Abdul Wahab Noor Wali, professor at King Abdul Aziz University and former assistant secretary-general of World Assembly of Muslim Youth, also underlined the need for strengthening relations among charity societies, their sponsors, beneficiaries and the media. He made the remarks while presenting a working paper at the second forum of charity societies organized by Suleiman Al-Rajhi Foundation here yesterday.
Opening the forum, Saeed Al-Ghamdi, director of the Social Affairs Ministry’s branch in the Eastern Province, said that there are 623 charity societies in the Kingdom and they have benefited from SR 230.59 million in financial support from the government.
Officials and representatives of more than 250 charity societies from various regions of the Kingdom are taking part in the event with the theme of “Financial sustainability of charity societies: Concepts and applications.”
Al-Ghamdi said the charity societies in the Kingdom are receiving all support from the government. “The Kingdom’s government is fully aware of the significance of charity work and its role in development as well as in realizing economic and social integration, in addition to uplifting the standard of life and work environment,” he said.
Addressing the event, Suleiman Al-Zakari, executive chairman of the foundation, said the main objective of the forum is to strengthen the concept of financial sustainability and its significance in the charity field. He said that charity societies from Makkah, Madinah, Jazan, Asir, Najran and Baha provinces will take part in the third forum to be held this year.
In his speech, Muhammad Al-Khamis, director of the department for charity work at the foundation and chairman of the supervisory commission for the financial sustainability fund, said that charity societies collect about 90 percent of their resources through government funding and donations from the public while the remaining 10 percent from the revenues of their assets. He noted that this information was based on a field study, carried out by the research and studies center at the foundation on 30 charity societies in the Kingdom. Speakers at the forum’s first session titled “Financial sustainability: Concepts and definitions” highlighted the significance of diversifying the financial base of charity societies.
