The CapitaLand Hope Foundation (CHF), the philanthropic arm of the CapitaLand Group, has named 12 grantees under the inaugural CapitaLand Community Resilience Initiative.
The $3.4 million fund will support vulnerable children and youth across China, India, Singapore and Vietnam through programmes that strengthen education, skills development, and physical and mental well-being.
The grant is a collaboration with AVPN, the largest network of social investors in Asia. The three grantees in each country are involved in a range of activities, from advancing educational equity and leadership development to championing assistive technologies, arts engagement and welfare for vulnerable groups.
In China, grantees provide mental health support and educational opportunities to left-behind children in rural communities.
In India, grantees leverage assistive technology to educate children with disabilities, improve access to quality teaching and empower adolescent girls.
In Singapore, grantees offer entrepreneurship training for underserved youth, vocational pathways for persons with disabilities, and community-based support for children from low-income households.
In Vietnam, grantees teach rural youth to guard against trafficking, provide caregiver support for children with disabilities and disadvantaged communities.
Speaking at the AVPN Global Conference 2025 in Hong Kong on Sept 9, AVPN deputy CEO and chief of programmes Dhun Davar says the grant call drew 653 applications across the four countries.
CHF launched the grant call at the AVPN Southeast Asia Summit 2025 on Feb 25 as part of the CapitaLand Group’s 25th and CHF’s 20th anniversary celebrations. Applications closed on April 25.
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Initially launched with a $3 million funding pool, CHF executive director Tony Tan says the foundation increased the amount “to meet all funding needs of the 12 selected grantees”.
According to Tan, each grantee was assessed “based on the merits of the project including sustainability, scalability and potential impact”.
However, Tan did not state how much each grantee will receive.
“To ensure effective resource allocation to maximise impact, funding requirements would vary according to the project needs and deliverables as well as differences in regional implementation scales,” says Tan, who is also chief corporate officer of the unlisted CapitaLand Development (CLD). “Beyond financial support, we will also be working with our grantees in elevating their work through our ecosystem and driving impact in the community.”
The three grantees in China are the Ningyuan County Dayuanshe Art and Culture Exchange Center, the Guangzhou Panyu District Xingai Common Growth Charity Service Center and the Beijing Western Sunshine Rural Development Foundation.
In India, the grantees are the AssisTech Foundation, Teach To Lead (Teach for India) and the SwaTaleem Foundation.
In Singapore, the three grantees are 3Pumpkins Limited, Halogen Foundation and Presbyterian Community Services.
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Finally, the grantees in Vietnam are the Ho Chi Minh City Child Welfare Association, the Spoon Foundation and the Pacific Links Foundation.
Tan says CHF expects all grantees to deliver the project based on the agreed outcomes according to the milestones, fund utilisation plan and reporting framework. “They will need to demonstrate the effectiveness of their interventions and ensure that the initiative achieves meaningful, measurable improvements in the lives of children and youth aligned with our focus areas across the four markets.”
According to Tan, CHF chose the four countries as they align with CapitaLand’s “strong business presence and long-standing community engagement in these countries”.
He adds: “These markets also reflect a diverse socioeconomic landscape where the need for social resilience support varies in scale and complexity. By focusing on these geographies, CHF leverages its existing networks, local knowledge and partnerships to ensure effective implementation and impact delivery.”
CHF’s grant call could return. Acknowledging the “encouraging response and quality proposals” received in this inaugural grant call, Tan says CHF will “consider exploring with our partners to continue the initiative on a regional basis”.
“This inaugural grant call reflects CHF's efforts towards ecosystem building where more than just funding programmes, the initiative also creates platforms for partnership, innovation and knowledge exchange,” says Tan. “The long-term aspiration is to support the development of a resilient ecosystem of organisations across the region, working together to scale solutions and create positive change at the community level.”
Photos: CHF
