A living, porous ecosystem where space and community reinforce one another to become the grounds for big ideas and even bigger actions.
In this first year, we have seen how inspiration sparks, support enables, and collaboration multiplies when organisations come together under one roof. Through our three core values: Inspire – sparking imagination, honesty, and courage; Enable – embedding capacity and support within the community to turn ideas into practice; and Co-Create – scaffolding experiments and solutions that grow the impact beyond what any single organisation could achieve alone.
Yet the real story of The Foundry is written not by numbers alone, but the experience that our residents share here as a community. Each one is seen not simply as an organisation based here, but as people.
The Foundry is more than a co-working space.
This home base is where residents have been bringing in their communities — celebrating Chinese New Year and Deepavali, breaking fast together at iftar, graduation ceremonies, volunteer appreciation nights, and even breaking Singapore records.
Milestones, big and small, were honoured – celebrating wins, and being supported through the struggles.
This spirit came through in the Founders’ Circle, where leaders came together not to pitch or present, but to share vulnerably about their organisations — their struggles, questions, and blind spots. These peer-learning conversations lay the building blocks for deeper trust, giving founders space to glean insights from one another, and to connect with resources in ways that felt authentic and timely.
Even those who were visiting guests at our first weekend market, The Good Weekend, captured this feeling of connectedness succinctly:
These sentiments have further affirmed for us what makes The Foundry remarkable. It is not only what happens within its walls, but the spirit of community that people carry with them even when they leave — a culture that multiplies impact far beyond the physical space itself.
Foundry as a space is equal parts mission as it is machine.
The building, with its physical space and proximity (“machine”), houses relationships and offers a bumping ground for ideas and collaboration (“mission”). In our first year, what rang clearly was that the value of space and community are inextricably intertwined for our residents.
* Hatch started by taking up a hotdesk seat, and within 2 months of moving in, they moved into a six-person dedicated office. Approximately four months after that, Hatch spun off their non-profit arm into Kita, which takes a participatory and co-creative approach when working with under-resourced youths
Our 30 resident organisations span a wide spectrum of social impact work across youth in adversity, mental health, seniors in isolation and more.
The diversity of social causes is an intentional Foundry design, a reflection of our belief at The Majurity Trust that no single actor can solve complex social challenges alone, and meaningful change can happen when like-hearted actors who care about people are brought together within an ecosystem.
A pie chart of sectors represented, showing the diversity of social causes based at The Foundry.
See Annex A for the list of organisations who are in the space with us.
The Foundry is a bustling hub: almost one event a day took place at The Foundry and fewer than a fifth were organised by The Majurity Trust.
The life of the space that these numbers reflect were made possible by the intentional decision to hold space, instead of take up space: with most events initiated by residents and external partners. This keeps the space open and porous, allowing different groups to flow through, shape the calendar, and contribute to The Foundry’s shared ecosystem.
Programming across the year deepened this sense of home: gatherings at our Townhalls, learning opportunities at Lunch and Learns and informal community sessions all helped residents build skills, convene, and celebrate.
The decision to be based in The Foundry is rarely just about space or logistics. Residents consistently point to the authentic and supportive environment as a key reason to anchor their organisations here.
Casual conversations in the pantry often turn into opportunities for learning and support. Residents discover more about each other’s work, share the challenges they face and overcome, and build a collective understanding of the sector’s needs and available resources. This shared language and knowledge base may not always translate into immediate partnerships, but the base establishes the critical groundwork for future collaborations.
One of the most valuable insights from our first year at the Foundry has been seeing how different types of social impact organisations engage with the space in ways that reflect their realities and aspirations. These differences are not only about office use, but also about how organisations of varying sizes root themselves in the community.
Private office residents, often with larger teams, were able to anchor their work in dedicated spaces. For them, the Foundry provided stability — a base from which to plan long-term and deepen collaborations with peers and partners.
Hotdeskers, on the other hand, often have leaner teams, newer ventures, or more geographically dispersed setups. Their use of the space was lighter in scale, yet no less intentional. Even without a permanent office, hotdeskers sought to belong — showing eagerness to connect, contribute, and engage with the community in focused and meaningful ways.
Learning from these patterns, we shaped community programmes to meet organisations where they were.
