Series on corporate giving

Singapore

TO convert corporate non-givers into givers, and to encourage companies that already give to become multipliers and leaders of good, the government is launching its Company of Good this Thursday.

It is led by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), in partnership with the Singapore Business Federation Foundation.

"The more people see (what other companies are doing), the more people realise that this is not a pipedream. This is actually possible," says NVPC CEO Melissa Kwee.

To that end, The Business Times - as media partner of the Company of Good programme - will be highlighting examples of impactful corporate giving. Each Monday over the next few months, BT will feature some founding members of the Company of Good initiative. The series will showcase how firms - large or small, homegrown or multinational - have taken steps to serve underprivileged communities in Singapore.

One example, Ms Kwee highlights, is Samsui Supplies and Services. From being a complete CSR (corporate social responsibility) newbie, the Soup Restaurant Group subsidiary now serves 500,000 meals annually to the underprivileged in Singapore. To do so, it leverages its supply chain and logistics partners, and Ms Kwee lauds Samsui as going from "zeroes to heroes".

As for why NVPC wants to launch the Company of Good programme, Ms Kwee says: "Why do we care? Clearly corporates have a disproportionately influential impact on society. So if we want to reach Singapore and create this culture of contribution, we want to go where our efforts will be maximised. So reaching corporates - which can then reach their 10, 50, hundred, 2,000 employees - is clearly a better strategy for us."

READ MORE: When doing well means doing good