Hasanah Fund

Loading....

"Partnerships among donors will enhance collective output and help in reducing waste and overlap that occurs commonly in charitable operations."
Hon. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey

At its heart, Islamic microfinance is about financial inclusion, entrepreneurship and risk-sharing through partnership finance – an approach that conventional microfinance lacks.
Dato Sri Najib Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia

"The World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists came into being at a very critical juncture; it comes at a time when need to increase credibility, accountability, and capacity is paramount."
H.E Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC Secretary General

"In order to tackle the human dignity deficit and the democratic deficit, we must ensure that pushing political and civil frontiers becomes a key dynamic."
H.R.H. Prince EI Hassan bin Talal

"Now is the time to examine how we can metamorphose our generation-old culture of spontaneous, massive, personal generosity into planned philanthropic giving which can be a powerhouse of lasting change."
H.R.H. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, Qatar

"People need to see that, far from being an obstacle, the world's diversity of languages, religions and traditions is a great treasure, affording us precious opportunities to recognize our selves in other."
Youssou N'Dour, UN Goodwill Ambassador

"Islam's tradition of alms giving must be bolstered to be an effective bulwark against the misappropriation and misrepresentation of the faith"
Sheikha Aisha bint Faleh Al-Thani

"It is through Zakah, Infaq, Sadaqah and also Waqf we are supposed to bring the poor and the deprived out of the poverty and misery."
H.E. Muhammad Jusuf Kalla, Former Vice President of Indonesia

Hasanah Fund

The World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists (WCMP) has launched its first multi-donor giving circle—the “Hasanah Fund”—to develop and implement sustainable programs to combat global hunger, poverty and bad governance. Beginning in 2011, the Hasanah Fund aims to mobilize at least $100 million during a course of five years from philanthropies, foundations, corporations and governments to fund innovative programs in three focus areas:

• Food Security: With over a billion hungry people in the world—most of them farmers and agricultural laborers—there is an urgent need for sustainable programs through which poor people themselves can meet their basic needs for food, education, healthcare and a decent livelihood. The Hasanah Fund will partner with implementing agencies that can deliver effective and scalable solutions to the scourges of hunger, disease and illiteracy.

• Entrepreneurial Advancement: Innovation and creative partnerships across civil society, government and business can provide important solutions to a range of challenges experienced by the world’s poorest people. The Hasanah Fund will invest in ventures that promise new and effective ways for poor people to access economic opportunities and to shape policies that will contribute to their long-term well-being. The Fund will focus special attention on harnessing the potential of Islamic finance for supporting positive social change.

• Good Governance: In order for the world’s poor to engage more directly in the quest to end poverty, governments, corporations and civil society institutions must all be more transparent in their operations. The Hasanah Fund will invest in initiatives that enhance the participation of citizens in the promotion of responsive governance and help leverage the capacity of public and private institutions alike to scale up policies and programs that meet the needs of the world’s poor.

The launch of the Hasanah Fund is an important contribution to the concerted international effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, aimed at dramatically reducing global poverty by 2015. Through collaboration with multilateral organizations, governments, private enterprises and anti-poverty agencies, the Fund will allow investors to promote the most effective solutions and to evaluate the impact of their support. An independent board comprised of major benefactors of the fund will govern the Fund. This pooled fund will complement the efforts being undertaken by the sovereign Muslim states, the Organization of Islamic Conference and the Islamic Development Bank.

“The Hasanah Fund clearly demonstrates the enduring commitment of Muslim philanthropists to the social and economic uplift of the poorest people, irrespective of their race and religion,” says Dr. Sheikha Aisha bint Faleh Al-Thani, the chair of WCMP.

Hasanah Fund

Funds