Pledge Announcement Speech
Early in my life I had a dream that I have always hoped to realize. I have thought about it most of my days and have shared it with some of my closest friends and family for more than a quarter of a century. I wished to wake up one day to see a world of tolerance, acceptance, equality and opportunity – for all.

In order to make this dream come true, I wished to contribute to the elimination of poverty and famine, and to support development, health and education in the most deprived communities. I wished to encourage social entrepreneurship to achieve long-term, sustainable change both locally and globally. I wished to alleviate the suffering from the pain of economic scarcity.

“Based on my dedication and passion for philanthropic work for the past 35 years, I now pledge to donate my entire wealth to the #Alwaleed_Philanthropies, which work in the main fields of intercultural understanding and supporting needy communities, through health promotion, eradication of diseases, provision of electric power to remote villages and hamlets and building orphanages and schools, and much more. As well as providing disaster relief and empowering women, youth and poverty alleviation. This donation will be allocated according to a well-devised plan throughout the coming years. It will be based on a strategy that is supervised and managed by a board of trustees headed by me to ensure that it will be used after my death for humanitarian projects and initiatives.” 

Since most of my wealth was achieved from this blessed country, I have made giving back to Saudi Arabia my number one priority, after which our philanthropic efforts will extend to countries around the world in accordance with the regulations governing charitable activities.

You may rightly wonder, why am I doing this? My response is that everyone goes through certain life-changing situations that have a great effect on his or her crucial future decisions. I have had the opportunity to witness, first hand, the challenging conditions of many communities across the globe, first hand, and have stood among those who were suffering and in great need. I have also learned of overwhelming obstacles through meetings with the leaders of countries and communities around the world.

In addition, my foundations have been collaborating with other philanthropic organizations, NGOs, governments and non-profits for decades.  Our work is far- reaching, providing humanitarian assistance to ease poverty and famine, supporting development, health and education, and encouraging long-term, sustainable change for the better.

Given the world’s current economic and social conditions, and the devastating effects of war and natural disasters around the world, more collaborative efforts are required from all capable individuals to unify their stand in the effort to alleviate poverty in the most deprived communities and to advance and build their societies.

I am making this announcement today as an illustration of God Almighty’s blessings, following His words in the Holy Qura’an: “But tell of the favors of your Lord,” (AlDhoha). As I see it, the time has come for me to share all that I have to support communities through my foundation, Alwaleed Philanthropies, which aims to initiate and support projects worldwide regardless of religion, race or gender.  For 35 years, Alwaleed Philanthropies have developed and sustained projects in more than 92 countries. We collaborate with a wide range of philanthropic, governmental and educational organizations to combat poverty, empower women and youth, to develop communities, provide disaster relief and to nurture cultural understanding through education. Together, we can build bridges for a more compassionate, tolerant and accepting world.  Ours is a belief in humanity without boundaries and a commitment towards all.

 
Press Release
HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Alwaleed Philanthropies, today announced his intention to donate all of his wealth to philanthropy over the coming years to help build a “better world of tolerance, acceptance, equality and opportunity for all.” This $32 billion philanthropic pledge will help build bridges to foster cultural understanding, develop communities, empower women, enable youth, provide vital disaster relief and create a more tolerant and accepting world. “It is a commitment without boundaries. A commitment to all humankind,” says Prince Alwaleed.

In his announcement, Prince Alwaleed stated:

“Based on my dedication and passion for philanthropic work for the past 35 years, I now pledge to donate my entire wealth to the Alwaleed Philanthropies, which work in the main fields of intercultural understanding, supporting needy communities, through health promotion, eradication of diseases, provision of electric power to remote villages and hamlets, building orphanages and schools, and much more, as well as providing disaster relief and empowering women, youth and poverty alleviation. This donation will be allocated according to a well-devised plan throughout the coming years. It will be based on a strategy that is supervised and managed by a board of trustees headed by me to ensure that it will be used after my death for humanitarian projects and initiatives.” 

Prince Alwaleed has supported philanthropy for more than 35 years, donating $3.5 billion thus far through the Alwaleed Philanthropies.  One of the leading philanthropic foundations in the Arab world, the Alwaleed Philanthropies serves millions of people across the globe. Prince Alwaleed has formed a board of trustees to oversee this gift, which will focus on finding impactful solutions to some of the most pressing humanitarian issues of our time, without regard to gender, race or religious affiliation.

“Philanthropy is a personal responsibility, which I embarked upon more than three decades ago and is an intrinsic part of my Islamic faith. With this pledge, I am honoring my life-long commitment to what matters most – helping to build a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world for generations to come,” says Prince Alwaleed.

Through this historic gift, the Alwaleed Philanthropies, which have supported thousands of projects in more than 92 countries worldwide, will continue to partner with a range of philanthropic, government and educational organizations to support impactful programs. The Alwaleed Philanthropies believe that the answers to many of today’s most pressing global issues lie in the hands of youth. They are the leaders of tomorrow.

The Alwaleed Philanthropies have partnered with a wide range of global institutions including The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Carter Center, and the Weill Cornell Medical College to strengthen health care and control epidemics. On this occasion, Mr. Bill Gates, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation commented: “Prince Alwaleed’s generous commitment promises to significantly extend the great work that his foundation is already doing. His gift is an inspiration to all of us working in philanthropy around the world.”

In Saudi Arabia, they have worked on promoting more sustainable communities, through the Housing Initiative, which allows hundreds of thousands of eligible Saudi citizens to receive housing units, or through the Lighting Up Villages in Saudi Arabia Initiative.

Alwaleed Philanthropies also works in the area of women and youth empowerment, by supporting women in the local government field, for example, by providing courses for women to run for Municipal Council elections. Moreover, through the Turquoise Mountain organization, Alwaleed Philanthropies had helped Afghani women by advocating literacy.

As disaster relief providers, Alwaleed Philanthropies has extended a helping hand by its partners in many countries that have suffered from earthquakes and floods, like in Egypt, Jeddah, Nepal and Turkey. In addition to supporting those who had been affected by the Tsunami.

Building bridges between cultures and civilizations, is one of the Alwaleed Philanthropies main areas of focus, its work supports six existing centers in the most prominent international universities (Georgetown, Harvard, Edinburgh, Cambridge and the American University of Beirut and the American University in Cairo) in addition to the Islamic Hall at the Louvre in Paris.

Prince Alwaleed’s passion for humanitarian work, sustainability and change plays a vital role in the creation, mission and vision of the Alwaleed Philanthropies. The wide spectrum of global philanthropic projects undertaken by the Alwaleed Philanthropies are distinguished by their dedication to “building bridges for a better world” - without boundaries– and, regardless of gender, race, or religion.

For more information, please visit: http://www.alwaleedphilanthropies.org