Our Approach

It starts with our Purpose: So Every Generation Prospers. At Temasek, this guides our commitment to creating lasting impact, as we aspire ​​to help every generation thrive. 

As a global investor, our social licence to operate depends on our ability to create value for all stakeholders, including our communities. We believe in seeding social capital to foster a more inclusive and resilient world.  

Our journey in building social capital began over 20 years ago, when we adopted a deliberate and structured approach, anchored on the twin pillars of governance and sustainability, to give back to communities. 

Since 2003, we have been setting aside a portion of our net positive returns above our risk-adjusted cost of capital for community gifts. Approved by the Temasek Board, these gifts are donated largely to Temasek Trust (TT) to achieve our community objectives of Connecting People, Uplifting Communities, Protecting Our Planet, and Advancing Capabilities (CUPA).  

Temasek’s primary community stewardship arm is the Temasek Trust Collective (TTC), an ecosystem of organisations united by a shared purpose of building better for every generation. The TTC mirrors Temasek’s CUPA objectives through their four strategic priorities of Planet, People, Peace, and Progress. Beyond the TTC, we give directly to our partners in the Public, Private, and People sectors to maximise the impact of our capital, network, and insights.

Doing Good in Our Communities

As a responsible corporate citizen, we support local charities with donations and employee volunteerism across our global offices. We cultivate a culture of giving at Temasek by actively incorporating volunteering opportunities in our giving efforts, as well as through T-Touch, an employee-led volunteer initiative driven by the passion and commitment of our people.  

When our employees initiate a fundraising effort for a charity or cause, Temasek will provide a matching donation.  

Our programme reach and partnerships continue to widen. As such, we must ensure that our gifts are truly making a difference to communities. We have developed an impact framework for community gifts to guide the measurement of their impact against our community objectives. This framework allows us to evaluate, refine, and maximise the effectiveness of initiatives we support. We work closely with our partners, including TT, to apply the framework.     

The Temasek Trust Collective 

The introduction of a more structured and intentional approach to community giving in 2003 laid the foundation for sustainable, long-term impact. In 2007, we established two independent entities, TT and Temasek Foundation (TF), introducing a unique philanthropic governance model that enabled each entity to focus on its core mandate: the financial stewardship of our gifts, and the delivery of community programmes, respectively.  

Over time, additional non-profit entities and endowments have been established as part of the TTC. The TTC is an ecosystem of organisations that enhances our collective ability to respond to emerging needs, catalyse solutions, and deliver lasting impact in Singapore and beyond. 

We also recognised that Asia needed a stronger philanthropic voice – one that could mobilise and deploy philanthropic capital at scale, and pioneer innovative approaches to achieve sustainable impact.  

To that end, Temasek resourced TT to develop a more integrated non-profit ecosystem. While its role as a responsible steward of philanthropic assets would remain core, TT has since taken on a broader mandate as a trusted advocate for sustainability, and a proactive catalyst for collective impact.  

This positions TT to accelerate the innovations needed to build a better world for future generations. 

Our Philanthropic Governance Model 

Established by Temasek Holdings in 2007, TT is a steward of philanthropic assets. As a Company Limited by Guarantee, TT provides governance and financial oversight of non-profit endowments and gifts from Temasek and other donors.

This governance model separates the financial management of philanthropic assets by TT from the programme design and delivery by the TTC, and enables the respective entities to develop clear focus and capabilities. The TTC organisations are separate, independent entities from Temasek, each with their respective board and management team. Temasek does not direct their day-to-day operations. 

TT deploys funding both directly and through the TTC and TT IPC Ltd. Its philanthropic assets are managed by Temasek Trust Asset Management (TTAM).  

TT IPC Ltd. is a registered charity and Institution of a Public Character (IPC) regulated by the Commissioner of Charities in Singapore.  

TTAM is a professional investment house regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a Capital Markets Services licence holder.    

In forging new pathways in impact investing and philanthropy, TT aims to promote catalytic philanthropy as a force for good. 

Direct Giving

Beyond the TTC, Temasek works directly with partners from the Public, Private, and People sectors to advance our community objectives.  

