As a purpose-driven organisation, DBS strives to create impact beyond banking. Through DBS People of Purpose, our employee volunteer movement, employees are empowered to be a key partner in our impact journey and bring the bank’s values to life.
With two official volunteer-leave days per year, employees are encouraged to volunteer their time and skills to make meaningful contributions to the community.
Our volunteering efforts across our core markets have been focused on three focus areas – education, elderly and the environment. Employees volunteer in skills- and service- based programmes, sharing their time and skills to give back to the communities they live and work in.
We also mobilise employees to support DBS Foundation’s commitment to uplifting the lives and livelihoods of those in need, such as by providing essential needs to the underprivileged and fostering inclusion by equipping the underserved with financial and digital literacy skills.
Since 2015, DBS People of Purpose have contributed >780,000 volunteering hours across our key markets. In 2023 alone, we positively impacted >150K beneficiaries (a 42% increase from 2022).
Moving forward, along with the bank’s SGD 1 billion commitment to fund community initiatives over the next decade, our 36,000-strong workforce will contribute over 1.5 million volunteer hours to support vulnerable segments.
Explore why our employees go above and beyond their duty to create an impact.
Teaching seniors digital literacy skills with 'Getai' shows
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Empowering people with disabilities with financial literacy skills
Rallying the Call Centre to volunteer
Teaching migrant workers digital literacy
Mentor-mentee pair proves that ITE is not 'the end' of their dreams
Driving communication accessibility for the deaf using AI
Read about how we’ve worked with partners to understand and support the needs of local communities to drive long-term, sustainable and meaningful impact in their lives.
Since 2015, we’ve been partnering Shanghai Zhonggu Charity Youth Development Center to drive digital inclusion among children from rural communities in China. To promote greater access to online learning, the children receive refurbished, retired laptops from the Bank and participate in digital workshops with our employee volunteers. Over 1,600 children have benefited so far.
Since 2018, we’ve been working with the Foodlink Foundation to redistribute surplus food to underprivileged communities in Hong Kong. As of September 2022, 125,000 kg of surplus food (that’s the weight of 8.5 double-deck buses!) have been rescued and re-distributed. Besides food distribution programmes, we also help conduct “zero food waste” cooking workshops for elderly and children.
Together with our long-time partners, Goodera and United Way of Hyderabad, our employee volunteers have impacted various segments of the underserved in India. From volunteering to record audiobooks for the visually impaired and organising tours for the elderly to supporting school infrastructure transformation projects, our volunteers have positively impacted more than 175,000 lives.
Since 2021, we’ve partnered Surplus.id, a food rescue app that connects customers to F&B businesses with surplus food, to channel excess food to communities in need. Our employee volunteers have supported the rescue and redistribution of food to the underprivileged including children in orphanages.
Since 2015, we’ve been mobilising our employee volunteers to promote active ageing among seniors at Lions Befrienders. Our programmes include upskilling seniors in digital and financial literacy skills as well as organising social activities to prevent social isolation.Increased accessibility to mentors for different segments, including youths, is also an area of focus. To date we reached more than 450 students from various tertiary institutions.
Since 2016, we’ve been working with The CAN, a social enterprise with a mission to drive urban and rural sustainable development in the Sanxia Township. Our employee volunteers have supported the town’s river clean-up as well as workshops to preserve the town’s traditional crafts such as indigo dyeing and metalworking.
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Learn more about our commitment towards creating impact beyond banking in the latest Sustainability Report, check out these videos or get in touch at PeopleofPurpose@dbs.com.
Asia’s Safest Bank, 2009 – 2023, Global Finance
Best Bank in the World 2022, Global Finance
World's Best Bank 2021, Euromoney
Best Bank in the World 2020, Global Finance
World's Best Bank 2019, Euromoney
Global Bank of the Year 2018, The Banker
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