The King Khaled Foundation (KKF), in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), hosted on Wednesday their first interaction with leaders of various Saudi foundations to help boost their social welfare work in the Kingdom.

Speaking on the occasion, Princess Banderi Abdulrahman Al-Faisal, KKF’s director general, said the event was important because it would help improve the capacity of these organizations.

She said the aim is to align their efforts, which would prevent overlap and repetition. “We hope to encourage such collaboration and partnerships, to improve collective impact.” She said this would improve efficiencies in the non-profit sector in general.

A KKF source told Arab News that the two organizations would seek to provide a networking platform for Saudi foundations with the BMGF. This meeting would be followed by a week-long visit to the BMGF’s headquarters in Seattle, where there would be interaction with some of its leading donors.

“We look forward to this meeting with the KKF because it is the first in a series of engagements on working to further develop and advance the philanthropic sector in the Kingdom,” said Joe Cerrell, managing director of donor government relations at BMGF.

“There will be a great deal of expertise and experience in the room and it’s exciting to think of the potential impact that better collaboration and knowledge-sharing can have on improving the lives and livelihoods of the poor.” KKF announced its partnership in November 2014 with the BMGF, the largest donor foundation in the world, to initiate multiple programs that would benefit local and regional communities.