3 self-help groups to get increase in Government grants

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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/3-self-help-groups-get-increase-govt-grants

Three self-help groups will receive an increase in matching grants from the Government.

This follows announcements by the groups that they would be raising the monthly contribution rates of working Singaporeans from next year.

The Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) will get a one-off grant of S$10 million, which will be disbursed over five years until Financial Year 2018.

The council, which does not get annual grants, last received a one-off grant of S$10 million when it was first set up in 1992.

The Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) will have its matching grant cap doubled to S$3.4 million a year, while that of the Eurasian Association will be doubled to S$400,000 a year.

The increase follows announcements by the three groups on Saturday that they would be raising monthly contribution rates from Jan 1.

Only Malay self-help group Yayasan Mendaki will maintain its contribution rates — which range from S$2 to S$16 a month — as it last raised rates in 2009.

The matching grants for Mendaki, the Association of Muslim Professionals and the other Malay-Muslim organisations were earlier increased from S$4 million to S$5 million from this financial year.

All four self-help groups ran deficits in the last financial year. The contribution rate increases for CDAC, SINDA and the Eurasian Association will be tiered according to income, with higher-income earners giving more.