A desire to fulfil a social duty to the wider community led to more than 1.3 billion people worldwide to donate money to charity in 2012, according to the World Giving Index. As the third pillar of Islam, Zakat prescribes the payment of a fixed proportion of a Muslim's assets for the welfare of the entire community. The Integrated Regional Information Networks, launched by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, has estimated that somewhere between US$400 billion and $1 trillion are spent in Zakat as well as voluntary charity, or Sadaqa, across the Muslim world every single year. A desire to fulfil this duty, and a sense of responsibility by people from all faiths, means the Arab World has a thriving sector of charitable initiatives and organisations.
Many of these not-for-profit organisations have characteristics akin to leading corporates in the Middle East and North Africa. They can employ large numbers of people, and are responsible for vast sums of money donated to them with their donors' trust that these sums will be used ethically towards their prescribed charitable goals. However, due to the distinct absence of formalised governance requirements requiring not-for-profits and charities to deliver robust annual reports in our region, many do not formally report in a structured manner, if at all, and as such their commitment to good governance is left unsaid.
Strong governance enables all organisations to respond effectively and quickly to emerging risks and therefore greatly increases their chances to effectively deliver their prescribed objectives. The principles of best business practice are applicable to all types of organisations, from public and private firms to not-for-profit organisations, including charities.
As a not-for-profit itself, the Pearl Initiative is very familiar with the trials and tribulations of registering these types of organisations in the GCC. Aside from securing a Royal Decree, which in itself is an option only available to very few, official registration required to formally recognise a not-for-profit in most GCC countries can take many years to achieve. In the UAE, for example, the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities provides licences to organisations operating within Dubai, but it can take many years to complete this process. It is therefore vital that we explore the imposition of a simple, formalised registration processes for non-profits and charities across the GCC.
We could look to other parts of the world to see how other jurisdictions register their not-for-profit entities: In the UK, for example, there are four clear steps which enable the relevant authorities to collect the applicable information to demonstrate the public benefit for the charities' existence in order for it to qualify. Typically it takes five weeks to complete this process. The ease of this system perhaps explains why there were 163,361 charities registered in the UK as of September 2013. According to the National Centre for Charitable Statistics, in the US there were 1,424,918 registered non-profits which collectively held $2.87tn in assets at the end of 2011. These examples are in contrast to only a few hundred registered non-profits across the whole of the GCC.
The lack of streamlined procedures in most of the Gulf region to properly register not-for-profits means that in the meantime their founders are left with no option (save to completely cease operations) but to operate unofficially while being virtually ungoverned. It is therefore left to the founders of these entities to ensure that they live by the ethics on which their organisations were founded. To do this, they must strive to use essential governance tools, such as robust and clear annual reports, to manage and communicate their activities transparently and more effectively. Doing so, will build greater trust with their benefactors, generating greater chances to attract further support.
Good governance in general must by definition be transparent and open, encouraging trust within, and of, an organisation. It extends far beyond mechanics such as board composition and the frequency of committee meetings. It should be weaved, as a premise, through every aspect of an organisation; its people, culture, and its public face. However, these fundamental governance principles are all too often regarded as time-consuming and difficult and therefore passed over in the pursuit of the organisational objectives. Working specifically for the public benefit, however, the not-for-profit sector is arguably in a position of even greater responsibility and therefore has a unique opportunity to demonstrate good governance, setting the tone and showing best practice for others to follow.
In terms of upholding the precious reputation of the charitable sector, being seen to adhere to good governance principles is no less important than the practice of good governance itself. Without the trust of those supporting the charity, the entity simply cannot exist. In the UK, for example, poor governance and basic failures in trusteeship featured in some 85 per cent of cases of charities which were shut down by the UK's Charity Commission.
There is a growing recognition across the Gulf that businesses should be "held to account"; that the social responsibility they choose to practice should be mandatory, and not optional. With non-profits, accountability is not just about satisfying the reporting appetite of existing and potential funders. It is about the organisation taking responsibility to embrace practices that will inevitably enable it to scale. It is the Government's role to set the regulations we all follow, but it is up to individual organisations across the GCC to create positive social and environmental impact, beyond legislation; and this must propagate from the examples set by business and by civil society. The value-driven objectives of most non-profits and charities mean they have a robust ethical foundation. Good governance in these organisations is therefore not an added bonus; it's at the heart of what makes them successful.
Badr Jafar is the chief executive of the UAE's Crescent Group, and the founder of the Pearl Initiative
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
The specs
Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre
Power: 325hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh189,700
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
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What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/