JEDDAH — The Ministry of Social Affairs is committed to provide aid to charity organizations. But it wants them to develop new methods to be self-sufficient, said an official. Relying on government and public donations shall be substituted by generating budget through waqf and sustainable development projects, said Abdullah Al-Tawi the head of the ministry's branch in Makkah. The ministry, he said is “honored” to be serving charity organizations but they are hoping that such organizations can find different means of income, not restricted to generating donations, Al-Tawi told Saudi Gazette. The official added that the ministry has recently organized a sustainable development event for charity organizations “to encourage them to think of new financing methods and several of them are moving in this direction now.” A recent study revealed that 90 percent of charity organizations rely on government and public charities, while 94 percent of social development societies rely on such donations. The study conducted by Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Charity Association warns that such dependency on donations is threatening the future of these organizations because donations are affected by the economic, social and political factors. The study included 74 charity organizations. Muhammad Al-Khamis, head of the supervising commission for the Financial Development Fund, said his agency was seeking to provide aid to charity organizations in the Kingdom with a total capital of SR100 million. The fund, said Al-Khamis, provided 19 loans to charity organizations with a total of SR40 millions. The fund also organizes workshops to aid charity organizations to have feasibility studies for sustainable development projects.
