Collaboration between the government and the philanthropic sector as well as the introduction of innovative tools and strategies continued to enhance the philanthropic landscape in Singapore and South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Philanthropic organizations in Singapore and South Korea have different philanthropic environments. In Singapore, the highly favorable environment (at an overall score of 4.52), active public engagement, and strategic governmental support have successfully promoted philanthropic values. In South Korea, a moderately favorable philanthropic environment (at an overall score of 3.94), along with a strong cultural and religious heritage of philanthropic giving have promoted giving and volunteering, especially in the last decades.
The global outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly affected the philanthropic landscape and philanthropic giving increased in 2020 to fight against the pandemic in both countries. Findings from the 2022 Global Philanthropy Environment Index show that in both Singapore and South Korea, philanthropic organizations have implemented innovative strategies and technological solutions and worked closely with government agencies and other stakeholders in order to fund and deliver services effectively during the pandemic. The Digital for Good: A Global Study on Emerging Ways of Giving project explores some of the emerging vehicles of philanthropy that have become more prominent in recent years, such as crowdfunding, contactless giving, online giving, and online volunteering.
As the understanding and practice of philanthropy is expanding, new giving vehicles have emerged both in Singapore and South Korea
In recent years, philanthropy has become more prominent in both Singapore and South Korea. Individual donors have donated to philanthropic organizations as well as informal, grassroot initiatives through diverse giving vehicles that have evolved in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Singapore, new forms of philanthropy, such as online giving, and online volunteering have expanded in recent years. According to the researchers at the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) Singapore, “individuals and businesses in Singapore are exploring new vehicles of philanthropic engagement other than traditional cash donations and volunteering. Notably, more individuals are donating online and in-kind – including daily necessities, clothing, and food, giving while making purchases, engaging in mindful consumerism, and raising awareness about a cause. Similarly, businesses are now more inclined to provide in-kind donations, and more likely to integrate and institutionalize giving in their operations. Thus, these vehicles allow individuals and businesses to incorporate acts of social good into their daily routines and operations.”
In South Korea, while the use of various traditional giving vehicles increased only recently, new giving vehicles have also emerged, including fandom donations, major gifts, and bequest giving. Findings from the Center on Philanthropy at The Beautiful Foundation highlights that “while mainly young donors are involved in fandom donation, venture philanthropists have started to prefer donating via major gifts. Additionally, the South Korean government declared a “donation day for charitable bequests” which was initiated by nonprofit organizations.”
The COVID-19 pandemic increased the use of new giving vehicles, such as digital giving, in-kind donations, and fandom donations
In both countries, new giving vehicles became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Singapore, in-kind donations and digital giving saw a substantial increase during the pandemic. On Giving.sg—one of the largest giving platform in Singapore organized by NVPC, there was a 160 percent increase in the amount of total donations in 2020, rising from SGD 35.8 million in 2019 to SGD 93.4 million in 2020 (equivalent to USD 27 million and USD 70.7 million respectively in 2020, adjusted for inflation) (see Figure 1.) . Additionally, according to NVPC’s Individual Giving Study, a 35 percent increase was observed in individual in-kind donations between 2018 and 2021 (NVPC’s Individual Giving Study), and a 13 percent increase was realized for corporate in-kind donations between 2017 and 2021 (NVPC’s Corporate Giving Study).
Figure 1. Total donations received on NVPC’s Giving.sg website between 2015 and 2021, in SG dollars
Donations via crowdfunding platforms also rose in South Korea during the pandemic, from KRW 21.4 billion in 2019 to KRW 34.7 billion in 2020 (equivalent to USD 18.8 and USD 30.8 million respectively in 2020, adjusted for inflation), a growth of 71 percent (see Figure 2). Additionally, fandoms have actively participated in giving for COVID-19 relief, launching various fundraising campaigns. As a result, fandoms donated a total of KRW 3.6 billion in 2020 (equivalent to USD 3.1 million in 2020, adjusted for inflation). Traditional giving vehicles, such as giving by automatic response services (ARS) and by general interbank recurring order (GIRO) also increased in 2020 during the pandemic due to their contactless features.
Figure 2. Trends of crowdfunding gifts on the Happy Bean and Kakaogachigachi platforms between 2016 and 2020, in millions of inflation-adjusted 2020 US dollars
The future of giving is diverse: from cryptocurrency to philanthropic diplomacy
Both Singapore and South Korea have experienced a transformation in regard to how society thinks about and practice philanthropy. Philanthropy has been critical to respond to the emerging needs of societies, and now giving is seen as a holistic notion encompassing mindset, culture, norms, and action for social change in both countries.