The different ways which our residents engaged with us signal a healthy ecosystem reflecting the plurality of needs among our 30 social impact organisations housed here.
They remind us that social impact takes many forms, and that a true home base must be flexible enough to support organisations at different stages of growth.
Our frequent touch points and proximity to residents and their communities enabled us to surface insights from the ground more quickly: understanding not just how space is used, but how community needs intersect with different organisational models and stages of growth.
Inspiration formed the basis for ideas that moved residents to act and offered a space to imagine what could be different in the sector.
As the first of the three core values in The Foundry — we saw people of the Foundry inspire through many forms: in conversations, in shifting mindsets and in visible wins that signalled, “This can work.”
Inspiration often begins with holding space for important conversations.
Character and Leadership Academy (CLA) ran a Singapore-Hong Kong Mental Wellness Youth Engagement Forum in June, bringing international partners into conversation with fellow residents on the panel, such as The Tapestry Project and Impart, to discuss youth engagement, leadership, and social impact vis-à-vis mental wellness. The event also brought together diverse approaches to youth mental health, reminding residents that shared causes can unite even when methodologies differ.
In a similar spirit, The Majurity Trust co-hosted From Bold Ideas to Big Impact: Scaling Global Mental Health Innovations with Grand Challenges Canada, MHIN Asia and AVPN. The fireside chat with Foundry resident, Narasimman from Impart and Nataya from Orygen reminded the community that scaling is not only about growing bigger, but growing better — through meaningful youth engagement, pacing growth sustainably, and embracing failure as part of growth. These exchanges did more than share knowledge; they inspired residents to rethink what growth could mean in their own work, showing that inspiration often begins with a shift in perspective before it sparks action.
Cross-learning journeys showed how inspiration can ripple outward. Ray of Hope initiated a learning journey with The Therapy Room, inviting two other residents, The T Project and BapaHebat.sg to share. The session promoted cross-learning across lived experiences and how walking alongside different community members, we not only learn from them, but can also interweave their insights into our own practice and programme.
Building on this spirit of learning, Ray of Hope also hosted the Silver Generation Office (SGO) for a 100-pax leadership exchange at The Foundry, where Dr. Hock Lin Sng, Chief of SGO, shared how door-to-door outreach and connecting isolated seniors to resources remain vital to community care. Joined by fellow residents on the panel – Johnson Soh (Director of SanCare Asia), Aloysius Tan (Co-Founder of VintageRadio.SG), and Narasimman (CEO of Empower Ageing). The dialogue highlighted how empathy, music, and storytelling can each play a role in helping seniors feel seen and supported. It was a reminder to all present that ageing is a shared journey, and inspiration often begins with simple acts of connection.
Hatch’s Social Tech Apprenticeship graduation celebrated a milestone for under-resourced youth entering the social sector workforce. The programme trains and places participants in marketing and communications roles with nonprofits, creating pathways to meaningful employment for those who face barriers to traditional opportunities.
Inspiration also emerged in the quieter, more reflective spaces that residents created for one another. Nicole from The Tapestry Project initiated Mindful Mondays, a weekly practice of pausing for wellbeing, creating rhythms of care that kept the community grounded and connected, as well as opening doors for safe conversations. The sessions invited residents to turn up as individuals beyond their organisational roles.
Enabling comes about when we tend to these sparks of inspiration, build bridges from ideas to systems, and from possibility to practice.
From the very beginning, Foundry was more than a building – it is a living platform for residents to host their own communities and collide with others.
Within a month of the building launching, The Tapestry Project SG marked its 10th anniversary and fundraiser, setting a Singapore Book of Records within Foundry’s walls.
Beyond setting new records, we also saw the creation of new organisations like Kita; born out of Hatch in the Foundry which anchored its youth programmes here, adding colour and diversity. While Better.sg’s Pitch and Demo Night transformed the Refinery into a stage for bold ideas.
A distinctive community design of Foundry is embedding Enablers (See Annex B for information around our Foundry Enablers) – social impact organisations whose core focus is to support the work of other social impact organisations – directly within the community. What makes this powerful is not just the technical expertise they offer, but their everyday presence in a resource-rich environment where help is at hand.
