AED 120 Million In Charitable Activities In Dubai As Of Mid-November

The Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai (IACAD) announced that the total money collected from charitable activities in the emirate since the beginning of this year until mid-November has reached AED 120,969,067. According to the accomplishment report issued by the Charity Projects Department in IACAD, the number of charitable events that were organized during the same period clocked in at 701. Management inspectors, meanwhile, visited 491 events to verify compliance with regulations.

With regard to violations in fundraising, the report issued by the IACAD stated that 85 violations were uncovered during the reporting period, of which 60 were from non-conforming licensed charities and 25 were violations from other authorities. The value of the proceeds collected from violators amounted to AED 70,239, and the inspectors also confiscated 15 containers of in-kind donations.

Mr. Ahmed Darwish Al Muhairi, Executive Director of the Charity Sector, IACAD confirmed the Department’s continuous efforts to increase charitable work based on the objectives of Article 9 of the Fifty-Year-Charter launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Al Muhairi said: “In the Charity Sector, we work on a well-defined strategy that adopts the highest international standards when it comes to fundraising governance in the emirate. Our aim is to ensure transparency as a basis for charity work and thus encouraging donors and helping beneficiaries.”

The report, which covered the period from the beginning of the year until mid-November, indicated that the management team conducted 2,606 inspection visits across Dubai. The inspectors also visited 91 Ramadan tents out of 165, to ensure that regulations and provisions governing the work of these tents were applied. During this period, the department dealt with 67 complaints submitted through the call centre and social media. These reports included real violations as well as some fake reports.

Abdullah Mohammed Al Khabbi, Acting Director of Charity Projects Department, IACAD, noted that the management team is working on monitoring and supervising the charitable work in the emirate. The team of inspectors control fundraising violations related to donation containers, as well as follows the media, be it traditional, digital or social media, to monitor charitable activities and fundraising to ensure compliance with the law. Al Khabbi called on all those in charge of charitable activities to follow the laws when organizing such events. He noted that the rules facilitate fundraising and ensure transparency.

The charity sector in IACAD works with its government and private partners to undertake several initiatives that align within the objectives of Article 9 of the Fifty-Year-Charter. Some of these include the Zayed Dialysis Centre, Mudon Al Khair (Cities of Goodness), Clothing Bank project and the Meals of Hope initiative among others.