Herman De Bode, MD, McKinsey & Company, said that 90 percent of the philanthropy in the Kingdom is not properly directed and the right cause should be assessed before extending contributions.
While Tariq Cheema, founder of World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists, said philanthropy should be part of the school curriculum so that children get motivated to make contributions from their younger days. It also has to be similarly introduced at higher education levels to encourage students to major in it and thus be professionals in the field. "We cannot ignore the role of manpower needed for the purpose, which can be achieved through education," said Cheema calling for the need to close the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
Cheema agreed that the GCC was the most generous part of the world but had limitations due to government, corporate and individual concerns.
"Yet we need to address more issues including education and the environment," he said. As to cooperation from external charities, he remarked, "We are dealing with the pressure of negative image that Arab giving is not great. This is not the case. We also have to address how we give to the poor and interact with them."
He thought society needed shift in mindset and revisited charity. It might be done through two or three channels - education, for example. "We must introduce young people to the idea of charity and away from gadgets."
Arabian philanthropy traditionally has a swift turnover of money to charitable causes; it affects sustainability and analysis of impact, said another expert.
Saudi Arabia and the GCC are world leaders in being charitable, giving larger proportions of their GDPs earmarked for charitable purposes than elsewhere.
Humayon Dar, managing director, BMB Islamic, emphasized that giving is deeply rooted in Islamic DNA and very important, but giving in a responsible way was more important.
"In Islamic societies, there is a lot of giving and it is motivated by belief purposes. It comes into the system and leaves very quickly. However noble this is, it does not help sustainability." He said he knew charities raise millions of dollars yet have no money. "I believe that sustainability aspect is very important."
Dar felt it vital to introduce a system, perhaps based on Western money management practice, into charities thus ensuring the accumulation of long-term assets and that this would ensure that there would be long-term sustainability for the charity. "There is a need to bring new models to management."
Herman De Bode, managing director, McKinsey and Co., Riyadh Office, noted that the US devoted two percent of its GDP to charitable aid and acknowledged that the Gulf states accounted for a much higher percentage. Saudi Arabia currently stood at around five percent.
"However, it is not how much you give but what you do with it and how effective it is," he said.
He added that 90 percent of Saudi giving was unfocused. "It is most important to look at what the impact is; what is the reach and relevance, and to establish that you have to focus." They should focus on one or two specific destinations.
Charitable giving, thought Bode, was about complexity and focus. "Ninety percent is dispersed. Why not make sure that 85 percent (of the gross) goes into particular areas, use professional management and measure the impact?"
Antoine Bieler is regional humanitarian diplomacy advisor Medecin Sans Frontier, which has some 26,000 staff, and is the biggest medical humanitarian organization in world.
He noted that stringent quality control of staff and total independence from political connections or donations was a key factor in the success of the organization. He cautioned against a view sometimes taken by donors that every dollar gathered has to be spent on charity. About five percent of the total goes on the staff and was absolutely essential to implement the charity's work effectively.
"Key to our work is the lack of political connection, especially in sensitive areas," he said.
Session moderator Hani Khoja, cofounder and managing partner, Elixir Business Consultancy, told Arab News that a study covering 60 new Saudi graduates of both genders shows that they are more interested in gaining employment and follow a career path than choose philanthropy as a career. "They go for voluntary work only until they land a job," Khoja said, adding that graduates are not motivated to take up voluntary work due to the absence of salary structure.
According to Khoja, there is a need to transfer the charity work to associations that have management skills. This will help tackle unemployment among youth, he said, adding that voluntary work is the third sector that attracts employment in the United States.
