S$50 million SG Partnerships Fund helps ground-ups strengthen impact; complements CSR efforts

[SINGAPORE] The new S$50 million SG Partnerships Fund (SGPF), announced during Budget 2026, aims to support ground-up initiatives in creating more social impact among communities across Singapore. Over five years, it will provide funding and help ground-ups build capabilities.

Ground-ups are a group of people that voluntarily come together to execute a self-organised initiative to benefit the community.

Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Low Yen Ling outlined the three tiers of support that the fund will offer at her ministry’s Committee of Supply debate on Thursday (Mar 5).

The Seed tier provides individuals, ground-up groups or organisations up to S$5,000 for one year, to pilot initiatives in their community.

Meanwhile, the Sprout tier is for those looking to scale their impact across multiple communities and involve other people or groups in implementing initiatives.

It provides up to 80 per cent of funding, capped at S$50,000, for two years. These ground-ups must have a proven track record of conducting successful pilots or implementing similar initiatives.

Low said: “Finally, the Scale tier is for organisations that aim to deliver systemic or sector-wide social impact, or foster cross-sector partnerships with measurable outcomes.”

It provides up to 80 per cent of funding, capped at S$1 million, over three years, and will cover capacity costs such as manpower.

The Seed tier is designed to be accessible, while the Sprout and Scale tiers are for larger-scale and longer-term initiatives.

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In 2025, government agencies received more than 1,600 partnership proposals from individuals and organisations who wanted to make a difference in their communities.

Hasliza Ahmad, director of the Singapore Government Partnerships Office (SGPO), which launched the SGPF, said: “(The fund) seeks to catalyse citizen actions and widen the circle of impact, by providing stronger support to citizen-led projects across all domains and sectors – from nascent ideas to longer-term initiatives with larger impact.”

Not only does the SGPF lower the barrier to entry for citizens that want to see positive change in their community by having a “simplified application and approval process”, but it also helps ground-ups become more financially sustainable, she noted.

Shared expertise

The increased support for ground-ups means there are more opportunities for collaboration with non-profits.

Tony Soh, chief executive of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), said that while ground-ups can respond quicker and adapt to emerging community needs, non-profits have established structures and the expertise and capacity to run sustained programmes.

Soh pointed out: “(Both can maximise) their impact through shared expertise and reach. These partnerships range from mobilising talents and volunteers, co-locating in shared spaces, raising funds for charities, and co-creating programmes that deepen impact.”

He added that these partnerships reduce duplication of efforts on the ground and enhance the use of limited resources.

Likewise, Martin Tan, CEO of The Majurity Trust, said: “(Ground-ups) surface insights and practical approaches from the community level, and where there is alignment, charities can help expand and sustain these efforts.”

For example, Let’s Go Man! is a ground-up hosted at non-profit Touch Community Services that mobilises volunteers to engage elderly men via interest-based activities, which complements Touch’s active ageing programmes.

Local charity SPD said that the SGPF will lead to more sustained initiatives and community involvement.

“This would help to strengthen community partnerships with our Enabling Services Hub (ESH) team, with the hope that our community partners and volunteers can leverage the fund to co-develop initiatives for our ESH clients in the community,” said Abhimanyau Pal, CEO of SPD.

Critical role

Ground-up initiatives also complement companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, driving further social impact.

Leonard Tan, head of group CSR at UOB, said: “While (the SGPF) can help strengthen the ecosystem and scale community-led ideas, corporates continue to play a critical role through long-term commitment, partnerships and employee participation.”

For example, UOB partners Central Singapore CDC to offer digital learning experiences and tools to children and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Tony Tan, executive director of CapitaLand Hope Foundation (CHF) and chief corporate officer of CapitaLand Development, added that the SGPF “acts as a catalyst for stronger public-private-people collaboration”, which can “accelerate scalable solutions”.

CHF last year awarded S$3.4 million under the CapitaLand Community Resilience Initiative to 12 grantees across Asia-Pacific to scale ground-up initiatives for children and youth.

Meanwhile, OCBC has a five-year partnership with The Hut to help 150 children from low-income families receive 8,000 hours of free tuition.

Koh Ching Ching, head of group brand and communications at OCBC, said: “Periods of uncertainty only reinforce the importance of support for those who may be the hardest hit. From our discussion with our charity partners, we know that government support will go a long way, alongside our ongoing #OCBCCares outreach efforts, for them.”

DBS is also looking to collaborate with community partners to co-create “intentional” programmes, said Karen Ngui, head of DBS Foundation. “We support… the SGPF, which provides additional pathways for impact-makers, thus strengthening the ecosystem for shared action,” she added.

While the macroeconomic environment remains complex, support for ground-ups can lead to more “promising community-led solutions” that mature into longer-term contributions, noted NVPC’s Soh.

He said: “The momentum built over recent years, supported by ecosystem initiatives and the new SGPF, suggests this development will continue strengthening, creating a more responsive and comprehensive approach to addressing communities’ needs.”

SGPO will work with partners such as the Temasek Shophouse and NVPC to discuss strategies for capability building.

Additional reporting by Vivien Ang