Social Enterprise Community Urban Farm (SECUF)

Social Enterprise Community Urban Farm (SECUF)

Community Urban Farms

Community Urban Farms are gardening hubs that bring the community together through edibles gardening and curated programmes that revolve around it. Activities in Community Urban Farms could include leasing allotment gardening plots for the public to garden, organising workshops and lessons on gardening, community harvest festivals; coordinating the sale/distribution of harvests etc. Gardening together strengthens family and community bonds to build social resilience.

Activities in Community Urban Farms could include:

  • Leasing allotment gardening plots for the public to garden
  • Organising workshops and lessons on gardening
  • Community harvest festivals; coordinating the sale/distribution of harvests

Together with City Sprouts, we launched the first Social Enterprise Community Urban Farm (SECUF) in a park at West Coast Park, City Sprouts @ West Coast on 1 June 2024. This is NParks’ first joint effort with a Social Enterprise (SE) to pilot the concept of a gardening hub in the heartlands.

Through SECUF, we hope to bring the community to our parks to enjoy and bond over gardening activities and specially curated City in Nature-related programmes.


Social Enterprise Community Urban Farm (SECUF) Grant

The SECUF Grant encourages Social Enterprises (SEs) to set up and operate Community Urban Farms, as well as conduct gardening programmes for seniors, special needs and low-income individuals/families. With their social objectives, SEs are able to impact the community positively. This grant was introduced under the Gardening with Edibles initiative which was launched by NParks in June 2020 to encourage Singaporeans to grow edibles at home as part of Singapore's vision of Growing our City in Nature.

    • Promote the establishment of more Social Enterprise Community Urban Farms by providing funding support for infrastructure costs
    • Promote more social outreach activities by Social Enterprises Community Urban Farms through support for programming costs
    • Provide more space for residents to garden and in the process inspire communities to co-create and be stewards of nature
    • Encourage communities to grow their own edibles as part of an effort to strengthen social and food resilience
    • Encourage seniors, special needs and low-income individuals/families to remain purposefully and meaningfully engaged in the communities by engaging them with curated gardening programmes

  • The grant is effective from 15 November 2021 and will expire on 31 March 2026 or when the grant funds are fully disbursed, whichever is earlier. Participation in the scheme will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, subject to the availability of funds.

    • Applicants must be a Social Enterprise registered with the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE)
    • Applicants must not have tapped onto any other government grants of a similar nature for the same project. Applicants can still seek funding from other non-government sources and will be required to submit a declaration on their funding sources in the application form

  • Infrastructure Support Grant

    The Infrastructure Support Grant provides support for the infrastructure costs involved in the establishment of SECUFs. Applicants must have successfully tendered for pre-identified sites* for SECUF usage. Detailed business proposals must be submitted. Proposal must include provision for allotment gardening plots and an outreach plan of a minimum of 500 people per year. Funding amount will be 25% of the infrastructure set up costs incurred by the SE, subjected to fundable items and to a cap of $500,000 per site. Funded SEs will have to maintain and operate the SECUF for an undertaking period of 5 years, and are precluded from further applications within this period.

    *More details on the pre-identified sites will be released soon

    Programming Support Grant

    The Programming Support Grant provides funding support for costs incurred in the conducting of hands-on edible gardening workshops for seniors, special needs and low income individuals/ families. Applicants must submit a proposal of their programming plan for at least 120 unique participants per application. Up to 50% of the set up and programming cost can be funded, subjected to fundable items only and a cap of $50,000 per SE. Applicants for the Programming Support Grant must not have tapped onto the same Grant within the past 6 months or before fulfilling the targets of the previous application.

  • There are 2 stages:

    Stage 1: Application

    Applicants who are interested in the grant are welcome to fill in a query form here.

    Upon receiving your query, our Manager In-Charge will assess your eligibility and guide you on the application process thereafter. Do note that the application needs to be approved before any works begin, to ensure that the SECUF or programmes qualify for funding.

