Arab Region
Despite some bumps along the way,
the economies of the Arab Region
have generally grown in the past
decade
GDP growth (%)
16%
Egypt
Jordan
Lebanon
11%
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
6%
1%
2000
-4%
2005
2010
2015
Domestic concerns take priority
93% of Jordanians and 90% of
Egyptians believe that their own
country’s problems are priority for their
leaders, compared with a global
average of 76%
Volunteering levels are mixed across
the region – they are higher in
Palestine than Jordan
% who are members (active or inactive) of voluntary organisations
Environmental organisation
20%
18%
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
Charitable/humanitarian organisation
18%
13%
3%
3%
1%
0%
Egypt
Jordan
Worldwide
People in the Arab Region are far less
tolerant of certain issues than in the
rest of the world, particularly AIDS and
gay rights
People in the Arab Region have more
confidence in charities than the rest of
the world does
35% of people living in the region
have a great deal of confidence in
charitable or humanitarian
organisations compared to 18%
worldwide
Internet is a good medium for
donations – online transactions are
common for those who use the
internet
95% of internet users in the UAE use
it for shopping compared to 84%
worldwide
Smart phone penetration is varied
across the Arab Region, but high in
parts
Smartphone penetration (2012)
Saudi Arabia
61%
UAE
60%
Egypt
-10%
26%
10%
30%
50%
70%
Thank you to Trajectory for providing the
data
Arab Region - Host
Atallah Kuttab
Founder and Chairman, SAANED, Jordan
Global Perspective Arab Region
Global context and trends of giving
Cultural traditions, religious norms, political histories & economic conditions
shaped charitable sector
Institutional philanthropy on the rise globally! Regional variety of factors but
key forces are the same
With growth of institutional philanthropy, gradual shift: from traditional
charitable giving  more strategic giving (for social change)
Cross sectorial Collaboration: key to broad & lasting impact and approach of
complex and entrenched challenges
Challenges to philanthropic growth and effectiveness are not insurmountable
Global Perspective Arab Region
Specific trends in Arab Region philanthropy
Philanthropic activities - highly influenced by religious traditions
Giving is structured through more institutionalized models for greater impact.
Trend: transition from individual generosity & charity to more strategic mode of
giving
Arabs in the Western diaspora serve their home country!
Establish foundations and provision of support to local actors
Arab Spring impact: diverse and shifting!
Dec. 2011 Consultation in Amman
Effort to build more Accountability and
Transparency in the Sector
December 2011
Consultation in Amman/Jordan
Dec. 2011 Consultation in Amman
Objective: Define what constitutes a good organization and how to
measure grantee satisfaction in addition to benchmarking
Attendees: lead philanthropy organizations from across the Arab
Region: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and United
Arab Emirates
All were informed of other efforts globally
Dec. 2011 Consultation in Amman
Key Elements of Accountability
Transparency
Decision Making
Frequency of measures/Evaluation
Responsiveness
Dec. 2011 Consultation in Amman
Key Organizational characteristics
Measures of Good organizations
Leadership/Governance
Results and Impact
Ambition / Innovation
Finances
Activities and Programs
People, Resources and Systems
Management / Efficiency
(Key questions were developed to assess each)
Dec. 2011 Consultation in Amman
Key Organizational characteristics
Measurement of Accountability to Grantees
Leadership/Governance
Selection process, approval process and support during implementation
Monitoring, reporting and evaluation
Non financial support
Legal restrictions on efficient and effective grant-making
An Online Questionnaire in Place
Survey Results
Arab Region
Accountability to Grantees
Being a responsive funder
What do grantees think of their funders?
29 Questions Survey (online)
Three grantmakers participated
50 Grantees participated
Scope
Examples
Does the grant meet the needs?
What is the value of the money?
What is the non financial value of the grant?
What is the level of comfort with the funder?
Selected findings
Here we are just giving a few findings to see you the kinds of
things that can be done
There is much more….
We can dig deeper into data
Look for relationships between ratings…
Large amounts of valuable data
Will enable you to get feedback on all important areas mentioned earlier
in absolute and comparative forms
Just a last example where one foundation doing well; others less well
Time taken to process application
Proportion satisfied: between date of application and
date money received
Funder no. 2
71
Funder no. 1
54
Funder no. 3
47
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Experiences from the Arab region
Palestine Children Relief
Fund (Palestine & Lebanon)
WAQFIYAT Al
MAADI (Egypt)
INJAZ (Jordan)
ROTA (Qatar)
Arab Human Rights
Fund (Pan-Arab)
Emirates Foundation
(Abu Dhabi_UAE)
Obstacles and challenges to philanthropy
Unfavorable legal & regulatory framework for philanthropy
Lack of reliable data and information
Low levels of trust & transparency in sector
Public perceptions regarding the role of philanthropy in relationship to the
role of the public sector and government
Difficult demonstrating impact and effectiveness of philanthropic giving