Singapore Buddhist Federation

What Singapore Buddhist Federation does

Singapore Buddhist Federation (新加坡佛教总会, SBF) is a private non-profit religious and charitable umbrella organisation founded in 1949 and headquartered at 59 Lorong 24A Geylang, Singapore. Registered with the Registrar of Societies (ROS 0211/1949 REL) since 20 May 1964 and as a charity (Charity Registration: 00727) since 2 April 1990, it operates as the unifying body for Singapore's Buddhist community, serving 124 individual members and 117 institutional members (temples and Buddhist organisations) as of September 2022, and reaching over 4,300 students and participants through its affiliated schools, childcare centres, and Dharma programmes.

SBF's core offering is a portfolio of community services rather than a single product: it operates Maha Bodhi School (a government-aided SAP primary school, 2,200+ students, founded 1949) and Manjusri Secondary School (government-aided secondary, 1,000+ students, founded 1982), together with Prince Siddattha Child Care Centre (110+ children, Bukit Batok) and Marine Parade Maha Bodhi Student Care Centre (70+ students, joint with Southeast CDC). It runs Chinese and English Dharma classes established in 1987, the SBF Youth Group (120+ members) and SBF Dharma Class Students' Society (300+ members), the quarterly Nanyang Buddhist journal in circulation since 1969, the Serene Heart Counseling Room jointly with Singapore Buddhist Free Clinic, prison chaplaincy services, and Buddhist marriage solemnization. Technology footprint is minimal — a WordPress website and Facebook pages — with no proprietary software products, apps, or APIs.

SBF's business model is donation-monetised: it relies on contributions from Buddhist devotees and members to fund welfare activities and education programmes, with supplementary revenue from venue rental to institutional members and journal sponsorship/advertising. Most services (Dharma classes, Sunday school, the journal, counselling) are provided free of charge; venue rental and school fees are charged at published rates, and government grants (notably an MCCY-funded 18-month governance consultancy pilot in 2010-2011 and NCSS VCF grants) have historically subsidised selected programmes. SBF is governed by an elected Council led by President Venerable Seck Kwang Phing and operates actively on national inter-religious bodies, including the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony and the Inter-Religious Organisation of Singapore.

Name

Singapore Buddhist Federation

Legal name

Singapore Buddhist Federation

Website

https://buddhist.org.sg

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Singapore Buddhist Federation (新加坡佛教总会) is a 1949-founded non-profit umbrella body for Singapore's Buddhist community, operating government-aided schools, childcare centres, Dharma classes, the quarterly Nanyang Buddhist journal, charity and prison chaplaincy programmes, and serving 117 institutional and 124 individual members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious and Charitable Community Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (813110)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Religious & Spiritual Festivals/Observances (Public Events) (MPAGAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Buddhist Monastic Universities & Dharma Colleges (EDAHAKAK), Campus Spiritual & Religious Life (EDALAHAI)

Keywords

• Religious community services
• Charity welfare programmes
• Buddhist education
• Childcare student care
• Community publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: The Federation relies on donations from Buddhist devotees and members to support its operations, educational institutions, and charitable activities including disaster relief and welfare programs.
2. Venue Rental: Rental of Federation hall and classroom facilities to institutional member organizations for Dharma-related activities.
3. Publication Sponsorship: The quarterly Nanyang Buddhist journal is funded through sponsorship and advertisement revenue, distributed free of charge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Singapore Buddhist Federation is a non-profit umbrella body that unifies Buddhist institutions in Singapore and delivers Dharma classes, government-aided primary and secondary education, child care and student care services, charitable welfare programmes, prison chaplaincy, Buddhist marriage solemnization, and the quarterly Nanyang Buddhist journal. Most programmes are delivered free of charge, funded by donations, with venue rental and publication sponsorship providing supplementary revenue.

Product overview

Singapore Buddhist Federation (SBF) operates as a unified portfolio of Buddhist community services rather than a single product. The core offerings include: (1) Nanyang Buddhist Magazine, a quarterly publication since 1969; (2) Educational institutions comprising Maha Bodhi School (primary) and Manjusri Secondary School (secondary), both government-aided SAP schools; (3) Dharma Classes offering Chinese and English Buddhist education for adults, children, and Sunday School; (4) Community services including Prince Siddattha Child Care Centre and Marine Parade Maha Bodhi Student Care Centre; (5) Charity and welfare programs including bursaries, disaster relief, prison chaplaincy, and Serene Heart Counseling Room; (6) Buddhist solemnizer services; and (7) Hall rental facilities for member organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nanyang Buddhist: Quarterly journal published by SBF since 1969
• Maha Bodhi School
• Manjusri Secondary School

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 4,300 students served through affiliated schools and childcare centers
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• National Council of Social Service (NCSS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Accredited training provider for Board Governance Training for Charities (Mandarin) with 80% VCF (Voluntary Welfare Organisations-Charities Capability Fund) Grant.
• Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010100% grant funding for 18-month pilot project on Governance Consultancy Service for Buddhist Charities from Oct 2010 to Dec 2011.
• Southeast Community Development Council (CDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999Joint project partner for Marine Parade Maha Bodhi Student Care Centre established in 1999, providing before-and-after school care service for local residents.
• Southwest Community Development Council (CDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1995Partner in establishing Prince Siddattha Child Care Centre in Bukit Batok since 1995, providing community childcare services.
• Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) of SingaporecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBF participates actively in IRO alongside other religious organizations to promote religious harmony in Singapore.
• Presidential Council for Religious HarmonycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBF is an active member contributing to national religious harmony efforts.
• National Steering Committee on Racial and Religious HarmonycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBF participates in national committee working on racial and religious harmony coordination.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/352121221594281
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/singapore-buddhist-federation

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Singapore Buddhist Federation