SOME 500 leaders in Singapore’s philanthropy scene, as well as private and public sectors, gathered at the Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre last Thursday (Feb 22) for the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre’s (NVPC) inaugural City of Good Summit.

Centred on the theme of reimagining philanthropy in Singapore, the event kicked off with speeches by NVPC chairman Seah Chin Siong, and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong.

“This is a journey that keeps on going,” said Tong, referring to NVPC’s slogan, “Towards a City of Good”.

“It’s not just about tax deductions, (and) not just about financial giving, but also the whole spirit and ethos… How do we inculcate that behaviour, make it part of us… something we do without having incentives or schemes or programmes?”

Tong also touched on the need to reinvent philanthropy, towards becoming “more sustained and underpinned by collective action”.

In particular, he noted that corporates could amplify their efforts by including partners in their philanthropic efforts.

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As an example of such a model, he cited construction and civil engineering services company Woh Hup, which had engaged its subcontractors, clients and consultants to raise funds for various charities.

The summit also featured speakers such as Scott Harrison, chief executive at Charity: Water, which builds wells in communities that lack access to clean water, as well as Unilever chief sustainability officer Rebecca Marmot, who spoke on how corporate purpose is key in transforming businesses from the inside out.

Panel discussions that took place throughout the day, meanwhile, covered topics such as how to make giving a norm in Singapore, and the forces that shape philanthropy.

NVPC chief executive officer Tony Soh said: “Through this inaugural summit, NVPC – in closer collaboration with our stakeholders – is stepping up by broadening and aligning giving efforts at the national level.

"By bringing together the people, private and public sectors, we will collaborate to create a more caring, inclusive and compassionate Singapore that embodies our City of Good vision, in support of the Forward SG movement.”

On the recent charity-related announcements delivered during Budget 2024, he told The Business Times: “We welcome the government’s additional support for giving efforts, as this will help us progress towards the vision of a City of Good. Every contribution counts in creating a giving culture in Singapore.”

Taking place alongside the City of Good Summit was State of Play 2024, where EY presented its preliminary findings from Project V, which was launched last year.

Led by the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), NVPC and SG Cares Office in the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, the project piloted various models of corporate volunteerism.

EY provided pro bono facilitation and insights for Project V. A full report on the pilot will be released in the second quarter of 2024.

Speaking to BT, EY’s Asean regional managing partner Liew Nam Soon said: “From (the project), we gained a deeper understanding on what would make sustained, regular volunteering successful.”

Under Project V, around 2,000 volunteers contributed some 6,100 volunteering hours to benefit 17 social service agencies. In total, 11 corporates – comprising seven multinational corporations and four large local enterprises – and three public agencies participated in the pilot.

Liew, who is also EY’s managing partner for Singapore and Brunei, shared that the differences observed among the participating corporates were “not due to the size or type of the organisation, but their prior experience in volunteering regularly or at scale”.

“Those with more experience or had an existing or prior relationship with their community partner had more confidence to commit to more volunteer opportunities, but every corporate is on their own journey,” he added.

While EY has identified 16 “key success factors” for companies to meet their volunteering goals, Liew noted that “there is no one-size-fits-all model”, and that “corporates will need to find the right balance that works for their organisation”.

“Having said that, there are sweet spots where most organisations would tend to gravitate towards – such as running programmes on a monthly basis involving up to 30 volunteers per session, depending on the need of their community partner.”