Abstract

Non-profit organisations (NPOs) are meant to serve the public rather than to earn a profit for its members.Charities are also NPOs and have philanthropic goals as well as social well-being. It is imperative that theseorganisations to observe good corporate governance to safeguard the interest of the public and donors. Corporategovernance consists of a number of good elements such as trusts, clear vision, mission, direction, transparency,internal control, sustainability and corporate social responsibility. There were a number of charities andnon-profit organisations in Singapore which has flaunted the regulations and lost the trust of the public.Singapore has implemented various measures and regulations to govern these charities and NPOs. Itcontinuously upgrades the code of governance and educates the charity and NPO sector on the need for goodgovernance. However, irregularities seemed persistent. Donors, who are the main contributors to the existence ofthese charities and NPOs, had to have a say in the regulation of such charities and NPOs. Donors’ perception andexpectation have to be addressed so as to achieve an effective set of governance principles which do not overregulatethe charities and NPOs. Based on the findings of extant literatures and surveys, it was found that donors’perception on corporate governance has not been evaluated sufficiently. Singapore is improving the awareness ofgood governance among its charities and NPOs but has not looked at governance in donors’ point of view. Thispaper stresses the importance of donors’ perception in view of existing regulations and code of governance inSingapore charities and NPOs.

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