AWARE’s fundraising. Thanks to our dedicated supporters, AWARE raised more than $2.05 million, continuing our growth as the leading women’s rights organisation in Singapore.
Compared to 2020, which saw a surge of donations from individuals and companies who generously passed on their benefits from governmental COVID support schemes, we experienced a slight decline in fundraising in 2021.
As we were not able to hold our annual fundraising event, we focused on growing individual and company giving through online fundraising and corporate outreach campaigns. We were pleased to have achieved a substantial growth in the number of individual (180%) and corporate (57%) donations between 2019 and 2021, which provides us with an expanded base of supporters. Overall, we saw a 16.4% increase in donation amounts from 2019 to 2021.
Hope in the Dark
After the incredible success of the Vulnerable Women’s Fund campaign in 2020, online fundraising became a critical part of AWARE’s fundraising strategy. In August 2021, we launched the Giving.sg campaign Hope in the Dark to raise funds for our work against sexual violence, including: supporting survivors at our Sexual Assault Care Centre, training first responders, educating parents to talk to their children about sex ed and conducting research into areas like workplace sexual harassment. Hope in the Dark raised over $400,000, significantly exceeding our $350,000 goal. With matching of $250,000 from the Tote Board and the government, the campaign raised more than $650,000 in total.
For our campaign launch video, we asked four allies and anti-violence advocates about their worries relating to sexual violence, and their hopes for how we might eradicate it. The interviewees were Luke Levy (co-founder, Students for a Safer NUS), Chan Peng (a father of three), Nisha Rai (student and advocate against sexual violence) and Fiza O (host, producer of Fiza O and Girlfriends). Our campaign also featured a moving account from Nelle (not her real name) about the aftermath of sexual abuse and the sensitive, empathetic support that enabled her recovery.
International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8th March every year has become a major event in AWARE’s calendar. Thanks to 32 wonderful local brands and businesses, we raised over $20,000 around IWD through a wide range of events and promotions. See how our community partners celebrated IWD and supported us here.
Peer-to-peer fundraising
Peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraisers have been a wonderful avenue for AWARE supporters to galvanise their own networks to donate to our cause, while celebrating personal milestones and/or pursuing their own interests.
We thank our talented P2P fundraisers for their creativity and time in organising their initiatives and calling friends, family and colleagues to action. These were some of our most successful P2P fundraisers in 2021:
Renee, Jolyn and Elizabeth said: “To help create more awareness about sexual violence in Singapore, we set ourselves the challenge of kayaking 25km round Ubin on 25 September, whilst our friend Katerina and her son-in-law Brendan kayaked the same distance in Panama! In total we raised $8,800 for AWARE.”
For Shyn’s 40th birthday this year, she aimed to raise $40,000 for AWARE through a personal fundraiser and a 40km swim fundraiser with a group of friends.
“For us to progress collectively, we need to support every segment of society. For your daughters and sons, for your friends and family, please consider donating to this very worthy cause and support AWARE's fight against sexual violence in Singapore.”
Paula walked 120km non-stop around Singapore to raise $3,136 for Hope in the Dark. "I haven't been able to play sports or volunteer as much since COVID hit. I realised I needed to do a physical challenge for a good cause and for my mental health. I love the work that AWARE does and really admire what they stand for. I want to support in any way I can."
AWARE members and supporters
AWARE membership increased by 18.4% in 2021 to 765, with the number of new members increasing by a full 66.9%.
i) Annual General Meeting
AWARE held our 36th Annual General Meeting virtually on 24 April 2021. We were thrilled to be joined by 77 AWARE members and to have our first-ever Virtual Town Hall, where we discussed plans for 2021 and shared suggestions for the organisation’s work.
Various staff members shared about their departments’ key achievements during 2020. A summary of their sharings can be found on our website.
At the Virtual Town Hall that followed, issues raised by members included how AWARE could continue its support for marginalised communities, such as single parents, transgender women and non-binary people.
Wrapping up the Virtual AGM and Town Hall, AWARE President Margaret Thomas expressed her special thanks to the staff of AWARE, noting that as a founder member, it was amazing to see how far AWARE had come in 36 years. She assured members that AWARE will continue to work towards an inclusive and equal society for years to come.
ii) Volunteer engagement
At the start of 2021, we welcomed AWARE’s first volunteer manager, Shamima Rafi, charged with overseeing the recruitment, deployment, engagement and recognition of our volunteers.
We engaged the highest number of volunteers yet in 2021, with 128 volunteers deployed out of 445 applications received (a 30% utilisation rate, compared to 17% in 2020). Altogether, they contributed an estimated 10,000 hours to AWARE. This cohort included new batches recruited for our Helpline and Legal Clinic, as well as 18 new volunteers asked to share their stories in the media, recruited from our “Reimagining Equality” community discussions.
We revived our recruitment event, Get To Know AWARE, and built our volunteer capacity through two peer-fundraising workshops and a resource booklet that lists ways for supporters to help AWARE beyond direct volunteering.
We also launched our Gender Equality Ally programme: a suite of talks and workshops for corporate audience engagement. Beyond equipping employees with gender equality knowledge and practical skills, the programme serves to create awareness about our work and recruit volunteers and donors from the corporate sector. Since its launch in October 2021, the programme has been delivered to 400 participants from five companies.
Our volunteers inspire us with their energy and passion and we are incredibly grateful for their time, love and effort.
Name: Kim Samson
Volunteer role: Legal Clinic Volunteer
“The most relevant part of my work as a pro bono lawyer with AWARE is to shine a ray of hope to women who feel alone, lost or helpless. By educating women about their rights, I empower them to make informed decisions. In the process, I also empower myself as a lawyer by using my skills to chip away at gender-based barriers in society.”
Name: Kit Ying
Volunteer role: Helpliner
“What I found most fulfilling was discovering the struggles that women in Singapore face, and learning how I can assist them through the Helpline.”
iii) Our donors
We want to offer a special thank you to all our donors who supported us during this important year, with additional gratitude to our corporate partners and donors.
$50,000 and above
Caesar Sengupta
Tan Ean Kiam Foundation
Tote Board
Uses Private Limited
$10,000-$49,999
Claire Chiang
Chew How Teck Foundation
In memory of Hilda Coldrey
Kampung Spirit Fund
Mrs Ivy Singh-Lim
Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Pte Ltd
Pasar Glamour – Janice Koh, Pam Oei and Petrina Kow
Sriram Narayanan
Tan Chin Tuan Foundation
The Silent Foundation Limited
Tsui Yee Lian
Twitter Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd
$5,000-$9,999
C. Shleifer
Fung Fung Ang
High Commission of Canada
Holywell Foundation Limited
Joanne Theseira
Lim Hong Choo
Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pte Ltd
Nomura Singapore Limited
Philip Chew
R3 Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
Shyn Yee Ho
Teck Weng Teo