The Courage Fund: Here’s How The Government And Fellow Singaporeans Are Supporting Frontline Workers And COVID-19 Patients

The pandemic has upended the lives of everyone, but some more so than the others. In times like this, various donation drives and efforts have sprung up to care for the vulnerable and affected. One of them include The Courage Fund, a fund to provide relief and support to those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Courage Fund is administered by the Community Chest, the fundraising and engagement arm of the National Council of Social Services (NCSS). Donations to Community Chest are entitled to tax deductions.

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When Was The Courage Fund Established?

Set up in 2003, The Courage Fund was a fund-raising initiative to care for SARS victims and healthcare workers. It was jointly organised by National Healthcare Group (NHG), Singapore Health Services (SingHealth), Singapore Medical Association (SMA), Singapore Nurses’ Association (SNA) and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH).

The Courage Fund’s objectives then were to provide relief to SARS victims and other affected persons, support the healthcare workers in

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How Will It Help The Groups Of People Affected?

Under the Community Chest, The Courage Fund aims to provide relief to those who are affected by COVID-19. These people include dependants of individuals who have succumbed to the virus, as well as healthcare, frontline workers and community volunteers who have contracted COVID-19 in the line of duty. Lower-income households affected by COVID-19 are included too.

It applies to all Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents, holders of a valid Employment Pass, Work Permit, Dependant’s Pass or Long-Term Social Visit Pass.

Frontline workers are non-healthcare workers that have a high level of physical contact with the public in their line of work, such as private hire car operators, security staff or cleaning staff. Community volunteers are non-healthcare workers who have contributed efforts in fighting the virus without any financial compensation.

For healthcare workers who have contracted the virus, The Courage Fund would provide a lump sum of $5,000 to help their expenses. Families of healthcare workers who have succumbed to the virus would receive a lump sum of $30,000.

For the frontline workers and community volunteers who have contracted the virus, The Courage Fund helps them by disbursing a lump sum of $3,000. Families of frontline workers and community volunteers who passed away due to the virus would receive a lump sum of $20,000.

In the cases where healthcare workers, frontline workers and community workers have passed on, their dependents who are studying in Singapore would also be eligible for the Education Grant. The Education Grant covers educational and living expenses of said dependents up to the tertiary level.

Lower-income households with a family member who contracted COVID-19, or placed on quarantine order, stay-home notice, or a leave of absence, will receive relief ranging from $500 to $1000. The sum of relief will depend on their household income per capita. As of 1 Aug 2021, households with has current gross monthly income of ≤$6,200, or current gross monthly per capita income of ≤$2,000 are also eligible for the fund.

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How You Can Donate To The Fund

If you wish to donate to the Courage Fund, you can do so directly through the Community Chest website, or via their page on Giving.sg. For online donations, a minimum amount of $1 is required.

As a fund under Community Chest, all donation to the Courage Fund qualify for a 250% tax deduction,  which means that if you donate $100, you will be entitled to tax deduction of $250. If you provide your identification number when making a donation, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) automatically acknowledges the tax-deductible status of your donations. This means you do not need tax deductible receipts when submitting your annual tax assessment forms.

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