Few charitable efforts in Singapore carry the weight of the office behind them quite like the President's Challenge. Launched in 2000, it has grown from a yearly fundraising drive into a national rallying point for giving and volunteering, and in 2024 it was reshaped for what its patron called a more demanding era of social need.
A campaign with a presidential origin
The President's Challenge was established in 2000 by then-President S R Nathan. Before that, several charity projects had been run under his name; in 2000 he consolidated them under a single umbrella, creating one annual campaign that could draw public attention and funds to a changing roster of causes each year.
Since then it has been carried forward by each of Singapore's heads of state: S R Nathan, Tony Tan Keng Yam, Halimah Yacob, and the incumbent, Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Along the way its signature fundraising broadcast, long known as the President's Star Charity, was renamed the President's Challenge in more recent years, folding the show into the broader campaign.
How beneficiaries are chosen
The mechanics are straightforward and open. Any voluntary welfare organisation in Singapore that holds approved Institution of a Public Character (IPC) status can apply to be considered each year. The President's Office then selects the beneficiaries, and the amounts disbursed are determined at the President's discretion. Because the selection is made annually, the list of supported organisations changes from year to year, which lets the Challenge respond to shifting needs rather than committing permanently to a fixed set of groups.
The campaign is deliberately broad. Over the years it has raised substantial sums for its beneficiaries; by 2011, President Nathan noted that it had raised over S$100 million since its launch, and later public tallies have placed the cumulative total considerably higher. Just as importantly, it has grown beyond fundraising to actively promote volunteering, so that giving time came to sit alongside giving money as a goal of the Challenge.
A refresh for 2025
On 4 September 2024, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam launched a refreshed President's Challenge. Its aim, he said, was "sustained social impact: by uplifting aspirations and potential, especially amongst those who start with greater odds," in the service of "a broader and more vibrant meritocracy and tighter social compact."
The changes he set out mark a shift in how the Challenge works. Rather than one-off grants, it will move towards longer-term funding so that beneficiaries can build up their capabilities and scale what works. It will also widen its scope to include the arts and sports as fields for nurturing potential, with a particular focus on disability sports and a partnership with Sport Singapore on developing talent through schools.
The refreshed Challenge will work with leading foundations and agencies that share its goals, which may provide co-funding, progress tracking and mentorship, and it will engage philanthropic partners to mobilise contributions, including multi-year funding. New fellowships are planned to develop young civic leaders and to support people seeking a second chance.
Who steers it now
To guide the renewed effort, a new President's Challenge Council was established, co-chaired by Aubeck Kam, Teoh Zsin Woon and Lily Kong. The creation of a dedicated council signals the intent to run the Challenge less as an annual appeal and more as a standing programme with strategy and oversight behind it.
The refresh also reflects a broader lesson drawn from years of charitable work in Singapore: that one-off grants, however generous, can leave organisations scrambling to raise funds again the following year. By committing to longer horizons and bringing in co-funders and mentors, the Challenge is betting that steady, patient support does more lasting good than a single annual windfall, particularly for those trying to build something that will outlast one grant cycle.
Why it resonates
Part of the President's Challenge's power lies in its symbolism. When the head of state asks the public to give, the appeal carries a civic weight that an ordinary fundraising drive cannot match, and the annual rhythm keeps charitable giving in the national conversation. The 2024 refresh pushes that further, asking donors and partners to think not only about immediate relief but about helping people build durable capabilities over time.
Members of the public can support the President's Challenge through its donation channels and by volunteering with its beneficiary organisations. More than two decades after S R Nathan first brought his charity projects under one banner, the Challenge remains a fixture of Singaporean giving, now recast around the idea that lasting change takes sustained support, not a single year's generosity.
Contextual photograph; it does not depict the specific people or event described in this article. Photo: User:Sengkang, Copyrighted free use ↗ via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources & further reading
This article is editorial coverage, not an endorsement. For donations or programme participation, go directly to the organization’s official website.