Proximity matters: when enablers share the same pantry and corridors, residents don’t have to wait for formal workshops or consultancy contracts.
For newer organisations like ARTery, enabler support extended into deeper collaboration. As a freshly registered non-profit figuring out its digital backbone, ARTery enrolled in better.sg’s – a tech-for-good charity that links up skilled tech professionals as volunteers that support non-profit tech needs – Volunteer Tech Officer programme. This partnership gave them dedicated guidance on building their tech infrastructure, catalysing towards future growth they could not have achieved alone.
Even among enablers, collaboration created seamless pathways of support. talenTtrust, which matches skilled volunteers with non-profits, worked closely with Pro Bono SG to ensure legal needs were also met. Together, they formed a natural handover system where requests could move fluidly between skills support and legal advice, ensuring social impact organisations were not left without solutions.
By embedding enablers into the space, Foundry turned capacity-building to one that is stronger based on proximity. This scaffolded, day-to-day support lowers barriers in ways that one-off sector-wide workshops rarely can.
Foundry creates an environment where knowing what you don’t know becomes the first step towards growth.
What struck us most this year was how proximity changed everything. Having enablers embedded in the same space lowered barriers that usually keep smaller organisations from reaching out for help.
Being at Foundry often feels like getting 130 new colleagues, regardless of your team size. We relate to organisations almost like teammates, while still holding the vantage point to connect dots across the wider community. In building up our residents’ and the broader grantee partner network’s capabilities this past year, we learnt that social impact organisations need specific support and specialised knowledge – and that help lands best when it is both expert and empathetic.
Because our Enablers are themselves non-profits, they bring not only technical know-how (e.g., skills-based volunteers, legal help, digital marketing) but lived experiences of similar struggles. This peer-to-peer exchange builds trust quickly, turning advice into actions; making capability-building feel less like an intervention and more like part of daily work.
At the same time, we’ve become more aware of the weight of time for our residents. As early stage non-profits which are often lean teams, every hour they spend with us is precious. It places a healthy reminder on us, that enabling must be worth their time – whether in knowledge, connection, or simply the feeling of being supported.
If Inspire sparks imagination and Enable builds the bridges to act, then Co-Create is where residents take the leap together. Over the past year, Foundry created the conditions for residents to turn energy into action, through structured platforms, shared learning, and nurturing new growth.
The Foundry Forward Fund (FFF), a $500,000 fund supported by the Tote Board, was designed to lower barriers for resident-led collaboration.
Unlike traditional grants, FFF was intentionally flexible, by supporting project costs ranging from manpower to prototyping assets. More importantly, it was structured to spark collaboration.
At the first Pitch Day in February, over 75% of resident organisations turned up to listen, offer suggestions, and contribute. Of the then-25 organisations, 19 organisations attended, 10 projects were pitched, and over 16 emerging collaborations were seeded. Many residents noted that the day felt different, because the event was not about competition, but surfacing synergies.
The projects that followed (a total of 10 of them) reflected the breadth of issues within the community. Through a process of guidance and co-creation, many residents are now running pilot projects supported through the fund, with the Foundry providing the scaffolding.
Kopi Teh Makan (KTM) is a nine-month vocational programme that responded to the “post-18 cliff effect” experienced by youth with autism, when these young adults lose access to support after graduating from Special Education (SPED) schools. Led by Ray of Hope (ROH) in partnering with Flour Power and Foundry, eight youth are equipped with practical F&B skills, supported by job coaching and 24 workplace deployments – including at the Foundry itself.
Beyond traditional funding, Foundry gave this partnership confidence, a space to train, as well as a wider platform to share their story. In November, RoH, in partnership with Hatch through FFF, will premiere a series of short videos on the programme, engaging corporate partners to create even more micro-employment opportunities for the youth.
In the seniors’ space, Boxgreen and SanCare Asia launched Chocolate & Harmonies – A Tasty Tune-Up, a six-month pilot for 60 seniors. Though both organisations had been working in the senior space, they had never crossed paths until Foundry seeded the connection through FFF.
Combining SanCare Asia’s ability to connect personally with seniors and Boxgreen’s expertise in food-making, the pilot activated seniors’ psychomotor skills, created opportunities for social interaction, and tested flexible micro-jobs that brought both dignity and supplementary income to the participating seniors. It was a co-created solution they could not have built alone, and an example of how Foundry can help break silos to spark fresh approaches to shared challenges.
