SINGAPORE – The DBS Foundation topped a list of Singapore’s largest private donors for the first time, having committed to giving $102.6 million in 2024 to fund various causes such as supporting low-income families and other vulnerable groups.
Set up by DBS in 2014 to champion social entrepreneurship, the Foundation surpassed long-established givers such as the Lee Foundation, Lien Foundation and Ngee Ann Kongsi in the latest edition of the report.
The 2025 edition of the Singapore’s Biggest Philanthropic Organisations report was released on Nov 20. This is the fourth iteration of the list published by social impact consultancy Soristic.
The top 10 givers gave $316 million in grants in 2024 to a variety of causes, including education, health and social welfare.
The Ngee Ann Kongsi, a Teochew philanthropic group which gave $40.6 million in 2024, was ranked second.
A group of Teochew leaders founded the Ngee Ann Kongsi in 1845 to preserve Teochew customs and support poor Teochew immigrants. Today, its revenue from Ngee Ann City and other property rentals is channelled into educational, cultural and charitable initiatives that benefit the wider Singapore community.
Soristic came up with the list of Singapore’s largest private donors based on philanthropic groups that are registered with the Commissioner of Charities or the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.
It looked at these groups’ annual reports and websites, among other public sources of data.
Philanthropic groups that are politically affiliated, faith-based or Government-related are excluded from the list.
Its list identified 126 philanthropic groups this year, which donated a total of $419 million. This is down from $431 million given by 117 groups in last year’s list.
The fall in total giving is largely due to the “out-sized” gift of the Low Tuck Kwong Foundation, which gave a one-off donation of $101 million to the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in 2023, said Ms Pauline Tan, Soristic’s principal consultant.
This year’s ranking is done based on the philanthropic organisations’ most recent grant disbursements between their 2024 and 2025 financial year.
In third place was the Lee Foundation, which was founded by late rubber tycoon Lee Kong Chian in 1952. The group disbursed $33.2 million to education, health, community services and other causes in 2024.
Besides the DBS Foundation, the Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation and the UBS Optimus Foundation also made the top 10 for the first time.
Forbes ranked Mr Saverin, who co-founded Facebook with Mr Mark Zuckerberg,
as Singapore’s richest man in September
with a net worth of US$43 billion.
Mr Saverin, a Singapore permanent resident, is married to Elaine, and their foundation gave $11.5 million to education, health and sustainability causes in 2024.
The UBS Optimus Foundation manages a donor-advised fund, and it took the eighth spot, disbursing $17.1 million to diverse causes.
Donor-advised funds allow wealthy donors to give to a range of charitable causes without incurring the significant expenses needed to start and run a standalone private foundation.
The Community Foundation of Singapore, which also manages donor-advised funds, was ranked fourth and gave out $28.4 million in donations to different causes.
Among the top 10 private donors, five were set up by wealthy individuals or families.
They are the Lee Foundation, the Lien Foundation, Low Tuck Kwong Foundation, the Moh Family Foundation and the Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation.
The Lee Foundation is also, “by a very large margin”, the richest foundation here with $13.6 billion in assets, the report noted.
The late Lien Ying Chow, founder of Overseas Union Bank, set up the Lien Foundation in 1980. It gave $24.4 million in 2024 to causes related to children, eldercare and palliative care, and was ranked fifth.
The Moh Family Foundation
continues the legacy of the late furniture tycoon Laurence Moh
, who founded Universal Furniture.
The foundation was started by his son, Michael, and daughter-in-law Peggy, and it was registered as a charity here in 2021. It gave $22.4 million to education, social welfare and health causes in 2024, and was ranked seventh.
The Low Tuck Kwong Foundation was set up by Indonesian coal king Low Tuck Kwong and his family, and it gave $23.2 million in donations in 2024. It is sixth on the list.
Soristic’s report noted the DBS Foundation committed $102.6 million in 2024 to support 16 new multi-year programmes and 22 businesses to benefit vulnerable communities across Asia.
For example, it has
pledged $30 million over three years to fund two ComLink+ packages
to encourage low-income families to prioritise pre-school education for their children and to save up to buy their own home.
ComLink+ is a national inititiave that supports low-income families with financial incentives and other help if they take steps to improve their lives.
Ms Karen Ngui, head of the DBS Foundation, said: “At the DBS Foundation, we take a strategic approach to philanthropy: beyond giving back, to also build forward and enable enduring change. We bring all of the bank to bear, mobilising the full breadth of our resources – our people, funding, expertise, networks and more.”
Ms Tan noted that the DBS Foundation’s figures reflect the sums it has committed to giving, whereas other groups reported the amounts they had disbursed, based on information in their annual reports.
In 2024, the DBS Foundation
marked its 10th anniversary
by pledging up to $1 billion over 10 years to do more for society.
This contributed to a significant rise in its grant commitments compared with previous years. In the 2024 list, the foundation was placed 11th, having committed $9.3 million in grants in its 2023 financial year, Ms Tan said.
The report noted a growing shift towards “evidence-based philanthropy”, with more organisations investing in research to understand community needs before shaping their programmes or grantmaking.
The groups that do so include the FairPrice Foundation, Lien Foundation and the Quantedge Foundation, Ms Tan said.
She said: “By grounding the giving based on insights to solve social issues, it marks an important step in strengthening the effectiveness and impact of philanthropic giving in Singapore.”
