A Royal Order transforms the national platform into the nonprofit Ehsan Charitable Foundation; a Board of Trustees chaired by Majid Al-Qasabi will lead its new phase following 440 million donations worth SAR 17 billion

Riyadh | BETH

A Royal Order was issued on Thursday, August 20, 2026, transforming the National Platform for Charitable Work, “Ehsan,” into an independent nonprofit institution named the Ehsan Charitable Foundation. The move transfers the initiative from a digital platform established and developed by a government agency into an independent institutional entity responsible for advancing digital charitable work and expanding its impact.

The foundation aims to connect donors with beneficiaries, offer diverse donation opportunities, enable individuals and companies to contribute, and coordinate with public- and private-sector entities to improve the efficiency of Saudi Arabia’s nonprofit sector.

The order represents more than a change in name or legal status. It marks a transition from establishing the platform and building public trust to a new phase that provides greater flexibility for innovation, development, partnerships and sustainability.

Board of Trustees

A separate Royal Order established the foundation’s Board of Trustees, chaired by Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, with Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Eng. Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi serving as vice chairman. The board’s term will be three years and may be renewed.

The board also includes:

• Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi.
• The Governor of the General Authority for Awqaf.
• Eng. Abdulrahman bin Ibrahim Al-Ruwaita.
• Adeeb bin Abdullah Al-Zamil.
• Princess Nouf bint Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Abdulrahman.
• Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Khalaf.
• Emad bin Abdulqader Al-Muhaidib.

The composition brings together governmental, technological, social, endowment and financial expertise, reflecting the foundation’s new role, which extends beyond receiving donations to include governance, technology, social investment and partnership development.

What Will Change?

Ehsan was launched in 2021 under a Royal Directive assigning the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, “SDAIA,” to establish a unified national platform for digital charitable work. It was designed to operate under rigorous governance standards that ensure donations reach eligible beneficiaries across social, religious, educational, food, housing and healthcare fields.

During that phase, SDAIA provided the technological and data infrastructure required to build and secure the platform and connect it with relevant entities, enabling Ehsan to become one of the Kingdom’s leading national enablers of the nonprofit sector.

The new transformation gives Ehsan an independent institutional identity and greater capacity to develop its services, stimulate innovation, support nonprofit programs and donation platforms, and unify technical efforts across charitable and developmental work.

Technology created the platform, and governance built trust; the new foundation’s mission is to transform that trust into broader and more sustainable impact.

SAR 17 Billion

Over more than five years, Ehsan has processed more than 440 million donations, with a total value of SAR 17 billion.

These figures reveal more than the financial scale of the donations. They reflect the platform’s success in making giving easy and accessible while connecting donors with trusted opportunities that can be supported within moments.

The large number of transactions compared with their total value also demonstrates the breadth of public participation. Digital charitable giving is no longer limited to major donations but has become a recurring social practice involving broad segments of society and contributions of varying amounts.

Ehsan’s strength was built not only on the value of donations, but on the number of hearts whose desire to give it transformed into trusted action.

A Platform for the Sector

The foundation’s new status does not place it in competition with charitable associations and nonprofit organizations. Instead, it gives Ehsan a broader role in enabling the sector, supporting its programs and platforms, and improving its efficiency.

The foundation can serve as a link between donors, implementing organizations and beneficiaries, while providing technological tools and standards for governance, transparency and impact measurement. This can reduce fragmented efforts and improve the efficiency with which donations are directed.

Empowering individuals and companies also opens wider opportunities for social responsibility, institutional giving programs and joint initiatives that bring the public, private and nonprofit sectors together around clearly identified needs and measurable outcomes.

BETH Commentary

The Royal Order reflects an important institutional principle: a successful national project does not remain indefinitely within the entity that created it. Once it matures and proves its effectiveness, it can move into an independent institution capable of continuing its growth under a clear mandate and permanent governance framework.

SDAIA successfully built the digital infrastructure, connected relevant entities, and established trust and security. After the platform reached 440 million donations, the next challenge became different: developing the charitable product itself, measuring its impact, expanding participation, and turning available data into knowledge that helps direct donations toward the most urgent needs.

Independence gives the foundation greater flexibility, but it also places greater responsibility upon it. Every new expansion must preserve the foundations of Ehsan’s success: clear giving opportunities, ease of donation, transparency throughout the process, and confidence that funds reach their intended beneficiaries.

The success of the new phase will be measured by what the foundation adds to the sector as a whole, not merely by how much it collects: greater efficiency among charitable organizations, less duplication, faster delivery of assistance, and improved measurement of the social and economic impact of donations.

Ehsan began as a platform that made giving easier; today, it has become a foundation responsible for maximizing its impact. The real transformation is not the change from a platform to a foundation, but the evolution of digital charitable work from a technological success into a sustainable national ecosystem.