Governance

Composition

Realm of Tranquility is governed by a Board of Management, whose members are elected according to our Constitution which is available at the Registry of Societies.

All Board members devote their time to serve the needy on pro-bono basis and never expects any return since day 1. There is no Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Board also assumes the roles and responsibilities of the Executive Management.

The Board consists of Board members from diverse fields of different backgrounds and experiences.
They come together as one bringing with them different abilities, skillsets and qualifications in areas such as legal, governance, accounting, human resource management, entrepreneurship, TCM field, information technology and other humble background.

This diversity helps the Board in better-informed decision-making and solutions and strives to attract talented people with relevant experience to join in to contribute selflessly.

Board Recruitment

The recruitment and selection processes are critical for obtaining the best possible candidates for the Board. Our Board members are recruited from its registered members who will contribute significantly to the effectiveness of the organisation.

Board Selection

New Board members are selected based on the following key considerations:

• The participation frequency in all activities
• Attributes of passion, honesty, integrity and diligence
• Level of commitment necessary to be devoted to discharge his duties accordingly
• Pleasant disposition
• Willingness to work on pro-bono basis

Board Training

New Board members receive induction training conducted by the President, where they are briefed on the constitution, an in-depth understanding of the culture, objective, vision, mission and core values of Realm of Tranquility.

All Board members receive internal training on public speaking and presentation skills. Board members will be sent for external training when it deems fit.

Loans and Donations

No loans, donations, grants or financial assistance whatsoever is allowed to be provided to any party including the Board members. Financial assistance is restricted for beneficiaries of Realm of Tranquility.

Evaluation of Board Effectiveness

Evaluation of Board effectiveness is conducted in the last Board meeting every two years via a Board Self-Evaluation exercise. A Board self-evaluation was conducted in December2020 to assess its performance and effectiveness.

Main Terms of Reference of the Board

The authorities, duties and responsibilities of the Board are guided by Realm of Tranquility Constitution and Terms of Reference for the Board and the various Board Committees are clearly drawn up and communicated to each accordingly.

Our Board takes overall responsibility of the organisation. The Board assumes responsibility for the stewardship of Realm of Tranquility and strives to fulfil its mission. It is responsible for the governance of Realm of Tranquility, ensuring that the organisation is effectively and properly run, safeguarding finances and resources and ensuring they are used solely to further the charity’s purposes. In addition, the Board also assumes the duties to organise and supervise the daily activities of the organisation and to make decision on matters affecting its running. In other words, the Board also assumes the roles and responsibilities of the Executive Management.

The whole Board serves on pro-bono basis since day one.

Realm of Tranquility has the following Board Committees with designated terms of reference:

• Audit
• Finance
• Caring Unit (Island-wide Provisions Distribution and the Caring Wing)
• Social Media

Board Re-nomination and Re-appointment Process

The whole Board shall retire after each term and submit themselves for re-nomination and re-election. There is no automatic renewal of term for all board members.

According to our Constitution, names for the new Board shall be proposed and seconded at the AGM and election will follow on a simple majority vote of the members. All officers except the Honorary Treasurer may be re-elected to the same post year after year. Re-appointment of the outgoing Honorary Treasurer may be considered after a lapse of at least two years.

Further, the Board shall have the power to remove the Board member who is appointed by the Board before the expiration of his period of office and may appoint another person in his stead.

No staff is involved in setting his/her own remuneration.

No paid staff are close members of the family of any Board member.

There are no staff receiving remuneration exceeding $100,000. The highest paid staff received remuneration less than $50,000.

All Board members and employees are required in their respective capacities to act at all times in the best interest of Realm of Tranquility.

Realm of Tranquility has documented procedures for board members and staff to declare actual or potential conflict of interest to the Board.

All Board members and staff are to declare their interests, and any gifts or hospitality received in connection with their role in Realm of Tranquility; and declare when the transaction to be effected may result in a conflict of interest.

Whenever a member of the Board in any way, directly or indirectly, has an interest in a transaction or project or other matter to be discussed at a meeting, the members shall disclose the nature of his interest before the discussion on the matter begins.

The member concerned will not participate in the discussion or vote on the matter, and will also offer to withdraw from the meeting and the Board shall decide if this should be accepted.

Having a reserves policy helps inform the way in which Realm of Tranquility manages our cash, liquid assets and debt, that is, our treasury management approach.

A comprehensive reserves policy assists Realm of Tranquility when planning and explaining our approach to stakeholders. It contributes significantly to the Board’s ability to balance the needs of current and future beneficiaries.

Reserves provide financial stability and the means for the development of Realm of Tranquility’s activities and to meet future increases in our operating expenses.

The amount of Realm of Tranquility reserves should be maintained at a level sufficient at all times of at least twelve (12) months’ value of last financial year operating expenses for the operating needs of Realm of Tranquility’s continuing obligations.

