Corporate volunteering push aims to engage 600 S’pore companies and 6,000 employees by 2030

SINGAPORE – A corporate volunteering programme to connect companies with community causes has deployed around 500 employees from more than 50 firms since July 2025. More than 120 other companies have indicated their interest in joining the programme.

VolunteerInc, a programme by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, aims to engage 600 companies and 6,000 employees by 2030.

Beyond matching businesses with suitable volunteering opportunities, the programme also helps them tap their strengths to make their contributions more impactful, said Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo on May 14.

He officially launched Volun­teerInc on the second day of SBF’s annual Future Economy Conference at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

SBF’s inaugural Social Sustainability and Corporate Volunteering study in 2025 found that nine in 10 local businesses surveyed embrace social sustainability but struggle with high-impact implementation.

The setting up of VolunteerInc addresses these findings, SBF said in a statement on May 14: “To bridge this gap, VolunteerInc will provide hands-on support, training and connections to community organisations in need through a robust ecosystem of digital platforms, impact advisers and learning resources designed to track and measure social engagement.”

One of the 50 companies in the new VolunteerInc programme is credit insurance firm Coface. It has volunteered 10 times in the past nine months, supporting more than 130 beneficiaries.

Its main volunteering activities include organising adaptive and inclusive sports, like boccia, disc golf and seated floorball, for seniors from social service agency Allkin Singapore.

In April, it organised an inter-generational game of pickleball with students from Yio Chu Kang Secondary School and seniors from Allkin.

“For us, the most meaningful part was seeing different organisations come together to collaboratively plan and deliver a programme for seniors,” said Coface’s regional head of human resources for South-east Asia Jeriel Choy.

Mr Neo said businesses have an opportunity to do more than generate profit; they can be “powerful engines of social change”.

Businesses play a key role in creating quality jobs, investing in the development of their workers and helping them thrive as the nature of work changes around them, as well as giving back to their communities, he said.

“A good job isn’t just a pay cheque. It is a pathway to dignity, stability and social mobility. When businesses invest in fair wages, skills development and inclusive hiring, they help ensure Singapore’s progress is shared by all, and help build a stronger, more cohesive Singapore, which in turn provides a stronger environment for businesses to thrive,” he said.

Businesses that give back to their communities help weave a stronger social fabric, he added.

“Whether through partnerships with social service agencies, employee volunteerism or championing causes close to Singaporeans’ hearts – from the arts and heritage to sports – businesses can help create shared experiences that bring us together as a nation. This builds not just goodwill, but trust – and trust in this changed world is one of the best and hardest-earned currencies,” Mr Neo said.

“In Singapore, where businesses, workers and the Government have long partnered to tackle challenges and seize opportunities together, businesses that create good jobs and social impact don’t just do well – you thrive and help Singapore to do better, together.”

Many businesses have stepped up in meaningful ways, Mr Neo said, but more businesses want to join in and make an impact on their community.

In 2025, the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre’s National Corporate Purpose and Impact Study found that 30 per cent of firms are giving back through volunteering and donations.

Mr Neo said a strong future economy and a “we first” society are not competing goals but are mutually reinforcing.

Surveys have shown that purpose-driven companies attract talent who desire meaning and purpose, he added. A survey by the National Youth Council found that more than three in five young people in Singapore would not stay in their jobs if they do not find them meaningful.

Similarly, Deloitte’s Global 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey found that nearly nine in 10 Singapore Gen Zs and millennials consider purpose important to their job satisfaction, with many actively seeking to align their careers with their personal values.

Speaking on a panel on social impact at the SBF conference, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Dinesh Vasu Dash said many people joining the workforce today look at what a company stands for and what impact it makes beyond the business itself, and that is a key way to attract and retain one’s workforce.

There are some issues that one entity, like the Government or an agency, cannot solve on its own, and businesses can step forward to be part of the solution, he said.

“It is almost a tripartite way of solving it – without just a single direction but to harness the power of the collective, and that is really what we hope to achieve as far as social impact is concerned.” 

On May 13, the Economic Strategy Review set out its recommendations and guiding principles for Singapore to restructure its economy, including establishing the country as a trusted hub for artificial intelligence solutions, and remaining agile amid change by helping workers to transition to new jobs or to reskill.