In line with the UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s decision of declaring 2017 as the “Year of Giving”, Al Rawabi Pure Drinking Water Company announced its participation in the Global Endowment Vision approved by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to revive endowment as a key community development tool. Al Rawabi Pure Drinking Water Company allocated part of its annual profits to the Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) on a quarterly basis.
As a licensed endowment entity under the new Endowment Law, Al Rawabi Pure Drinking Water Company has received the Dubai Endowment Sign from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy – a key member of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Initiatives, in recognition of its contribution to the community as a role model in the private sector.
As per the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, the Dubai Endowment Sign allows private entities holding this Sign, preference in the procurement of government contracts in Dubai.
His Excellency Tayeb Al-Rais, Secretary General of Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation, said: "We highly appreciate the contribution of the private sector in articulating the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to strengthen synergies among all economic and social components in the community to better support the culture of endowment and identify new ways of contributing to endowments.”
He stressed the importance of companies investing a percentage of their profits in projects that support the development process and benefit society. Al-Rais said: “We commend Al Rawabi for its decision to procure the Dubai Endowment Sign that serves as a fine example of innovation in CSR. We hope that this step will lead to similar initiatives that provide sustainable financial resources to serve those most in need while contributing to social solidarity and the greater well-being of the community.”
He added: "Since His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum approved the Endowment Law in Dubai, we have received many requests to register endowment institutions. These responses exemplify the perfect alignment of companies in the private sector with His Highness's vision.”
The innovative endowment is a sustainable community service that comes in coordination with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy. The concept of Innovative Endowment allows the creation of different types of endowments as a developmental tool through services, products, and others, and not limiting them to real estate assets, as in the traditional endowment.
Abdulla Abdul Rahman Abu Salem, Partner and Director of Al Rawabi Pure Drinking Water Company, said, "We fully believe in what the Innovative Endowment Project provides of great services to the community within the UAE. We have often followed the role of Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation and Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy in this respect. Therefore, we were keen to be a part of this initiative. The company has allocated a percentage of its annual profits to support some endowment projects in Dubai, in cooperation with the Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation because of its proven experience in allocating these amounts to the best endowment methods to serve the community."
Commenting on this, Dr. Hamad Al Hammadi, Secretary-General of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy, said, "This year witnessed many new and effective endowment initiatives in relation to the needs of the community, which comes in line with the vision and goals of the “Year of Giving” declared by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, which represents an opportunity for all private entities to adopt community contribution through the Innovative Endowment.
The Innovative Endowment becomes our clear strategy and approach to manage all projects whose public and private sector beneficiaries are keen to reach the greatest community benefit. At the Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy, we invite all private sector entities to participate in the Innovative Endowment because of our belief that the community contribution through the innovative endowment is with no limits, and can be shared by governmental and private entities to serve the community, regardless of their size. The participation of Al Rawabi Pure Drinking Water Company in the Global Endowment Vision is constructive. Moreover, the community needs that have been selected are important and have a significant impact."
The innovative endowment adopted by MBRGCEC serves to provide unlimited opportunities for government and private sector institutions. It works to advance the narrow definition of awqaf, hence the importance of the contribution of the public and private sectors which can devise initiatives that support the development of communities and meet various social needs. We believe that the contribution of the community through innovative endowments are unlimited and government and private sector institutions can participate in the service of the community regardless of the size of their contribution. Al Rawabi has become a partner in the community by contributing through the innovative endowment, and will be provided the Dubai Endowment Sign launched by His Highness.
The Secretary General of the Centre said that the website - www.MBRgcec.ae is ready to receive inquiries from all interested individuals and organizations wishing to obtain the Dubai Endowment Sign.
The Centre will also provide the necessary consultations to public and private institutions in promoting community contribution by the Dubai Endowment Sign, which helps build a range of community services that address the most important needs of the community through the active participation of institutions.
The Dubai Endowment Sign was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, as a key initiative of the Global Vision for awqaf and endowments. It highlights community participation by providing an opportunity to government and private sector institutions to participate in community service through innovative endowments in favor of the developing the community.
MBRGCEC will oversee the largest global initiative reviving endowments, including legislation and rules, products, and services. The new centre will work on the implementation of the Dubai awqaf and endowments strategy, and achieving the global vision by stimulating and empowering awqaf and endowments to meet the pressing social needs of people.
The centre will provide services to members of local, regional and global institutions at no cost to convert awqaf into one of the main catalysts of development in the Arab world. The centre will provide awqaf and endowment consultations according to international best practices, and consulting in awqaf and endowments deployment options to enhance the social impact for the benefit of the Arab people. The centre also works on knowledge management in the field of Awqaf and endowments through research, studies and the organization of conferences, workshops and partnerships, as well as capacity-building and raising the efficiency of employees working in this area.
Dubai's Global Vision of awqaf and endowments aims to revive endowments and transform Dubai into a global center that aids in serving humanity through eight enablers including a comprehensive strategy, a clear legislative environment, effective consulting, adopting global best practices in the creation and management of awqaf and endowments foundations, maximize impact through highlighting innovative social opportunities, monitor urgent social needs, and finally by stimulating awqaf and endowment through collective funding opportunities. These eight enablers work together in an integrated approach to achieve Dubai’s global vision in this area. These enablers address four strategic objectives, the first of which is to turn Dubai into a catalyst to serve the community through endowments and donations.
The second objective is to transform Dubai into a strategic regional hub to meet the social needs in the Arab world harnessing awqaf and endowments. The third objective is to transform Dubai into a source of global best practices for awqaf and endowments, while the fourth objective is to transform Dubai into a global center for research and expertise of awqaf and endowments.
The center utilises the Dubai Monitoring System for the social needs in the Arab world, a system created by the center for monitoring the most prominent social needs that can be met through awqaf and endowments. The system harnesses reliable global data sources to calculate and develop a heat-map of the most crucial needs in countries in the Arab world. The system data is updated periodically. MBRGCEC also provides consulting in this area to concerned local, regional and global institutions.
The centre has also developed a Best Practices Guide for awqaf and endowments that combines global best practices with practical examples of various international experiences in the creation and management of awqaf and endowment foundations. The guide explains formulations of strategic plans for organizations that operate in the field of awqaf and endowments customized based on the organizations’ needs, size and objectives. The guide also includes options for organizational structure, the general framework for setting priorities for projects to maximize social impact, investment management, performance indicators, as well as development operations. The centre provides necessary consultations for existing or yet-to-be-established awqaf and endowment institutions.