Celebrating 1,000 Donors: A Community That Chose to Give Instead

We are deeply grateful to share a meaningful milestone in the Giveinstead.sg journey. We have now reached 1,000 donors, a collective community that has chosen to turn personal celebrations into opportunities to do good.

Founded by Shoken Tsurumaru in 2023, Giveinstead.sg began with a simple idea. Instead of receiving gifts for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, or other milestones, what if people invited their friends and family to give to a cause they cared about? That small shift in mindset has since grown into a community driven platform that is reshaping how everyday giving happens in Singapore and beyond.

Through Giveinstead.sg, personal celebrations become moments of shared generosity. Birthdays, weddings, memorials, and life milestones are transformed into fundraising campaigns that support real needs on the ground. Our free concierge model supports each fundraiser end to end, from campaign design and storytelling to charity matching and coordination with trusted giving platforms and charity partners.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, Giveinstead.sg has now raised S$163,398 across 60 celebratory fundraisers, supporting causes in five countries. These campaigns have been delivered in close partnership with 15 charity partners, working across areas such as elder care, disability support, children and youth services, food security, and families facing financial hardship. Each fundraiser reflects the values and intentions of the individual who chose to give instead, while collectively creating meaningful and lasting impact.

Trust and transparency remain central to everything we do. All donations are processed through established and trusted platforms such as Giving.sg and Give.Asia, or transferred directly to charity partners. Giveinstead.sg does not touch donation funds. This ensures accountability and gives donors confidence that every dollar goes exactly where it is intended. Where possible, donors are also invited to take part in on ground activities, allowing them to see and experience the impact of their giving firsthand.

This milestone would not have been possible without the wider ecosystem that supports us. We are grateful to our charity partners for their tireless work, and to our platform partners for providing the infrastructure that makes secure and transparent giving possible. Most of all, we thank every donor who chose generosity over gifts. Many of you gave quietly, without expectation of recognition, simply because you wanted your celebration to mean something more.

Reflecting on this journey, Shoken shared that Giveinstead.sg exists to surface and channel goodwill that already exists in everyday life. People want to give, but often do not know how, or feel that giving must be complicated or separate from daily living. By making giving personal, joyful, and easy to participate in, Giveinstead.sg helps generosity become a natural part of how we celebrate life.

As we look ahead, we remain focused on growing this movement thoughtfully. We aim to deepen partnerships with schools, communities, and organisations, while continuing to refine systems that make celebratory giving simple to adopt and easy to scale. The goal remains the same as when we started: to weave giving into the fabric of everyday life.

To our 1000 donors, thank you for choosing to give instead. This milestone belongs to you.