The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has set aside S$500,000 over the next five years for a new fund that residents can tap on to start projects centered around their community.

The “HDB Friendly Faces, Lively Places Fund”, aimed at encouraging community volunteerism and supporting ground-up activities, was announced by National Development Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday (May 20) at the launch of the HDB Community Week 2016 in Bedok.

Each project can apply for up to S$10,000 in funding from HDB under three broad categories: The Action Fund, Project Fund and Building Fund.

The Action Fund, which awards up to S$1,000 in funding, covers smaller, short-term plans or activities aimed at bonding neighbours or tackling neighbourhood issues, such as community recycling day or block/floor parties. The Project Fund awards up to S$5,000 for projects that take six months or less, while the Building Fund awards up to S$10,000 for larger, long-term projects that will take more than six months.

Funding covers physical improvement projects, such as converting a void deck to a community living room, or non-physical projects.

The fund expands on HDB’s existing Good Neighbours Project (GNP) programme, first launched in 2014. In a statement, the HDB said that GNP participants had given feedback that the programme did not allow for larger-scale projects involving the use of physical spaces in neighbourhoods, and also had a funding limit of S$1,000 and a short application and implementation period.

Interested applicants may apply all-year round through the HDB’s website and submit the completed application form to [email protected].

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by LOUISA TANG

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]