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Donate as you shop: How businesses are making charitable giving easier for customers
From rounding up purchases to donating credit card reward points, companies like UOB, WTS Travel and Creative Eateries are cultivating a culture of generosity through Community Chest’s Change for Charity initiative
The Change for Charity initiative started in 2023 and has partnered with more than 40 companies to make donating fuss-free for customers. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
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This November, while browsing online for coach tickets to Malaysia, Mr Yee Chai Hua stumbled upon an unexpected offering from WTS Travel
“I noticed the Community Chest Change for Charity option on the website that allowed me to contribute $2 from the total sum of $287 that I paid for two people for the coach package,” says Mr Yee. “The donation process was integrated into the purchase, making it easy and convenient for me.”
According to Mr Yee, knowing that part of his payment went on to help charitable causes shows that the business values more than just profits, which has increased his loyalty to the brand. Change for Charity
“I prefer to spend my money with companies that give back to the community,” he adds.
WTS Travel is one of more than 40 companies participating in the
This initiative was started in 2023 and has partnered with businesses from various industries including shopping malls, restaurants, banks and travel agencies.
In July of this year, WTS Travel started contributing $1 per traveller for each Malacca package sold. The company says it may extend this opportunity to other packages in the future.
According to Mr Jack Lim, managing director of the Community Chest, the funds raised through donations from customers like Mr Yee will go directly towards supporting over 200 critical social service programmes, benefitting 82,000 individuals and families in need.
“These programmes include helping seniors at risk of isolation to be meaningfully engaged, mental health programmes like suicide prevention, uplifting lower income families, and facilitating special education schools for children with special needs,” he adds. “The funds raised also support capacity and capability-building efforts of our social service agencies so they can more effectively help those in need.”
An easy integration process
WTS Travel’s idea to participate in CFC came from a company-wide discussion on how the company could enhance its corporate social responsibility efforts and directly involve their customers in charitable causes.
“A particularly impactful moment from our discussion was when one of our team members shared their experience of seeing how small donations can create significant change, which inspired us to act,” says Mr Micker Sia, managing director, WTS Travel.
Mr Yee Chai Hua (pictured), a WTS Travel customer, says he is more likely to support businesses that contribute to meaningful causes. PHOTO: WTS TRAVEL
The company picked the CFC initiative as it is well-established and offers an easy way to integrate charitable giving into daily transactions, says Mr Sia.
Setting up the mechanics to incorporate charitable giving was made easy with the help of the Community Chest team that worked closely with WTS Travel for two months, he says.
“We anticipated some challenges in integrating the donation feature, but the actual experience was much smoother than expected,” he adds.
The travel company also welcomed a grant from the Community Chest that helped it defray the cost of the setup.
“The Enhanced Grant offered by the Community Chest to help offset the initial setup cost also made it easier for us to proceed with the initiative without significant financial hurdles,” adds Mr Sia.
The CFC initiative maximises the impact of customer donations by making it simple to contribute and covering initial setup costs with a grant. In addition, for every dollar customers donate through this initiative, the Government matches an additional $0.50.
This means that the funds collected by WTS Travel are amplified, providing greater support to the social service agencies and the communities they serve.
Donating with credit card reward points
UOB Rewards+ cardmembers can choose to donate their UNI$ points and the amount they donate which will be matched by the bank and the Government. PHOTO: UOB
While WTS Travel seamlessly incorporates donations into each transaction, UOB bank takes a different approach to make supporting charitable causes just as easy.
UOB Rewards+
“Our customers can convert UNI$1,500 into a $25 donation as part of the CFC initiative,” explains Mr Leonard Tan, UOB’s head of Group Corporate Social Responsibility.
UOB goes one step further and matches every dollar of each cardholder’s donations up to $5,000 per year over three years. This is further multiplied, as cardmembers’ donations are also matched by the Government, similar to WTS Travel.
UOB has been participating in the CFC initiative since 2021 and the bank has seen “good participation” from customers putting their UNI$ to a good cause, says Mr Tan.
“UOB sees the CFC as an initiative that promotes small acts of giving as a culture, and allows the bank and its customers to come together to make a positive difference to communities in need,” he adds.
According to the Community Chest, shopping malls such as Marina Square and 313@somerset have also introduced similar reward points donation programmes under the CFC initiative.
Rounding up food bills
At Creative Eateries’ 11 brands, customers can contribute to charity by rounding up their bill during checkout, either through the QR ordering system, at payment counters or via the online ordering platform.
PHOTO: CREATIVE EATERIES
For food and beverage company Creative Eateries
Mrs. Bernadette Giam, director of Corporate Affairs and Human Resources, shares that adopting the CFC initiative in August was quite straightforward. The company has a longstanding partnership with the Community Chest, including initiatives like the Share Programme, which enables employees to contribute directly to the Community Chest through monthly salary deductions.
“The team at Creative Eateries is very familiar with supporting good causes and the experience with the implementation of CFC has been no different,” she says.
Customers at the company’s 11 brands can donate at checkout either through the QR ordering system or at the payment counters. The online ordering system for pick-ups and deliveries also allows customers to make donations on their purchases.
Creative Eateries was able to establish the system for donations within two weeks by working with its point-of-sale partner GETZ and connecting with the CFC team to get all the documentation and setup completed on the backend, says Mrs. Giam.
“Customers who have donated are happy to have done so and to be able to give back to the community,” she adds.
As more charity-conscious customers seek out such initiatives, Community Chest hopes more businesses will collaborate with it to meet this demand and make a meaningful impact on society.
“Initiatives such as Change for Charity will not only enhance their brand value to customers and employees, but will also galvanise every Singaporean to give back to our community,” Mr Lim adds.
Visit to learn how you can make a difference by joining the Change for Charity initiative.