    After the application has been approved, applicants will receive a letter of offer from NParks. This letter of offer is valid for 12 months during which the funds will be reserved. The funded infrastructure and gardening programmes must be completed within this period. Do note that the applicant can only commence with their works only upon receiving the letter of offer.

    Supporting documents for Application of Infrastructure Support Grant

    • The duly completed Application Form
    • Membership letter from the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE)
    • Business proposal, including nature, mode of operation and space layout of all the components of the SECUF, etc.
    • A formal document (such as quotation or a receipt) showing the detailed breakdown of the proposed cost of the infrastructure set up
    • Detailed plans for outreach efforts to the community, e.g. calendar of events, types and frequencies of workshops/seminars/webinars, etc.
    • ACRA Business Profile
    • Employment opportunities for disadvantaged communities (if any)
    • Any other documents as may be requested for by NParks

    Supporting documents for Application of Programming Support Grant

    • The duly completed Application Form
    • Membership letter from the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE)
    • A proposal of the type of programme and its content, target community segment(s) and class size, frequency and period of programme
    • Quotations for the actual programme delivery as well as the set up required
    • ACRA Business Profile
    • Any other documents as may be requested for by NParks

    Upon obtaining our in-principle approval of your successful application, you may proceed with your set up works (for Infrastructure Support Grant) as well as preparation for programme delivery (for Programming Support Grant). Please take note of the documents required during reimbursement stage and keep a good record of the information and documents required. We reserve the right to exclude items for funding if documentation is incomplete or unclear. Once your set up works (for Infrastructure Support Grant) and programming delivery (for Programming Support Grant) is completed, please inform your Manager In-Charge, and you will be guided for the reimbursement process.


    Stage 2: Reimbursement

    After the SECUF set up is complete (for Infrastructure Grant), or after you have finished programme delivery (for Programming Grant), a reimbursement form** must be submitted for the funding to be disbursed. For Infrastructure Grant, your SECUF has to be functional with outreach and allotment gardening programmes running. A site inspection will also be carried out to verify the set up. Please contact your manager in-charge upon project completion and you will be guided through the reimbursement process.

    **Do note that if the applicant is GST registered, they are not allowed to claim the input tax amount during reimbursement.

    Supporting documents for Reimbursement of Infrastructure Support Grant

    • The duly completed Reimbursement Form
    • Membership letter from the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE)
    • Proof of payments for the total set up cost
    • Bill of quantities for the set up
    • As-built drawings of the Community Urban Farm
    • An audited Statement of Accounts by an ACRA-registered external auditor with the stated Terms of References
    • Detailed Plans for outreach efforts to the community, e.g. calendar of events, types and frequencies of workshops/seminars/webinars, etc
    • A letter of undertaking to maintain the funded infrastructure and operate Community Urban Farm for the duration of the Holding Period
    • Employment opportunities for disadvantaged communities (if any)
    • Any other documents as may be requested for by NParks

    Supporting documents for Reimbursement of Programming Support Grant

    • The duly completed Reimbursement Form
    • Membership letter from the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE)
    • Proof of payments and itemised cost breakdown of the programme delivery and the set up required for the programme
    • A tabulated report of the following information for all the workshops: date and time of workshop, type/name of workshop, targeted community segment, number of participants
    • List of participants comprising of the following information: Full name of participants (as per NRIC), last 4 alphanumeric characters of NRIC, age, organisation the participants belong to, community segment involved
    • Supporting documentation from organisation receiving the programming (for organised groups)
    • Dated photographic evidence (Minimum 2 photos for each workshop )
    • Photographic evidence of any materials procured as part of the set up required for the programme
    • Any other documents as may be requested for by NParks

NParks will never send an SMS:

  • To request for payment /money transfers
  • With a link that does not bear '.gov.sg' at the end
  • With a link to ask for users' login credentials/passwords

Frequently Asked Questions

Click here to download the list of Frequently Asked Questions.

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