Bullying, too, became a shared cause. Through FFF, the Character and Leadership Academy (CLA) convened multiple partners including Within Studios, VintageRadio.SG, Bettr Coffee, Hatch, and Daoist Care Foundation to create Take A Stand, a campaign and programme tackling physical, verbal, social, and cyberbullying. The initiative aims to reach 300 youth, 100 educators, and 150 parents, by equipping each group with tools and skills to prevent and respond to bullying.
Each partner brought something distinct to the project: VintageRadio.SG reached out to seniors who are also caregivers; Within Studios and Hatch supported the storytelling aspects; and Bettr Coffee offered space and networks. On World Mental Health Day in October, the project launched a short film at Foundry with Minister Edwin Tong in attendance – a moment that symbolised both collaboration and collective resolve against bullying.
Storytelling, when done with care, can be both powerful and healing. Through the Foundry Forward Fund, Impart partnered with Within Studios, Empower Ageing, and Kita to produce a docuseries – a collection of short films capturing the unseen struggles and triumphs of youth facing adversity and seniors living in isolation. Featuring three youths from Impart, two seniors from Empower Ageing, and one youth from Kita, the series is a cross-generational dialogue about resilience and hope.
Each organisation brought its strengths to the collaboration: Impart and Empower Ageing offered deep relationships with their communities, Within Studios lent its storytelling and production expertise, and Kita co-created the process with youth behind and in front of the camera. The result is more than a set of films — it is a shared act of empowerment. The stories will be released across media platforms, amplifying the voices of those often unheard while giving participants ownership of their narratives. Through this project and partnership, the residents not only humanises social issues but also reframes storytelling as a means for connection and dignity.
Beyond projects, co-creation also meant co-learning.
Residents consistently shared that effective capacity building must be contextual, practical and responsive – not broad and generic, as gleaned from the focus group discussions facilitated by Sattva Consulting.
This came through in sessions like the clinic with Cormac Russell on asset-based community development, where lessons were exchanged and adapted across contexts, rather than delivered as abstract theory. Shared learning extended beyond Foundry’s walls. Initiatives such as the Foundry Layered Trails took donors and partners into the surrounding neighbourhood, where conversations wove together residents’ experiences with the realities of the precinct. These encounters reminded us that Foundry is not a stand-alone hub, but part of the larger fabric.
Knowledge-sharing is not about importing ready-made solutions, but about co-creating insights in the community. By paying attention to the gaps, holding space for candid exchange, and embedding ourselves in the wider neighbourhood, Foundry is beginning to shape a role as a hub for co-created learning – a place where practice, reflection, and partnership come together for the benefit of the sector.
Co-creation takes many forms – from collective reflection to the tangible building of new ventures.
Artery, one of Foundry’s resident organisations, is a clear example of how shared space and shared practice can catalyse transformation. A newly registered nonprofit focused on the arts, Artery has grown rapidly within its first year – from registering formally as a charity, expanding its manpower, building up a board, and shaping its direction as a Y-Combinator for the arts. These steps were not taken in isolation, but were sharpened through everyday conversations in Foundry.
This included collaborations with various Enablers such as Within Studios on social media as well as Hatch’s apprenticeship programme that supported their website design, alongside the informal feedback loops that proximity to other residents made possible. Foundry did not just house Artery; it co-created the conditions for its growth.
In a similar vein, Bapa Hebat SG accelerated its growth within the Foundry community. From holding board meetings and community gatherings like Teh Tarik sessions in the space, to convening sector-level conversations such as the Strengthening Support for Post-Incarcerated Fathers Roundtable, Foundry became both their homebase and amplifier. Media features through Channel News Asia’s documentary, a 93.8FM Our Singapore Weekend Radio Show and video feature by Singapore Land Authority, Bapa Hebat grew their presence, helping the organisation step into its next phase with momentum.
Their story offers an example of how the combination of space, community, and concentrated support within Foundry can help catalyse exponential growth for organisations ready to take the next step.
This year, we learnt that co-creation can be both powerful and messy.
