RIYADH — Releasing its annual report for 2016, King Khalid Foundation (KKF) has identified the most significant challenges faced by the nonprofit sector in Saudi Arabia. The report highlighted the important activities and achievements of the foundation and the projects it carried out in the past year. It underlined the need for institutionalizing the internal functions and structures of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the lack of specialized research on nonprofit activities in the Kingdom. The foundation's strategic programs and plans launched three years ago have been in line with the goals of the National Transformation Program 2020 and Saudi Vision 2030 toward increasing the contribution of the nonprofit sector and maximizing its role in a manner that brings about its institutional transformation, while also strengthening its support of social projects and programs, ensuring the real and effective growth of the nonprofit sector, and enabling its transition from pastoral to sustainable development roles, Princess Al-Banderi Bint Abdulrahman Al-Faisal said in her foreword to the annual report. According to Princess Al-Banderi, KKF witnessed in 2016 dynamic action on many levels, notably through supporting the capabilities of nonprofit organizations across three axes: training, empowerment and funding. These included a series of training programs targeting dozens of organizations in the Kingdom, and the funding of programs focused on enabling several nonprofit organizations to prepare strategic, operational and implementation plans primarily consistent with the output and objectives of the National Transformation Program and the Saudi Vision. The report stated that funding in excess of SR5 million was granted to 34 development projects and plans benefiting 4,192 citizens in various regions of the Kingdom. The foundation also provided more than SR10 million to six projects carried out under the "Our Youth, Our Future" program, which focused on qualifying 1,705 young men and women for the job market, in cooperation with the Human Resources Development Fund. Moreover, it financed eight nonprofit organizations with more than SR730,000 as part of a move to support the institutional development of nonprofit organizations in the Kingdom. The report gave the details of launching the Saudi charity fellowship program called Shaghaf, a collaboration between the King Khalid Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, seeking to qualify young Saudi leaders to work in the nonprofit sector in the Kingdom. It also addressed the study titled, "Corporate and Entrepreneurship Responsibility for Impact: An Overview of the Arab Region Practices", to understand the practices of local corporations with regard to responsible competition and entrepreneurship in participating countries. In 2016, KKF was awarded the Golden Standard by AccountAbility Consultancy, a specialist in sustainable development, for its conformity and consistency with the National Transformation Program 2020 and the Saudi Vision 2030.