Through direct corporate giving, we actively respond to emerging needs and causes with timely and strategic support. We complement the TTC by: 

• Supporting initiatives that leverage Temasek’s core capabilities and networks  
• Piloting innovative community programmes that address emerging environmental and social challenges  
• Forging partnerships with like-minded corporate donors and community partners to exchange insights that strengthen our broader philanthropic strategies  

Advancing Capabilities 

Our direct giving advances our community objectives. These efforts have focused on workforce development, scaling impact enterprises, and testing solutions that advance sustainability.  

To mark Temasek’s 50^th anniversary in 2024, we established T-Spring, a S$150 million gift to advance capabilities in Singapore and build a resilient and future-ready workforce. T-Spring provides support in three key areas:  

1. Temasek Scholarships: We help build a strong talent pipeline by providing tertiary scholarships to polytechnic graduates, undergraduates and Masters students with a focus on STEM disciplines. 
2. Workforce Skills Development: We partner with industry and training providers to upskill workers in at-risk sectors and promote inclusive hiring, including seniors, and neurodiverse individuals. Temasek also supported the President’s Challenge Springboard Fellowship, which empowers remarkable individuals to bounce back from setbacks in life, providing them with the tools, training, and networks to embark on new pathways and rebuild their lives.
3. Fellowships: We invite global experts to collaborate with Temasek and its ecosystem, deepening local expertise and driving innovation in emerging fields. Our inaugural Temasek Fellow, Professor Henrik Christensen – a leading figure in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics from the University of California, San Diego – engaged corporates, tertiary institutions, and social service organisations in Singapore to share insights on the application of AI and robotics. He also advanced the development of AI curricula among local institutes of higher learning. 

Another initiative, T-Ignite, is aimed at supporting high-potential impact enterprises.  

Impact enterprises face a critical challenge as they scale. Even as they deliver meaningful social or environmental outcomes, they often struggle to secure funding after outgrowing early-stage grants, but before they can attract commercial capital. This “valley of death” – where funding and support dry up at a pivotal stage – presents a major barrier to the growth and financial viability of promising impact solutions.  

Recognising this gap, Temasek supports impact enterprises during this crucial phase, helping them strengthen their business models, demonstrate measurable impact, and eventually access more conventional forms of investment, while remaining focused on their mission.  

Administered by our community partner, The Majurity Trust, T-Ignite is a recoverable grant initiative that provides flexible, patient capital with a 3- to 5-year repayment period, enhancing the financial sustainability of enterprises. Where needed, Temasek and its partners provide mentorship and capacity-building resources to help these enterprises further strengthen their business models and impact measurement capabilities. ​​     ​​ 

Recovered grants are re-deployed in new impact enterprises, creating a continuous cycle of impact and unlocking funding capital for ventures tackling some of the world’s most pressing challenges. 

Supporting Local Communities 

Temasek’s community gifts extend beyond Singapore, as we seed social capital to advance the well-being of the communities in markets where we operate. Our international offices partner with local charities across the globe to address community needs ranging from youth development to social inclusion and rural revitalisation. 

In China, we supported social enterprises that enhance the employability of vulnerable individuals, increase environmental awareness, and promote sustainable livelihoods. One such initiative equipped local farmers with eco-friendly methods that improved cultivation across 300 acres of land in Inner Mongolia.  

Our London office supported Haven House Children’s Hospice to fund the training of healthcare professionals and student nurses providing palliative care to children. These sessions enabled healthcare workers to develop specialist knowledge and gain confidence in providing frontline support to patients and their families, building enduring impact through better primary care delivery. 

Strengthening Climate Action

In 2024, we committed S$100 million to Concessional Capital for Climate Action (CCCA). CCCA provides flexible, patient, and favourable financing to initiatives that advance the green energy transition and bring us closer to global climate goals. This helps crowd in other forms of capital, whether commercial or concessional, to support marginally bankable opportunities.  

In 2025, we committed philanthropic capital, alongside Temasek commercial capital and other co-investors, to support the Green Investments Partnership, a blended finance partnership under MAS’ Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership initiative.

Meanwhile, in partnership with Breakthrough Energy and Enterprise Singapore, we established the Breakthrough Energy Fellows – Southeast Asia programme, which supports the research and development of innovative solutions tackling some of the region’s most urgent climate challenges.