When Benedict Cheong first proposed that philanthropy might benefit from having “performance indicators”, he caused a stir, including among some prominent social workers. 

“It was the early 2000s, and chequebook philanthropy was still predominant in Asia – if it looked good and you liked it, you gave them the money,” recalls Benedict, then CEO of the National Council of Social Services. “They could not reconcile doing good with measurable outcomes – or see how it could ensure their good intentions were actually realised.” 

Across town at The Atrium@Orchard, where the seeds for a new philanthropic foundation were being sown, his ideas were getting a different reception. Since 2003, Temasek had been seeding social capital to advance social resilience, progress and cohesion in Singapore and across the region. But it was still working on trying to find the right structure. 

By 2007, it was ready to launch Temasek Trust as its philanthropic arm, with Temasek Foundation (TF) as a beneficiary and Benedict at its helm.

“For Temasek’s leaders, outcome-based, impact-focused philanthropy was a key element, and that’s what I brought to the table,” says Benedict. “Beyond that, it was a steep learning curve.” 

Having come from an established entity, starting from scratch with no blueprint to follow was a daunting challenge for TF’s first CEO, who would also be working regionally for the first time. 

Venturing into uncharted territory

He remembers the first couple of months as extremely hectic. 

“The first thing I did was get my budget approved so I could recruit and buy things like computers. I joined on 23 April, and TF would be officially launched on 16 May – that meant, I had three weeks,” he says. 

Armed with a budget and a mandate to uplift lives, promote goodwill and good governance, and support disaster relief in the region, he and his team hunkered down and got to work.

They identified areas of need, focusing on “low hanging fruit” like education and healthcare, where the requirements and expected outcomes were clearly defined, and began drafting an overarching strategy.

“The foundation is independent, but we carry the Temasek name, and that’s Temasek’s way,” he says. “You are strong on principles and on what is core, but you are also nimble in seeking out opportunities. Nobody is going to tell you ‘yes’ or ‘no’. You figure it out. There's a lot of trial – and hopefully more success than error.” 

Within six months, TF launched its first programme in Manila, training department heads from 14 secondary schools in new approaches to teaching maths and science. “It comes back to outcome-based philanthropy,” Benedict says. “If you train 100 teachers, that’s your output. But when you train department heads, they will train their teachers, who then upgrade the curriculum, which becomes a model for other schools in the country.

“But that's only the immediate outcome. The eventual outcome is that the standard of education rises, the students learn better, and they become more employable.”

The idea, he says, is to put in place something that “multiplies” even after the programmes have officially concluded. “You can’t sustain the same model forever, but you can get three to five years of impact,” he argues.

Many lessons learnt from the early programmes are today integral parts of new projects, including ensuring that ownership and leadership of the projects rest with the local partners – ownership is as important a determinant of success as outcomes, Benedict says, as is trust. 

He cautions teams against prescribing solutions, or – interestingly – using the word “help”. “We’re not there to tell people what they need or what to do. We’re partners and facilitators, and there to co-design the programme,” he says.

Growing global impact 

Over the years, TF has embraced more complex challenges, from urban management to trade and governance, at a larger scale and impact, and broadened out to more geographies in the region. In 2016, it was renamed TF International, reflecting its expanded geographical scope. 

To maximise synergies, in 2020, TF International joined five other Temasek entities driving social impact under the “One Temasek Foundation” umbrella. Collectively, they have supported close to 1,500 programmes to date, benefitting 2.5 million people in Singapore and beyond.  

Looking back on his 16-year journey with the Foundation, Benedict, who moved to Temasek Trust as its Chief Systems Integration Officer in November 2023, says that it has been one of growth and fulfilment. 

“One day I was with a farmer in Aceh, the next day, with a Deputy Prime Minister in Laos, and the following day with a teacher in the Philippines or a nurse in Hainan. I met different people in different places, but every institution, official, and leader I met wanted something better for their communities – if not immediately, then for the next generation. This is something we all have in common. 

  “It is an honour to have been part of their journey.”