More People Volunteer Regularly with Social Service Agencies, with more putting in place Volunteer Management Practices, According to NCSS Survey
01 Aug 2024
SINGAPORE, AUGUST 2024 – Findings from the National Council of Social Service
(NCSS)’s Sector Survey on Volunteer Management (VM) 2023 showed that close to 8 in 10
SSAs have put in place strong volunteer management infrastructure and processes resulting
in a 15% increase in regular volunteers in the sector, compared to when the study was first
conducted in 2021.
- More SSAs are now better equipped to attract, engage and retain volunteers, which is
timely given the growing interest from businesses to scale volunteering programmes as
part of their Sustainable Philanthropy efforts. SSAs’ readiness to engage regular
volunteers supports NCSS’ recent launch (on 24 July 2024) of the Sustainable
Philanthropy Framework. This Framework helps businesses measure the “S” in their
ESG efforts, and provides guidance on how they might give, volunteer and conduct
business practices in a socially responsible manner in line with their corporate purpose
and to become companies of good.
- Corporate volunteers are an important resource to complement the work of social service
professionals in supporting communities in need. Through volunteerism, individuals and
corporates can uplift the whole community which amplifies our vision for the Forward
Singapore exercise, where everyone can play a part in Singapore’s social compact and
make a difference to support communities in need.
Highlights of the survey
- NCSS has been helping SSAs build volunteer management capabilities for 10 years
now, through resources such as the Volunteer Development Guide and funding support
for SSAs to hire volunteer managers. Since then, Close to 8 in 10 SSAs have put in place
a VM Framework, which focuses on practices and processes to recruit, engage and
retain volunteers, establishing a systematic way to manage their volunteer force.
- Some 7 in 10 SSAs have invested in hiring dedicated volunteer managers, who help in
engaging, training, and matching volunteers to the needs of their organisations. With
dedicated volunteer managers, SSAs can take a more strategic and longer term
approach to developing volunteers (e.g. Volunteer Leaders), integrating them within
service models to play larger roles for better service outcomes. These SSAs, and in
particular those with VM Committees, have demonstrated stronger VM outcomes,
including higher rates of regular volunteerism.
- Commenting on the findings, Ms Tan Li San, Chief Executive Officer, NCSS said, “We
hope that these results encourage more SSAs to enhance their Volunteer Management capabilities, so that they can engage volunteers more meaningfully, and leverage
volunteers as a long-term resource to augment their capability and capacity to better
serve users. This will also enable SSAs to better ‘handshake’ with corporate and
community volunteers, who are prepared to volunteer in a longer-term, regular manner.”
- For SHINE Children and Youth Services (SHINE), an SSA supporting children and youth
aged 5 to 25, hiring a professional Volunteer Manager under the Enhanced Volunteer
Manager Funding Scheme (EVMFS) enabled it to transform the way it managed its
volunteers which resulted in an increase of volunteers from 400 to over 960, and more
significantly, triple its regular volunteers from 150 to 480 and 32% in volunteer hours
(from 5,000 to 6,582) between 2021 and 2023. SHINE also established 23 corporate
volunteerism partnerships, which expanded its capacity to serve 60% more service users
in two years.
- Mr Lee Seng Meng, Executive Director, SHINE Children and Youth Services, said,
“Volunteer Partnerships is a key strategic thrust for SHINE in building a stronger and
sustainable social service ecosystem for effective service delivery outcomes. We believe
in good volunteer management capabilities that are aligned from the board, senior
management leadership and staff. With this strategic leadership alignment, positive
impact of volunteerism outcomes were achieved.”
- The Volunteer Resource Hub is a one-stop portal with VM resources, created by NCSS
in partnership with the SG Cares Office, which are relevant to organisations across
different sectors to strengthen their ability to engage volunteers. The Hub contains
resources including VM Toolkit 2.0, Skills-Based Volunteerism Guide and the Volunteer
Role Redesign Guide. The EVMFS report can be accessed here.
Additional information can be found in the Annexes:
- Annex A – Translation Glossary
- Annex B - Infographics on Survey Findings
For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms Melissa Anne Manuel
Senior Manager
Strategic Communications
Tel: 9620 0672
Email: melissa_manuel@ncss.gov.sg
Ms Nicola Powell
Director, Corporate and Brand
H/Advisors, Klareco
Tel: 8161 6783
80 Robinson Road, #11-01 Singapore, 068898
w https://klareco.h-advisors.global
About National Council of Social Service (NCSS)
NCSS is the umbrella body for over 500-member social service agencies in Singapore. Its
mission is to provide leadership and direction in enhancing the capabilities and capacity of
our members, advocating for social service needs and strengthening strategic partnerships,
for an effective social service ecosystem. Community Chest is the philanthropy and
engagement arm of NCSS and Social Service Institute (SSI) is the sector capability and
transformation arm of NCSS. For more information visit www.ncss.gov.sg.
Annex A - Translation Glossary
English | Chinese | Malay | Tamil |
National Council of Social Service | 国家福利理事会 | Majlis Kebangsaan Perkhidmatan Sosial
| ச சியச்சமூகச் சசளை ைன் றை |
Community Capability Trust
| 社会服务提升信托 | Dana Amanah Keupayaan Masyarakat
| சமூக ஆற்றல் அறக்கட்டவை நி தி
|
Skills-based Volunteerism Framework | 技能型义工服务框架 | Rangka Kerja Kesukarelawanan Berasaskan Kemahiran | திறன்கை் அடிப்பவடயிலா ன தோண் டூழியக் கட்டவமப்பு
|
Volunteer Development Framework | 义工发展框架
| Rangka Kerja Pembangunan Sukarelawan
| தோண் டூழியர் தமம்பாடுக் கட்டவமப்பு |
Volunteer Management Framework | 义工管理框架
| Rangka Kerja Pengurusan Sukarelawan
| தோண் டூழியர் நிர்ைகிப்புப் பணிச்சட்டம்
|
| Volunteer Management Capability Development Consultancy Project 7.0 | 义工管理技能发展咨询项目 | Projek Perundingan Pembangunan Keupayaan Pengurusan Sukarelawan | தோண் டூழியர் நிர்ைகிப்பில் திறன், ஆற்றல் தமம்பாடு ஆதலாசவனே் திட்டப்பணி 7.0 |
| Volunteer Management Maturity Matrix | 义工管理成熟度指标 | Indeks Kematangan Pengurusan Sukarelawan | தோண் டூழியர் நிர்ைகிப்பு முதிர்ச்சிநிவல க்குறியீடு |
| Social Service Sector Survey on Volunteer Management 2023 | 2023年社会服务领域 义工管理调查 | Tinjauan sektor khidmat sosial mengenai Pengurusan Sukarelawan 2023 | தோண் டூழியர் நிர்ைாகம் குறிே்ே சமூக தசவைே் துவற கருே்ோய்வு 2023 |
Annex B – Infographic on Survey Findings