Co-creation begins with a certain readiness; that is, residents need space and capacity to receive, yet many of them are oftentimes caught in day-to-day firefighting and keeping their organisations afloat, constantly focusing on their bread and butter. Foundry houses the resources to create useful conditions for growth, but resources alone are never enough. What often matters is our willingness to sit with residents and deeply understand their direction and limitations, before intentionally connecting residents in ways that are meaningful rather than forced.
We also saw that some residents arrived with clear ideas ready to test, while others needed more time and scaffolding. For smaller teams especially, they are stuck in a chicken-and-egg cycle; they need bandwidth to grow, but not being positioned to create that bandwidth without first, growing. Through close conversations and contact with our residents, Foundry is uniquely positioned to witness their triumphs and also hold space – and co-create opportunities and solutions – for any potential struggles.
Social impact work is often presented as and perceived to be hopeful and successful. Yet, being at Foundry has allowed residents to share more vulnerably the hidden tensions behind the scenes.
From financial precarity to governance struggles to manpower and retention issues, residents have been able to articulate and discuss what is often kept behind closed doors.
Charities may appear strong and resilient on the outside, but the reality within organisations can be more complex. Foundry exists to hold these realities without judgment, as a space where residents can be honest, where tensions can be named, and where collective support can be mobilised. This vantage point is Foundry’s unique contribution to the sector: surfacing difficult realities so that solutions can be built on honesty rather than illusion.
In its first year, Foundry has shown what becomes possible when social impact organisations are given a true home. As we look ahead, the task now is to deepen roots and sharpen our story of impact – moving beyond counting activities to uncovering insights into how residents grow, how connections spark, and how these ripple outward into the wider the sector.
Looking ahead, we want to strengthen the conditions that allow organisations to thrive: creating more space for residents to lead and support one another, nurturing and deepening partnerships across sectors, and ensuring the Foundry remains a safe, vibrant place where collaboration feels natural.
At the same time, we will keep shaping a distinctive identity – one that reflects both trust and innovation, and invites others to journey with us in making social impact organisations stronger, together.
Better.sg is a volunteer-driven collective that harnesses technology for social good. By bringing together technologists, designers, and changemakers, they co-create digital tools addressing pressing societal issues. Their collaborative approach empowers social impact organisations to leverage tech solutions effectively, enhancing outreach and operational efficiency.
Hatch Mediahouse journeys with impact-driven organizations, serving as stewards of their brands through a full suite of marketing solutions with a focus on capability building. Their collaborative approach empowers businesses and nonprofits to effectively connect with audiences, amplify their messages, and create meaningful community impact in the digital landscape.
TalentTrust bridges the skill gaps in nonprofits by harnessing business expertise. They help nonprofits tackle their most pressing strategic challenges to deepen their impact in the community. Through their programmes, non-profit organisations can access talent in areas like strategy, marketing and communications, HR and finance.
We provide end-to-end project management, focused on upskilling and building organisational capabilities
Ray of Hope is a crowdfunding charity dedicated to addressing emerging and unmet needs in Singapore. They provide a safe and trusted platform where individuals in need can seek support, ensuring that no one is left behind.
Within Studios is a strategic communications design studio that helps organisations articulate their mission through compelling narratives and visuals. From branding to event design, they offer services that enhance visibility and engagement, enabling social impact organisations to connect more deeply with their audiences.
The Insights & Strategy (I&S) team drives Majurity’s research, evaluation, and strategic work across our core focus areas. They translate insights into action by shaping fund strategies, conducting research and MEL studies, building sectoral capability, developing partnerships, and amplifying our learning. The team plays a key role in helping Majurity and our partners make evidence-informed decisions that deliver real-world impact.
Non-Profit Legal Services (NLS) at Pro Bono SG is committed to helping the social impact sector, including all charities, ground up initiatives and social enterprises, gain access to legal assistance.
Forum for the Future is an international sustainability nonprofit committed to shaping transitions towards a just and regenerative future.
With a focus on systems thinking, applied futures, and design for transformation, Forum for the Future enables systemic collaboration among businesses, governments, and civil society.
Rooted in the belief that today’s challenges require collective solutions, it works to create innovative pathways that make sustainability not only possible, but inevitable.