Businesses are getting more generous in giving back to the community, with an increase of 15% in corporate giving since 2017, according to the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre.
According to NVPC, this trend is a “heartening reminder” that organisations can deepen their corporate giving and societal impact by “discovering their purpose”.
The development of the National Framework and Blueprint on Corporate Purpose by NVPC “presents a timely opportunity” for the organisation to play a bigger supporting role.
Of the companies that gave back more, 23% of them did well during the pandemic. They belong mainly to the finance and insurance and information and communications sectors, says NVPC, citing its Corporate Giving Study (CGS) 2021.
“The pandemic has shown how the well-being of business and society is tightly interwoven and deeply interdependent,” says Seah Chin Siong, NVPC’s chairman.
“We hope this study will provide a new lens through which businesses should view their purpose and how they can create shared value with their stakeholders, and better contribute to the greater good while staying resilient and profitable,” he adds.
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According to the study, there are a few other key findings:
During the pandemic, businesses reassessed their giving strategies by aligning their giving objectives with core values
Mindset shift is required for businesses to see the value of investing in ESG
See also: Women in the boardroom: How greater gender parity helps companies
The ability to do good goes beyond traditional giving and creates opportunities for diverse partnerships.
Sustained corporate giving enables businesses to derive consistent value creation and enhanced relationships with employees and customers.
