General Authority for Awqaf

The General Authority for Awqaf is a government body with independent legal and financial status, established by a resolution of the Council of Ministers in 2010. It is organizationally affiliated directly with the Prime Minister and aims to regulate, preserve, develop, and enhance endowments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is to fulfill the conditions set by the endowers and to boost their role in economic and social development and social solidarity, in accordance with the objectives of Islamic Sharia and laws.

The endowment sector in the Kingdom has undergone several stages of organization and regulation. It all began in 1961 with the establishment of the Ministry of Hajj and Endowments, followed by the issuance of the Supreme Council of Endowments Law in 1966. Subsequently, the Charitable Endowment Act was issued in 1973. Later, the responsibility for endowments was transferred to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Dawah, and Guidance in 1993. This continued until the resolution by the Council of Ministers to establish the General Authority for Awqaf in 2010, with its law approved on December 9, 2015.

The General Authority for Awqaf bases its strategy on being the primary enabler for the endowment sector, and a supporting entity for achieving Saudi Vision 2030. This is achieved through contributing to meeting community needs and directing endowment funds towards programs and initiatives that benefit the community. Additionally, the strategy involves developing the endowment sector and empowering it to achieve financial sustainability by enhancing governance through the issuance of legislative regulations tailored to meet these needs.

The General Authority for Awqaf also takes on the responsibility of regulating, inventorying, registering, and preserving endowments, as well as undertaking related procedures that contribute to their development in accordance with the conditions set by the donors. This supports their role in social and economic development and social solidarity. Additionally, the authority works on diversifying income sources for non-profit entities, attracting new endowers, and raising awareness about the sector and its significance, thereby contributing to the development of the endowment business environment.

The General Authority for Awqaf works to achieve its strategy through five pillars, which include:

*Developing the regulations and governance for the endowment sector, achieving several targets including the issuance of regulations for the management of endowments, rules for reporting unknown endowments, rules for creating endowment investment portfolios, and rules for addressing violations.

*Directing banks to community-beneficial programs and initiatives, where the authority has established several portfolios to meet developmental community needs, including: The Guests of the Merciful portfolio to serve those visiting the Holy Mosques, including pilgrims, Umrah performers, and visitors. The use of modern technology to meet the conditions set by endowers. A special portfolio for the restoration and maintenance of mosques. Various other portfolios are linked to key sectors such as environmental and water projects, housing, and education.

*Developing the endowment sector, aiming to raise awareness of its importance in economic and social development, and to develop the endowment work environment.

*Diversifying income sources, through initiatives and programs aimed at achieving growth and financial sustainability, thereby enhancing its financial resources.

*Enhancing institutional excellence, which includes building institutional capacities for the authority and establishing the development of internal governance framework.

The General Authority for Awqaf launched the Awqaf Investment Company to serve as the investment arm of the authority. It is established as a closed joint-stock company that contributes to the development of endowments, enhancing the efficiency of their investments, and ensuring the sustainability of their returns.

The investment arm of the General Authority for Awqaf works to enhance investment mechanisms for the endowments under its management. It focuses on diversifying the investment portfolio, improving the investment strategy, and efficiently managing and operating the endowments to benefit the endowment purposes. It also develops innovative investment products tailored to meet the needs of the non-profit sector. The investment arm also contributes to empowering and attracting new investments and strategic partners for the non-profit sector. The company offers services in managing and marketing endowment properties, investing in and developing real estate for endowments, investing in financial instruments and products, and providing consulting and studies specific to investment in the endowment sector.

The General Authority for Awqaf has developed the components of the endowment sector by establishing the Awqaf Riyadah Center. The center aims to empower the endowment sector and build its capacities in knowledge and research, enhance developmental impact, and develop the components of the endowment regulation through research advancement, data sets, and solution offerings. This initiative strives to fulfill the aspirations of the endowment sector in the Kingdom and maximize the impact of endowments using knowledge-based standards.

The center also takes on knowledge management in the endowment sector, supporting continuous knowledge exchange and international presence, enhancing institutional and community awareness, and contributing to attracting new endowers. This is achieved through endowment-specific research and studies, proposals for regulations and policies, specialized knowledge training and publishing, dissemination of periodic reports, hosting seminars and scientific conferences, and developmental solutions and products.