In what heads towards a positive future, Saudi Arabia’s non-profit sector has made a landmark achievement by becoming one of the first nonprofit sectors to contribute more than SR100 billion to the national economy. This now means that the sector’s contribution accounts for 3.3% of the national GDP and signifies the sector’s progress and development.
The Tipping Point was captured by the King Khalid Foundation. While writing “The Prospects for the Non-Profit Sector 2025’ report claimed that it had been reached.
Saudi Arabia’s non-profit key financial contributions and sector growth
According to the report, endowments were quantified at SR48 billion by the General Authority for Awqaf. In addition to that, Non-profit Organizations identified by GASTAT also made spending contributions of SR47 billion.
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More than SR5 billion was estimated to be added to the economy through volunteering, along with two billion dollars from consumer cooperative societies based on figures from the Ministry of Human Resources and more social Development.
The country’s Vision 2030 programs have greatly accelerated the rate of this change. It is expected this sector will meet the five per cent target for GDP contribution two years sooner than expected.
Education and research organizations, which led all other sectors in revenue, contributed more than SR 19 billion. Health expenditure also reached SR 15 billion. Most of this increase in spending is due to the transformation of public non-profit assets into non-profit private health providers.
Other developing areas include culture, entertainment, and social services, which registered the maximum employment rates. The increasing economic influence of the field indicates its higher contribution towards employment generation, community service, and sustainable development.
Influence of digital engagement and donations
Funds available for the sector saw a new leap with government backing and through digital donation channels that raised over SR 15 billion in 2024. The National Platform for Charitable Work (Ehsan) did much of the heavy lifting in terms of mobilizing donations.
Micro donations (SR1, SR10, and SR100) accounted for a great deal of the platform’s donations. On the other hand, big individual givers (those who give donations of more than SR100,000) accounted for 26% of the funds.
Participation of the public in non-profit activities is also increasing. In 2024, 23% of citizens volunteered while 47% donated to philanthropy.
Trust towards the sector has drastically improved, with 86% of Saudis trusting non-profit organizations, an increase from 73% in 2017.
The first of its kind to cover the entire Saudi non-profit sector, the Non-Profit Sector Outlook Report is a reference document that tracks the economic and social impact of the sector. It clearly shows how the sector has continued to grow over time and corresponds to the citizen’s sentiments to trust non-profit organizations.