President Tharman Shanmugaratnam officially launched President’s Challenge 2025 with a fresh focus on empowering lives, driving social innovation, and expanding opportunities for Singaporeans — particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
During a visit to Netball Singapore — one of this year’s supported organisations — President Tharman also introduced the new President’s Challenge Fellowships, designed to celebrate resilience, talent, and impact across three unique tracks.
New Fellowships to Empower Individuals and Inspire Change
The President’s Challenge Fellowships will support individuals across three transformative pathways:
- Civic Action Track: Offers full-time or part-time sabbaticals to seasoned social sector professionals — or dedicated volunteers from other industries — to deepen their expertise and pioneer new approaches in social impact.
- Springboard Track: Backs individuals who’ve overcome major setbacks, helping them restart through education, skills training, or entrepreneurship.
- ITE Inspire Track: Recognises outstanding career or entrepreneurial achievements by ITE graduates, aiming to inspire youth and the ITE community through mentorship and real-life role models.
Applications for Civic Action and ITE Inspire open from 3 June to 18 July 2025 via the President’s Challenge website. The Springboard nominations will be sourced through community and civic organisations.
These fellowships are made possible through partnerships with Quantedge Foundation, Temasek, SIM, ITE, and the Singapore Business Federation Foundation, which bring crucial networks and resources to support this initiative.
Widening Access to Arts and Sports
In a major step forward, President’s Challenge 2025 now extends its mission into arts and sports, with National Arts Council (NAC) and Sport Singapore (SportSG) as key Impact Partners.
New initiatives include:
- Disability Sports Development: Through support for the Enabling Sports Fund, and expanded access to SportSG Academies & Clubs, the Challenge will nurture young talents and broaden community participation.
- Expanded Scholarships:
- NAC will grow its Arts Scholarships to foster future cultural leaders.
- SportSG introduces the spexEducation Undergraduate Scholarships, providing academic support for TeamSG athletes in pursuit of sporting excellence.
Supporting 60 High-Impact Social Programmes
Despite receiving over 270 proposals — more than double the previous year — the 2025 Challenge will fund a more focused list of 60 programmes (down from 88 in 2024), allowing for longer-term, deeper support.
Six standout programmes will receive $715,000 to $1.25 million over five years:
- Life Community Services Society – Life! Mentors
- Morning Star Community Services – Carenights
- New Life Stories – Family Strengthening Programme
- Riding for the Disabled Association – Equine Assisted Activities
- SHINE Children and Youth Services – Youth Community Outreach Patrol (Scale-up)
- Yayasan Mendaki – Women At Work
Additionally, 54 programmes will receive $105,000 to $300,000 each over three years, including:
- Netball Singapore’s Netball Rising: Supporting young athletes aged 12–17 from underprivileged backgrounds with coaching and competitions.
- Playeum’s Open Minds, Open Doors: Creating inclusive play spaces for children with disabilities and their families.
To boost support, the SG Gives Matching Grant — announced in Budget 2025 — will offer dollar-for-dollar matching on all donations. Corporates pledging multi-year giving of $250,000 annually for three years (2025–2027) will enjoy a $1.50-for-$1 match.
A New Look for a Renewed Mission
A fresh visual identity was also unveiled, selected from a competition that saw 153 entries from youth in Polytechnics, ITEs, and the University of the Arts Singapore.
The winning design, by Xandrea Alfie Isa from Temasek Polytechnic, symbolizes a community rising with purpose and unity — a fitting emblem for the Challenge’s reinvigorated vision. Four other talented young designers were also honoured.