Singapore is positioning itself as a regional and global hub for sustainability-related research and development, while amplifying its philanthropic diplomacy. The potential has been exemplified during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Singapore helped establish the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX)—the collective vaccine purchase mechanism—and pledged USD 5 million to ensure sufficient production of vaccines, and access for developing countries. Furthermore, the growth in the number of family offices and nonprofit organizations set up in Singapore is also a testament to Singapore’s growing philanthropic diplomacy.
Simultaneously with Singapore’s leading role in Southern and Southeastern Asia, South Korea is a pioneer of giving by non-fungible token (NFT) and cryptocurrency in Eastern Asia. While the Community Chest of Korea (CCK) Seoul branch is the only organization that received cryptocurrency gift worth of KRW 1 billion (approximately USD 0.84 million) in South Korea, legal framework and tax regulations for cryptocurrency and NFT giving need to be amended to encourage this new type of giving.
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About the Global Study
The Digital for Good: A Global Study on Emerging Ways of Giving report explores the most recent development of philanthropy in partnership with organizations and experts in eight countries: Brazil, China, India, Kenya, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. By exploring the emerging vehicles for philanthropy, this global study offers new insights for civil society leaders, philanthropists, and the public to better understand and shape the ever-evolving state of philanthropy.
Such a global study has the ability to develop the global network of philanthropy researchers and to build capacity in countries where philanthropy seems to have the potential to grow rapidly in the following years. It also provides a better understanding of global trends in philanthropy while putting a spotlight on local developments as well.
“Working collaboratively on an international research project is a great learning experience to understand their practices in the different countries and their new ways of giving. The collaboration with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy has allowed us to learn from their methodologies, research writing and experience.” – Benjamin Tay, Deputy Director of Knowledge and Insights Team at NVPC.
“Globalization is essential for the current generation. An international comparative study on giving and philanthropy is crucial to understand giving trends and giving behaviors around the globe. This type of international research projects enhances the understanding of philanthropy across the world and help us understand where we, as a country, are and how similar and different our giving behaviors to others in the world.” – Sung-Ju Kim, Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University.
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The Center on Philanthropy at The Beautiful Foundation
The Center on Philanthropy at The Beautiful Foundation is the first private research hub in South Korea that thoroughly dedicates the study of South Korean philanthropy and the nonprofit sector in South Korea.
National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) Singapore
The National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) Singapore is a non-profit organization that facilitates “partnerships with non-profits, organizations, public sector bodies, and individuals to enliven the giving ecosystem within Singapore” (City of Good, 2020). It also runs one of the largest online donation platforms, Giving.sg, in Singapore, which officially launched in 2015. NVPC also conducts national surveys and qualitative studies to examine the trends and changes of giving from individuals as well as corporates.
Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy is dedicated to improving philanthropy to improve the world by training and empowering students and professionals to be innovators and leaders who create positive and lasting change. The school offers a comprehensive approach to philanthropy through its academic, research and international programs, and through The Fund Raising School, Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy, and Women’s Philanthropy Institute.
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Authors
Fazlin Abdullah is a director in the Knowledge & Insights Team at the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre in Singapore. She has led several research projects on philanthropy and needs in the nonprofit sector.
Benjamin Tay is a deputy director in the Knowledge & Insights Team at the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre in Singapore. He was involved in several local research projects on philanthropy, including the 2021 Individual Giving Study, the 2021 Corporate Giving Study.
Dr. Sung-Ju Kim is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at North Carolina State University. He has led several international comparative research projects on global philanthropy with South Korean cases, including the 2020 Global Philanthropy Tracker, the 2022 Global Philanthropic Environment Index, and the 2021 Generosity in Times of Crisis.
YoonJoo Jang is a manager at the Center on Philanthropy in the Beautiful Foundation. She has participated in various South Korean nonprofit and philanthropy studies initiated by the Beautiful Foundation, including Giving Korea, the Doing Good Index: South Korean case, the annual research projects on nonprofit and philanthropy studies, and other nonprofit and philanthropy research projects.
Yelim Lee was a master student at Yonsei University Graduate School of Social Welfare. She participated in this project as a research assistant at the Beautiful Foundation. She is working at the KT Group Hope Sharing Foundation as a CSR project manager.
Kinga Horvath is a Visiting Research Associate at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. She co-leads international research projects on global philanthropy and cross-border giving, including the 2022 Global Philanthropy Environment Index, the 2020 Global Philanthropy Tracker, and the Digital for Good: A Global Study on Emerging Ways of Giving.
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