Khaled Al-Seraihy, director general of the International Research and Studies Center, said his organization had played a role in encouraging charities to implement electronic systems to collect donations.

“Most charitable societies and their donors have welcomed the use of electronic systems, which have been found to be safer and quicker,” Al-Seraihy said.

He said electronic systems would encourage donors to support charitable activities, as they would be able to maintain a list of charities in order to make annual or monthly donations.

A workshop on the system was held on Thursday with the participation of 80 officials from different charitable organizations, and with the partnership of Abdul Rahman Al-Rajhi Charitable Foundation.

“The workshop focused on how to make use of modern technology such as credit cards, cell phones, the Internet and e-mails in charitable activities, especially with regard to mobilizing funds for their programs and projects,” he said.

The workshop aimed to raise awareness among charitable organizations on the advantages of electronic facilities. “We reviewed the experiments of Western countries in the field and studied their pros and cons,” Al-Seraihy said.

There are more than 300 charitable organizations registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs, and most of them depend largely on donations of businessmen and other philanthropists for their revenue.