With charity status secured, Tchoukball Association of Singapore looks to raise more funds
SINGAPORE – The Tchoukball Association of Singapore (TBAS) was registered as a national sports association (NSA) with charity status on Tuesday by Sport Singapore, allowing it to raise more funds as it seeks to nurture its growing talent pool. As a charity organisation, it can now tap on the One Team Singapore Fund (OTSF), which offers one-for-one matching grants from the Government, capped at $50 million over five years, for donations to NSAs.
TBAS president Delane Lim said the association had applied for charity status in February, a move that was encouraged by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong. A month earlier, its women’s team became world No. 1.
Lim said: “In order for us to leverage on financial resources, one of the key things that we need to be is at least a charity.
“This is a significant difference because it encourages corporate donors as well as even parents from the tchoukball community to donate. This year, when we started our fund raising for the world championships, we managed to raise about $100,000 which couldn’t be matched because we were not a charity. “Now, we have the certification to raise funds from public donations which can be matched by the Government’s funds under OTSF.” According to TBAS, it is set to receive a fresh wave of donations. Commercial aircraft sales company BOC Aviation will donate $40,000 under OTSF, adding to their earlier contribution of $30,000 for the world championships. At the Aug 2-5 world meet held in Prague, Singapore’s men’s team finished third while the women’s team reached the quarter-finals. Ang Mo Kio Constituency Merchants Association has also pledged to organise a dedicated fund-raising event for TBAS in 2024. Three other entities, Pestimesh, Next Factor and SuperCandy, have also committed to contributing to the Tchoukball’s OTSF fund-raising efforts for the upcoming year, said Lim.
In August, eight members of the 2022 women’s tchoukball team donated their two-thirds share of the $10,000 prize money for clinching the Team of the Year (team sport) at the Singapore Sports Awards. This will be matched under OTSF.
These funds are slated to go towards preparing for three significant events – the Asia-Pacific Tchoukball Championships in 2024 and 2026, the South-east Asia Tchoukball Championships in 2025 and 2027, as well as the prestigious World Tchoukball Championships in 2027. Lim added: “The collective goal is to raise $150,000, which will be matched by another $150,000 annually. These funds will also be utilised to support the national development squad, nurturing young athletes and preparing them for youth major championships. “Moving forward, we now know that at least our athletes won’t have to pay so much out of their pockets just to represent Singapore.”
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