As many as 61 charitable organizations from different countries of the Arab world feature in the raking of the Middle East list of “Forbes” this year (The Most Transparent Charities in the MENA Region), for the second consecutive year. The total revenue for the contributing charitable organizations reached $564.4 million, while the total payments on charity projects were $428.8 million.
This year’s results were slightly greater than last year’s number of charities involved, as demonstrated through the geographical distribution analysis. KSA dominated the ranking this year with 19 charities making the list, Palestine followed in second place with 13 charities, while Jordan and the UAE ranked joint-third with 6 charities each. Lebanon remained in the fourth place with 5 charities, followed by Kuwait that occupied the top two spots in the list. Bahrain and Sudan shared the sixth spot in the ranking with two charities each, and finally, Tunisia and Egypt both ranked seventh with one charity each.
It is important to mention that Egypt and Sudan made it into the list for the first time.
Khuloud al-Omian, editor in chief of Forbes Middle East, stated that although the growth rate was low, “I still believe that we are on the right path towards greater transparency and bigger number of charities that are willing to disclose their financial statements in this sensitive sector.”
Omian added that “this year’s list excellently demonstrates the charities’ quality activities, where new charities joined the list for the first time. These charities operate with high levels of proficiency and under solid frameworks. Moreover, some of them have achieved diplomatic status in a large number of countries, facilitating the work of these charities that have become charitable organizations with substantial budgets, operating around the world with full transparency.”
Forbes Middle East will reveal the list on Monday during an evening of Ramadan festivities. Organizers and representatives of charity organizations from across the Arab world, will attend the planned ceremony.
It is clear that last year’s list of transparent charities that Forbes had launched during the holy month of Ramadan was fruitful because of the greater number of charities participating this year in terms of quality and quantity that outnumbered last year’s list, which featured 54 charitable organizations. This growth indicates a positive shift towards promoting the transparency in charitable activities.
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