TrustTomorrow, the funding programme launched by the Swire Trust in 2020 to celebrate Swire’s 150th anniversary of doing business in Hong Kong, is focused on supporting inspirational projects that will help the community thrive for the long-term. By “connecting the dots” between its various partner charities and NGOs, as well as matching them with capabilities and resources from across the Swire group, TrustTomorrow aims to ensure its partnership programmes achieve maximum impact. Its partnership with Time Auction (“TA”) is a good example of how this can work in practice.
Time Auction is a charitable organisation that was set up to enable professionals to volunteer their time to support local NGOs in Hong Kong. A common challenge NGOs face is the difficulty to access professional skills and services such as marketing, graphic design, and workshop facilitation. Meanwhile, many professional people wonder how they can help – but are not sure where to start. TA provides the means of matching supply and demand. The connections are made via an online platform that was made possible with TrustTomorrow’s support. Not only does the website ‘matchmake’ NGOs with professional talent, but it also helps NGOs identify what tasks could be outsourced to volunteers and teaches them how to write a volunteer job description that will attract the right talent. In return for skilled volunteer hours, participants can redeem the chance to dine with inspiring individuals from different industries – including some Swire leaders.
Since the start of the project in June 2020, TA has connected over 5,000 volunteers with NGOs in Hong Kong, accumulating more than 30,000 skilled volunteering hours. It has also provided around 100 experiential and mentoring rewards – especially impressive given the ongoing pandemic!
