Yayasan Hasanah managing director and trustee Datuk Shahira Ahmed Bazari (Photo: Yayasan Hasanah)
Working towards helping Malaysians in need, Yayasan Hasanah is offering three grants that will benefit a large number of local organisations. The focus of potential recipients ranges from education and community development to artistic projects and protecting the environment.
Hasanah Special Grant
The first eight recipients of the Hasanah Special Grant 2022 (HSG2022) have been announced. Worth RM4.5 million, the grants have been given to combat the critical difficulties Malaysians face. Of the current recipients, three focus on education, four on community development and one on the environment.
Concentrating on education are Global Education Leaders Malaysia Bhd (Pemimpin GSL), which aims to benefit hundreds of students by building the capabilities of 30 leaders at 15 Orang Asli schools; Usains Holding, which will help improve the performance of 200 students from 10 schools in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination by providing online tuition; and Bring the Opportunity Programme, which shares information on and raises awareness of mental health through frontliners from Pembimbing Rakan Sebaya club or by providing support services to guidance and counselling units as well as students in school with peer-mentors.
In terms of community development, DIA Academy is all about empowering targeted disabled benefit ciaries with financial self-sufficiency via full-time employment and micro-business ownership, while Pepper Labs (Masala Wheels)’s project is geared towards upskilling 40 micro entrepreneurs from B40 (bottom 40% income group) communities in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, as well as improving the income of 30 more entrepreneurs through a sustainable end-to-end supply chain ecosystem. Meanwhile, Pertubuhan Peduli Insan Malaysia and Usains Infotech hope to benefit B40 communities in Kedah by providing them a way to earn a living through technology transfer from social innovators at Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Finally, the environment-focused grant recipient is Pertubuhan Pelindung Alam Malaysia, an organisation that works towards the prevention of tiger poaching and conducts long-term monitoring of other wildlife by training, equipping and deploying 118 existing and 10 new Orang Asli wildlife rangers to patrol the Perias-Balah forest.
“We are committed to building the nation one person at a time, across all layers of society. We encourage all qualified Malaysian organisations to apply for and attend the many workshops on offer, where we provide guidance on how to apply for the five impact areas of Education; Community Development; Environment; Arts and Public Spaces; and Knowledge,” says Yayasan Hasanah managing director and trustee Datuk Shahira Ahmed Bazari.
HSG2022 is still open to applicants and those eligible can submit their proposals via the online portal.
ArtsFAS grant
A platform created to showcase our local arts, heritage and culture, the Arts for All Seasons (ArtsFAS) focuses on making the arts accessible to the younger generation and the community at large. The impact-based Yayasan Hasanah managed to contribute RM1.68 million last year through this grant throughout Malaysia, giving space for local creations in nine states. It was able to provide economic opportunities to more than 1,300 arts practitioners. The ArtsFAS grant is now open for applications.
“Yayasan Hasanah thanks the Ministry of Finance for the increase in funds this year as we seek to reignite the arts, heritage and cultural ecosystem that was deeply impacted by the pandemic. This impact area aligns with our commitment to protect and promote our cultural heritage and diversity,” says Shahira.
Grant recipients are expected to be present their projects between September and December, and selected artists will have the opportunity to showcase their work at CIMB Group’s ArtTober event and MyCreative Ventures Sdn Bhd’s RIUH events
This exciting chance is part of the TripArt initiative — a public and private collaboration between Yayasan Hasanah, CIMB Group and MyCreative Ventures that is aimed at helping the arts, heritage and cultural ecosystem recover.
“We are looking forward to enabling more artists. We hope to see more proposals integrating the use of technology this year, as we try to preserve more of our shared heritage as well as widen the reach of these proposed initiatives and projects across the country. We want to ensure that while we make the arts accessible through funding, the proposals should also consider making art accessible to all,” says Shahira.
To check your eligibility or to apply for the ArtsFas grant, see here.
Social enterprises grant
The Hasanah Social Enterprises Fund 2022 aims to empower and support the development of social enterprises and social innovators. It is open to projects or initiatives that target education, community development, the environment, arts and public spaces or knowledge. Eligible social enterprises must be registered in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah or Sarawak, with the potential to expand and develop their business, mission and organisation.
The fund will be offered via two pathways. The Seeding Path will support the development of the enterprise, and is suitable for applicants that are less than 18 months old from the date of establishment and fall under Category I (non-accredited and basic social enterprise). Recipients may get a potential grant up to RM100,000. The Growth and Scale Path is for organisations that are older than 18 months and come under Category II (accredited social enterprises) and Category III (social enterprise accredited plus, or its equivalent as recognised by the Ministry of Finance). Recipients may be awarded up to RM250,000 and RM500,000 respectively.
Applicants must complete the eligibility assessment by July 22 and applications close on July 31. For details or to apply, see here.
This article first appeared on Jul 18, 2022 in The Edge Malaysia.
