Dear readers,
We present our expenditure breakdown for 2013. And the simple phrase to use for our financial status would be, “the future looks daunting”.
TOC has progressed all these years on the goodwill of contributors and advertisers. Thanks to your generous support, we have been able to fund most of our operational costs, at times facing editorial and technological risks, to keep the website going. However, in tracking our money flow over the years, three facts have been increasingly clear to us:
1) We need to invest more in manpower – Having boots on the ground to report on stories, the way mainstream media never would, has been a hallmark of TOC. The Little India riot, the plight of foreign workers, death penalty cases, the homeless, the 2011 general elections, the Hougang and Punggol East by-elections, civil society activities, much of what you see at Hong Lim Park… We also receive many requests to do investigative journalism on various issues, but it is hard for us to take these up with the limited manpower we have. Our editorial team has been on part-time pay but over-time work, and it would be unfair of us to expect our volunteers to continue helping for free, as people do get paid to write and take photographs. Hence, there is a need to strengthen our team for 2014 and beyond.
2) Events cost a bomb, but they also add immense value – A recent example of such events would be the F2F Policy Exchange forum on healthcare issues which we hosted in November 2013. We recognise that our readers do appreciate our efforts to organise them, as they serve as good platforms for citizens to voice out on policies and contribute to the national debate. For the first half of 2014, we have planned for two more forums, a carnival of sorts, and a series of fireside chats with notable speakers on issues. Unfortunately, we also need money to make these conversations a reality.
3) What we have won’t last forever, and monetary contributions to our running costs are dwindling – We appreciate the continued support of all those who have rallied behind our cause. But we do need your help to share our site with your friends and let them know what they can do to keep the real Singapore conversation alive.
As such, publishing our expenditure is a double call to our readers and supporters: Continue to trust us, and continue to contribute to our operational funds. We need your help to keep TOC going, so that we can continue to provide an online platform for Singaporeans to champion causes and values that promote justice, openness and inclusiveness.
The TOC Team – Zheng Xi, Terry, Andrew, Howard, Song Kwang
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For one time contributions, click on the box of the value you would like to contribute. Please also include your NRIC number in the “Note to seller” tab of your submission. TOC cannot receive donations from foreigners, or anything more than S$5,000 from anonymous individuals, so requesting for your NRIC is really to prevent us having to return any funds that do not comply with these two conditions.
If you wish to contribute any sum other than the prefix amount, contribute via cheque or bank transfer, or advertise with us, please drop us an email at [email protected], and we will get back to you with the necessary details.
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