To address the needs of some low-income families who are unable to co-pay for the subsidised computer bundle under the NEU PC Plus programme, the iNSPIRE Fund is available since November 2007 to offer this group an extra helping hand. The fund complements the NEU PC Plus programme to ensure that no households with school-going children are denied a computer due to financial difficulties. The needy students can render 6 to 12 of hours of community service, such as helping out at old folks and children's homes, in order to receive a fully-paid desktop PC through IDA's subsidy and the iNSPIRE Fund.
The iNSPIRE Fund applicants who are aged below 15 (Sec 2 and below) will need to perform six hours of community work, while those aged 15 years old and above (Sec 3 and above) will need to do 12 hours. The community service records must be endorsed by their teachers or the staff of the voluntary welfare organisations which they service and sent to the Singapore Children's Society for processing.
IDA will contribute $2 for every $1 that is drawn down from the iNSPIRE Fund. The iNSPIRE Fund is expected to assist approximately 4,000 students from needy households over the next four years whose total monthly income is below $1,500 or per capita monthly income less than $300.
The corporate donor for the iNSPIRE Fund is Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF), who have collaborated with the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre to promote volunteerism using SiTF's V-Fund, a fund set up to promote volunteer initiatives. Maybank has also pledged its support.
Overview of NEU PC Plus and iNSPIRE FUND Application Criteria
| Total monthly household income |
Less than $2,000 |
Less than $1,500 |
| Per capita monthly income |
Less than $500 |
Less than $300 |
Fill in the Appendix 4 of the main application form, ask your school teacher or principal to fill in the recommendation section and submit Appendix 4 together with your NEU PC Plus main application form to your school.