When the pandemic hit, theatre company Pangdemonium, a Singapore charity and Institution of a Public Character (IPC), lost virtually all its income as it could not stage live productions. “We were forced to dig into our reserves for our day-to-day operations,” said the theatre company. This made it difficult to sustain its education and outreach efforts, which are free or low-cost, accessible for everyone and designed to nurture emerging talents.

Pangdemonium is one of over 400 nonprofits that the Community Foundation of Singapore works with. As a leading philanthropy advisor with an understanding of funding needs in the charity space, CFS promptly matched Pangdemonium with a donor-advised fund (DAF), established via a legacy gift from an estate, whose donor subsequently recommended a grant of $100,000 to Pangdemonium.

This significant gift helped Pangdemonium sustain its education offerings, such as its Triple Threats Musical Theatre Workshop, as well as all apprenticeships and internships. The theatre company was also able to introduce two new education and industry development programmes in 2021 and 2022 thanks to the gift; both programmes are open to the community regardless of background or education history.

The theatre company was grateful for the support, noting that the grant was “integral to keeping the education department going”. The programmes the company was able to conduct provided a safe space for youths to explore their interest in the theatre, both as an aspiring theatre maker or as a hobbyist.

“While there are similar youth theatre programmes provided by other theatre companies in Singapore, many of those programmes come with a hefty price tag,” Pangdemonium added.

“By making our programmes free and accessible to all, we hope to remove the barrier-of-entry into the arts.”

THE VALUE OF LEGACY GIFTS TO CHARITIES

Legacy gifts provide charities with more financial stability and the bandwidth to plan and budget in advance as these donations are often larger in value and longer-term.

In terms of estate gifts, Pangdemonium currently receives an annual cash donation from The Grace, Shua, and Jacob Ballas II Charitable Trust. However, the theatre company notes that as a result of its supporters mostly being under the age of 40, much of the donations they receive are yearly gifts or ad-hoc donations, and not large legacy gifts spanning multiple years.

“One of the greatest challenges we face in receiving or appealing for legacy gifts is finding donors who have the capability to make legacy gifts,” it notes. “Legacy giving is a relatively new area of fundraising for us.”

Nonetheless, Pangdemonium has taken steps to attract legacy givers, including by making impact information more accessible to donors. “Over the last few years, we have adopted the practice of writing tailored impact reports for our donors,” it says, “so that they are kept in the know regarding how we have decided to utilize their gift.”

“With our financial needs secured, we will be able to focus our efforts on our core business – staging live productions that are of the highest artistic and entertainment values,” it continues.

“It will also allow for us to brainstorm more ways to make the theatre more accessible to the masses and nurture the next generation of theatregoers, which in turn will contribute to the sustainability of the arts ecosystem in the long-term.”

At CFS, we hope to make legacy giving simple for all. We are recognised for our transparency and good governance, so donors and beneficiaries alike can be assured that their legacy funds remain in trusted hands for now and beyond. Whether you’re a charity, donor, or advisor, CFS can help you with legacy giving. We invite you to take a step towards making a difference towards the causes that matter the most to you.

For more information on legacy giving, please go to this page.

For more information on Pangdemonium, please go to Pangdemonium website.