Initiatives

Here are just some of the initiatives produced by, or in partnership with, the Philanthropy Age team.

Circle

CircleMena.org is a new online platform dedicated to strengthening the impact and effectiveness of philanthropy across the Middle East. The site aims to bring together MENA donors at all stages and from all sectors to connect and learn.

Circle’s carefully curated resources (available in both English and Arabic) combine practical insights with inspirational voices to help donors grow their knowledge, deepen their expertise, and explore new thinking around best practice and impactful giving. Whether through conversations with respected philanthropists, experts, and thought leaders or how-to guides and explainers, Circle gives funders the knowledge they need to take the next step on their learning journey.

The site also hosts the Circle Index, a new database profiling the Arab region’s leading foundations, philanthropists, nonprofits and social enterprises, and allowing you to search to see who is funding what and where.

Philanthropists and giving professionals with ties to the MENA region are invited to sign up to become a member of Circle to unlock access to additional content and invitations to exclusive events and networking opportunities.

Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative and has grant-funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Project Inspired

Project Inspired is an unprecedented collection of video interviews and case studies, drawn from conversations with some of the Arab region’s leading philanthropists, foundations and nonprofits. Offering the most comprehensive look yet at Arab philanthropy, Project Inspired shares insights, advice and best practices from the perspectives of experienced donors, with the aim of inspiring and encouraging impactful giving at scale.

Visit Project Inspired to learn more about how philanthropy is supporting sustainable change in the Arab region and beyond.

This initiative is supported by the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Arab Giving Survey

The Arab Giving Survey tracks the giving behaviours and preferences of Arab donors based in the GCC. Produced in conjunction with the global polling agency YouGov, the survey engages with both daily and high-net-worth donors to gain insight into their motivations and influences, and to monitor rising trends.

The findings offer detailed insight into public attitudes to giving in the GCC, offering charities, nonprofits and others the research needed to engage with – and expand – their donor base, and advance their strategies.

Coming soon: The Arab Giving Survey 2021.
How has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted giving? What drives next generation philanthropists? Explore these and other emerging trends in regional philanthropy with the next Arab Giving Survey, coming soon.

How to do good

How to do good is a collection of extraordinary personal stories from thought leaders, celebrities, statesmen and women, Nobel Prize winners, social entrepreneurs, philanthropists and others, all driving positive change.

Each contributor is making a difference in today’s challenged world: from European and Middle Eastern royalty, to a former US president who commands international respect, to one half of the world’s wealthiest couple and its highest-profile advocates for effective philanthropy.

The writers are Hollywood icons, heads of some of the world’s largest foundations, and leaders of key humanitarian bodies. They are successful business people and dynamic social entrepreneurs. They are everyday people doing truly extraordinary things.

Taken together, these exclusive essays and interviews show us all what can be achieved given vision and determination.