To serve as a non-profit platform aspiring to spot, recognise and empower CSOs, NGOs and NGIs of all races to achieve a resilient community
Social Hero Foundation (SHF) is a non-profit organisation based in Johor, established under Prime Minister’s Department Trustees (Incorporation) Act 1952 to sustainably carry out charitable activities, promoting national unity, racially integrated programmes and for the purpose of raising funds to ensure sustainability and continuity of the initiative.
Although Social Hero Foundation was established in 2019, the initiative actually began with the Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Awards (IMSHA)
in 2014 in partnership with Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), to spot, recognise and empower CSOs (civil society organizations), NGOs (non-governmental organizations), NGIs (non-governmental individuals) and Corporate entities who are making a difference in Malaysia irrespective of race, creed or religion. The awards are also intended to raise awareness on the need for all to share the responsibility of working towards a more inclusive, compassionate, and resilient society that works at providing relief to the members of public who are in need of it.
The 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was the Patron of IMSHA for 2014 and 2015 while former Deputy Prime Minister Tun
Musa Hitam was our Patron for 2016 and 2017. IMSHA no longer has any patron but the guest of honour for IMSHA 2018 and 2019 was YAM Tunku Temenggong Johor, Tunku Idris Al-Haj Ibni Sultan Ibrahim.
The programmes and activities are inclusive for all races, all areas of society and most importantly involve the youth and B40 and M40 segments. The winners are provided tools and education to better their organisations without any fees imposed.
After being recognised by the United Nations in Malaysia as a Good Practice SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Award Provider in 2019, the establishment of the foundation under the Trustees (Incorporation) Act 1952 was undertaken and successfully completed. The serving Trustees are volunteering their time and resources for the foundation.
Social Hero Foundation’s goal is to help create a resilient community that will help all segments of the society in Malaysia irrespective of race, creed or religion. We recognise Social Heroes via our Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Awards (IMSHA) programme. We provide the platform for NGOs, government agencies and the private sector to work together and solve social challenges more effectively. Our vision is to transform the nonprofit sector of Malaysia by equipping NGOs with skills and resources to achieve sustainability and greater impact. We provide internationally recognised capacity development trainings to empower NGOs/NGIs. We will also work on providing digital and data-based support to strengthen the presence and work of the civil society.
