Foundation raises more than Dh1bn to fund social projects and support gifted pupils

More than Dh1 billion ($272.3 million) was raised by a local foundation to support social projects, including one designed to nurture gifted pupils.

Sandooq Al Watan is an Emirati social initiative funded privately by 130 donors, who have each contributed millions of dirhams in the past five years.

It is widely regarded as one of the region’s largest social investment funds.

One of the its aims is to identify and support Emirati pupils with some of the highest IQs in the world. About 10,000 youngsters have already benefited.

The majority of the money raised by the organisation is held in an endowment fund to ensure sustainability, said Mohamed Al Qadhi, a board member and former director general of Sandooq Al Watan.

“Today I can look at my donors and say: ‘I still have your money. And just from the interest generated because of your money, 10,000 residents have benefited,’” he said.

“Some have a degree, or have been identified as gifted and gone through hundreds of enrichment programmes.

“I can look at them [donors] and they know that their money will continue achieving an impact.”

Sandooq Al Watan, which translates as “Nation’s Fund”, was launched by Emirati businessmen in 2017.

The organisation runs programmes for adults and children, including a talent platform for future leaders and coding workshops for pupils aged 7 to 14.

To date, the organisation has identified and nurtured more than 355 gifted youngsters. The fund has also dispensed grants to 88 researchers, financed eight emerging technology start-ups and provided 10,000 laptops to support distance learning during the pandemic.

Mr Al Qadhi, also the executive director of strategy and foresight at Abu Dhabi Executive Office, said the outbreak did not affect investments.

He spoke at the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Ramadan Majlis on Monday in a talk titled, “For the greater good: innovations for more resilient global communities”.

“I do believe that one of the most important things for any social initiative is continuity and that is something that has been stressed by every stake holder,” he said.

“We need to make sure that we don’t just show up and disappear. We need to keep developing programmes, developing people and see them through from A to Z and expand.”

Fadi Ghandour, founder of Aramex and chairman of Wamda Capital, also spoke at the event and called for collaboration between community and corporate entities.

“The private sector has a key role in society beyond its core business, whether commercial services, processing or production,” he said.

“When we talk about social entrepreneurship, there must be integration and joint efforts between the two sectors, as we call it the ‘community sector’ and the ‘business sector’, to come up with solutions to challenges facing society.”