Up To AED 500,000 Each for Civil Society Organizations which Qualify for Grant Support

Abu Dhabi, November 21, 2011-- Starting today, the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy will be hosting a training workshop on social entrepreneurship to teach new project development skills to Emirati community members. The training workshop is being held in partnership with the Mubadala Development Company at Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai Festival City. It aims to train employees from various civil society organizations. Following the training course, participants will be invited to submit proposals to the Foundation for a grant to help them establish sustainable social projects.

The workshop will equip participants with entrepreneurship skills such as developing the Project's vision and mission, understanding stakeholders, project planning, and evaluation and monitoring.

Taking part in the training workshop are 30 employees representing a number of civil society organizations. Participants include: Sheikh Mohammad Bin Khalid Al Nahyan Cultural Centre, Arab Readers Centre, Ajman Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled at the Social Affairs Ministry, Fujairah Social Development Authority, Dubai Woman's Association, Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, Emirates Nursing Society, National Rehabilitation Centre and Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services.    

Once the three day training course is complete, the organizations will be invited to submit proposals to the Foundation for new initiatives that focus on young people and the challenges they face in UAE society. The project submitted will have to be sustainable, with applicants demonstrating that they have the business know-how to continue an initiative once the funding is complete.  The winners, selected by the Foundation and Mubadala, will then be awarded up to AED 500,000 each over two years to implement their ideas. 

 Dr Sabha Al Shamisi, the Foundation's Senior Executive Adviser for its Education and Social Development Programme, commented: "This programme reflects our commitment to build a strong civil society that can successfully address the challenges facing young people in the UAE. 

"By offering training as well as funding, we can ensure that civil society organizations possess the right skills to develop sustainable projects that will continue to serve our young people long after the funding has come to an end."

Amina Taher, Manager at Mubadala Development Company, said: "Mubadala is committed to supporting Abu Dhabi's community by building the skills and experience required to realize our leaders' vision for economic diversification and social development. Key to this is a strong and thriving entrepreneurial civil society - feeding into and underpinning much of the progress being made across the Emirate. We're therefore delighted to support this important initiative."

This is the second year in which the Foundation has offered social entrepreneurship training to civil society organizations. In 2010, the Foundation offered two training courses to develop entrepreneurship and awarded grants to three Emirati social entrepreneurs to travel to Egypt for a further training programme at the American University of Cairo.

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About the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy:
The Emirates Foundation is one of the UAE's foremost philanthropic organisations. It offers financial and technical support to projects that enrich the lives of people in the Emirates, particularly in the area of youth development.

The Foundation facilitates links between commercial businesses and the public sector to devise new projects and strengthen existing nonprofit initiatives throughout the country.  Its funding comes from programme-rated contributions and a capital reserve supported by the Abu Dhabi government and private companies.

Launched on April 12, 2005 by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, its Board of Directors is chaired by Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

For further information, please contact:
Abdullah Bani Ali
Senior Media Relations Officer
Tel: 971 2 4042814
Mob: (050-8192719)
E-mail: (abaniali@emiratesfoundation.ae).

© Press Release 2011