A new generation of alumni are coming forward to donate money to the Singapore universities they attended, funding bursaries and scholarships and other philanthropic initiatives. A handful of these young donors, aged 23 to 38, are giving six- or even seven-figure sums to their alma mater. According to Chan Wai Leng, Director of SMU Office of Advancement, there was a 25% rise in the number of millennial alumni donors between 2016 and last year, and more than 25 of them gave five-figure or larger sums to the University between 2015 and last year. The largest gift from this group was a record $1 million, a joint donation made in 2015 by SMU alumni Jeff Tung Chi Fung and Benjamin Twoon Wai Mun. It was used to set up the P.A.K Entrepreneurship Fund at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business. The fund aims to foster an entrepreneurial spirit among SMU students and support the growth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem at the University. Both donors graduated from SMU Business School in 2013. Ms Chan said SMU is stepping up its effort to engage its alumni on giving back. SMU alumnus Ivan Chang, co-founder of Wonderlabs, donated $50,000 to SMU last year and plans to give another $50,000 to help students go for overseas study missions. He went on three study missions as an SMU business undergraduate and believes that he has gained a lot from the exposure and business contacts. He received a scholarship from SMU which paid for his tuition fees and he hopes to pay it forward.
Source
The Straits Times