Our first ever get-to-gether was held on 29th July, The occasion was a great success with a fantastic turnout of Executive Directors representing a broad spectrum of Non-profit organisations.

Our magnificent hosts for the occasion were Deutsche Bank who provided the venue and the very much appreciated buffet and refreshments, serving a splendid array of spicy and mild dishes, not to mention the fabulous cheesecake, no surprise that many guests ventured to the buffet more than once.

As everyone arrived they were given a paint brush and fluorescent paint and asked to put their mark on a canvas.  This created an atmosphere of excitement and mystery, with everyone queuing up and trying to come up with a unique mark for “The Masterpiece.”

Everyone took their seats and Boon Chye, the Head of Global Markets for Asia-Pacific with Deutsche Bank gave a very warm welcome to all the guests.

Then the first of our distinguished speakers, Mr. Chew, Khen Chuan (KC) gave an enlightening presentation on “How Gifts Happen”.  KC has been acknowledged as one of the most successful fundraiser s in Asia and his valuable tips on fundraising were absorbed by all.

Next everyone took part in the electronic survey, this highlighted that most EDs face the same challenges, with staffing and HR issues being the most critical. Also most voted for the next events topic to be on meeting, screening & developing long -termpartnershipswith the corporate sector.

After that our second guest speaker, the charismatic Usha Menon of Management Centre Asia, gave the second presentation on “Fundraising Secrets-Revealed”.  Usha shared some very useful facts on fundraising methodologies in Singapore while instilling everyone with inspiration.

A very informal question and answer session followed with KC and Usha sharing their knowledge and experiences under the spotlight.

Meanwhile, as everyone was being entertained by the Speakers, Von Tjong, creative director at the Arts House had put her talents to work and transformed the canvas into the  into a unique work of art.  This was then unveiled by Amy Tan as the “Light Masterpiece.

Then came the networking, as usual the hours fly by when you are having fun and as everyone said their goodbyes there was an overwhelming feeling of a very successful event.  As one observer said  “ For me the highlight was talking to people at the end who were apologising that they had run out of business cards - this was music to my ears”.

A Big thank you to everyone involved in this very pleasurable occasion.