THE National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) partnered Temasek Foundation and the Tote Board to launch the Building All Groundups for Success (Bagus) Together initiative on Thursday (Jan 18) to support Singapore’s ground-up movement.

Bagus Together will support ground-ups – non-profit and non-registered organisations carrying out a self-organised initiative or project to meet community needs – by providing tools, resources, programmes and insights on a one-stop platform. The platform will also help to connect ground-ups to other ecosystem players, and will focus on networking, mentorship, partnerships and capability-building.

Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, was the guest of honour at the launch. He welcomed the initiative, saying that “ground-ups make a positive difference to the local community and exemplify what active citizenry means”.

Both Temasek Foundation – the non-profit organisation under Temasek’s philanthropic arm – and the Tote Board are the co-funders of the initiative, and will collectively commit S$5 million over five years. Along with NVPC, they will also tap their networks to recruit potential partners to contribute to the programme.

Tony Soh, chief executive of NVPC, said: “By leveraging the power of diverse players in the sector, the platform seeks to support ground-ups throughout their life cycle and help them reach their fullest potential.”

To this end, initiatives under Bagus Together will include workshops for people interested in starting a ground-up, as well as other workshops and advisory services for mature ground-ups that want to engage in capability-building.

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Ng Boon Heong, chief executive of Temasek Foundation, said: “With Bagus Together, we hope to nurture our flourishing ground-up network, promote collaboration and grow this noble network.”

The launch of Bagus Together was catalysed by key findings from NVPC’s Groundup Initiative Study 2023 Report, which was also unveiled on Thursday. In conjunction with the launch, NVPC also released Leading from the ground up, a handbook about starting and running a ground-up in Singapore.

Currently, NVPC supports ground-ups through its Groundup Central (GUC), which was established in 2018 to rally stakeholders together to help start, sustain and scale ground-ups. Through the GUC, NVPC also provides ground-ups support through resources, programmes and events. 

Ground-ups making a change in Singapore

One ground-up that has benefited from being a member of GUC is The Catalyst Collective. Established in 2020, it aims to be an accessible and inclusive community for youths facing mental health struggles.

It does so by organising events for youths – especially those transitioning to institutes of higher learning – to play board games or role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons together.

The three co-founders – Ryan Ong, Ernest Ng and Andrea Yeo – all have personal experiences with mental health issues. They established The Catalyst Collective as a platform for youths – especially those transitioning to institutes of higher learning – to socialise while playing games, thereby improving their well-being.

Ong said GUC was one of the ground-up’s first supporters, providing access to resources and equipment for its events. 

Yeo said: “I realised we need more structures or even social support, because social support is one of the biggest contributors to someone’s mental wellness. So why not build a platform that is more accessible for these youths to come and hang out and make friends?”

Another GUC member is KampungKakis, a ground-up that operates a buddy system linking vulnerable seniors with a volunteer neighbour who can help them run errands, accompany them to medical appointments, or simply be a friend.

KampungKakis was founded during the pandemic by Ho Kah Yoke and Michelle Lau, at a time when more community support was needed, particularly for vulnerable groups. 

KampungKakis tapped GUC’s resources to grow, and made use of its physical space to rally volunteers.

Lau said: “We know of seniors in our community who are struggling silently at home, and social support can be very minimal in their own network… We wanted to see how we as Singaporeans can all step up to bring some form of comfort and support to seniors who are struggling.”

Tan Choon Shian, chief executive of the Tote Board, said: “Bagus Together and the various ground-up empowerment initiatives reflect our collective commitment to building a community of good. In various ways, we want to enable the average man and woman on the street to shape our Singapore story of care and resilience.”