The Reserves will be utilised in the following financial year. Any balanced value not utilised will remain in the Reserves and an amount will be added to the amount to top up to the new amount decided by the Board on an annual review.

Realm of Tranquility has documented procedures in place, and has established a Financial Manual for financial matters in key areas including Procurement procedures and controls, receipting, payment procedures and controls and System for the delegation of authority and limits of approval.

The Board and those charged with governance are responsible for ensuring that it has an effective system of internal controls to safeguard stakeholders’ interests and Realm of Tranquility assets. The documented procedures for financial matters in key areas include:

• Authorisation Controls
• Financial Review
• Investment
• Purchasing and Payments
• Reconciliation and Checks
• Revenue and Receipts
• Segregation of Duties
• Supporting Documents

The Board ensures internal control systems for financial matters are in accordance with the approved Finance manual established. Annual reviews by the Board are conducted to ensure the effective functioning of the internal controls and processes followed.

As part of internal controls, all purchases of more than $2,000 require three quotations to be obtained before approval of purchase.

No investment with Realm of Tranquility funds is allowed except Fixed Deposit. Fixed Deposit of $100,000 and above should not be placed for more than 1 year, except with the consent of the whole Board. Realm of Tranquility has a fixed deposit of $52,746.27 as at 31Dec2021.

Realm of Tranquility has a clean audit report 2021, as in all the years of audit.

The Board emphasises the importance of preserving the integrity and transparency of Realm of Tranquility. It ensures that the organisation is at all times in line with the Fundraising guidelines by the Charity Council, as well as the requirements in the Charities regulations and any other regulations.

A fund-raising policy is established. All collections received are properly accounted for and promptly deposited. All cash collections received must be banked in without any deduction, and no expenses should be deducted from the collections.

Realm of Tranquility commits to limiting and ensuring that its total fundraising expense do not exceed 30% of the total receipts from fundraising for a financial year.

The following fundraising events were organised and no commercial fund raiser was engaged in 2021. The total gross receipts and expenses of fund-raising activities and the purpose of such fund-raising activities are as follows:

Charity Sales

Activities funds was raised through charity sales of gift sets during the first half year, flowers for mothers’ day, miscellaneous items in the last quarter of the year and raised a total of $7758.

Tranquil

Tranquil is our annual publication by which advertisements were canvased to raise funds.
$22,000 was raised throughout 2021 and the publication was published in 2022.

The funds raised in Tranquil is to defray the printing cost of $6,634 and the balanced for activities funds.

Online Platform

Online platforms like giving.sg as well as Give.Asia also raised activities funds for a total of $18,021 throughout the year, in which no cost was incurred at all.

Besides the on-going programmes such as tea reception sharing on health topics and social values, as well as weekly Zumba which promote health awareness, we shall re-activate group exercise from 2023, which was paused due to pandemic.

These programmes are driven towards our vision of promoting social responsibility.

We shall expand our programmes to include caring for our environment on top of self- health. Coastal cleaning will be rolled out in 2022. If proven successful, the activity will be made as an annual or regular event.

In order to mobilise and advocate lifelong volunteerism, as stipulated in our Mission, we shall continue our activities which could be easily participated by the general public. These activities include island-wide provisions distribution, befriending service, and visits to elderly Homes. Furthermore, more attention will be paid to better manage volunteers. Annual Volunteers Day will be re-activated in 2022 to boost the morale of the volunteers and serve as an encouragement for them to persevere.

The Board reviews and approves Realm of Tranquility vision and mission regularly, at least once every two years, to ensure it stays relevant to the changing environment and needs. They are documented and communicated to its members and the public via annual report and website.

The Board approves and reviews a strategic plan to ensure that the activities are in line with its objective, vision and mission, including but not limited to financial and operations and programmes, and that such resources are effectively, efficiently, and prudently managed.

Due to the Pandemic, we paused almost all activities, but we persisted on 3 essential services, they are: TCM services, island-wide provisions distribution as well as our Caring Wing services.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) services have been our core services provided since the 90s. It serves as an alternative to western medical treatments, and we have been giving subsidies to the following categories of patients:

• 65 – 79 years old – 50% subsidy
• 80 years old and above – full subsidy
• Physically disabled – full subsidy
• Public assistance recipients – full subsidy
• Needy families under the care of Realm of Tranquility – full subsidy
• Volunteers and Staff of Realm of Tranquility – full subsidy

Island-wide Provisions Distribution
This programme aims to support the less privileged families on the most basic and essential daily provisions.

We have been distributing to 20 areas of 42 rental blocks of more than 1000 households. Each area receives provisions every 4-monthly. Families under our name list for the provisions have passed our means test.

The Caring Wing
The Caring Wing was set up since 2016. Customised care and support such as financial assistance are given to the needy accordingly.

There is no boundary to the assistance we provide to them so long as it is within our means and are reasonable. Besides the monthly provisions, we provide them with recyclable furniture, or buy new home appliances etc, upon their request.