Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation Registers Outstanding Performance in 2014

• Foundation Currently Manages Assets Valued at AED2.5 billion, Oversees 1,837 Waqf Units and Accounts for AED26 Million in Donations
• Identifies New Ways of Raising Funds in 2015 via Electronic Applications and Donation Stands in Malls

Dubai-UAE: 14 June, 2015 -  Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) registered an exceptional performance in 2014 with a significant increase in its managed assets and donations, as well as the waqf units under its purview, today announced His Excellency Tayeb Al Rais, Secretary General of AMAF.

Briefing media representatives at AMAF’s headquarters in Al Nahda area, His Excellency Tayeb Al Rais, said: “The total assets that AMAF manages today amount to AED2.5 billion, compared to only AED200 million when the Foundation was established a decade ago. Also, while we managed 1,025 waqf units in 2006, today we are handling 1,837 such units with revenues from the units reaching AED88 million. These revenues are the backbone of our waqf expenditures, and reflect our success in promoting the vital role of waqf in the society.”

He added: “AMAF managed to raise AED26 million in donations in 2014 compared to only AED9 million in 2013. The donations came from six different sources. Direct donations in 2014 were valued at AED23.7 million, while AMAF’s donation boxes raised a further AED9,47,000. In addition, SMS donations contributed AED2,89,000, and donation vouchers brought in AED4,05,000. Government entities added further value by donating AED2,50,000 to AMAF, with the total tally shored up with an allocation of AED3,24,000 by Noor Bank.”

Al Rais revealed that the Foundation has also identified and adopted two new ways to raise donations in 2015 - via AMAF’s electronic application process and the donation stands/kiosks embedded within high-footfall malls in the emirate. Al Rais commended the altruistic gesture of two of the donors - the late Hamel Al Ghaith and Ahmad Al Ansari - who donated five land banks valued at AED56 million to the Foundation to establish waqf buildings.

At the meeting, Al Rais elaborated that AMAF has also obtained ownership of 80 new waqf units in 2014 that were not registered in its records previously following arbitration procedures by Dubai Courts. The Foundation additionally received 23 new units from the Dubai Land Department.

Tayeb Al Rais explained that AMAF has allocated the total funds of AED38 million generated across diverse waqf expenditures. Expenditure on Islamic affairs was awarded AED32.6 million, accounting for lion’s share of the revenue. The rest was equitably distributed among social affairs, education, healthcare, and to support righteousness and piety.

Commenting on the global waqf assets, Al Rais said:  “The total value of global waqf assets exceeded US$1 trillion in 2014. Several organizations and corporations manage these assets through multiple asset models in the UAE and in countries such as the United states and Australia. AMAF will train its focus on leveraging a sustainable asset management model to expand its operations in this critical area.”  

During his meeting with media personnel, Al Rais reiterated AMAF’s ongoing endeavors to offer innovative ways to meet the social and humanitarian needs of society and evolve as a global model in developing the waqf concept. He pointed out that the Foundation will focus on education and healthcare in the coming years in line with the Dubai Government vision and the national agenda of the UAE Vision 2021.

Among AMAF’s key projects in 2014, Al Rais said the Foundation had successfully launched the Green Mosque, which is the first eco-friendly mosque in the Islamic world, and the Family Village project, a first-of-its-kind project for orphans in Dubai and the Middle East. Family Village is a sustainable project with five commercial and residential waqf buildings funding the project’s operations. The waqf-donated buildings help generate sustainable revenue streams to enable AMAF to achieve complete financial independence for the day-to-day operations of the Family Village.

Al Rais added that the Salma relief project that was launched during the Holy Month of Ramadan last year by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai was selected by the UN’s World Food Programme to distribute 200,000 halal certified, nutritious meals to victims of war and natural disasters around the world by the end of 2014.