Community Foundations as a Vehicle for Institutionalizing Corporate Philanthropy in Egypt’s New Cities: A Case Study of 10th Ramadan City

Mahi Khallaff, Emerging Leader, International Fellows Program ~ 2008

Abstract

In this paper, Mahi Khallaf explores the possibility of launching a grantmaking community foundation that is largely, but not solely, funded by the corporate sector in the 10^th of Ramadan City near Cairo, in Egypt. The 10^th of Ramadan City is an ideal geographic area for a grantmaking community foundation in Egypt as it is an industrial city with a high concentration of high-net worth individuals who are already actively practicing corporate philanthropy in the form of ad-hoc and personal charitable activities such as building mosques, orphanages, and clinics.  These initiatives are in most cases triggered by the business owners' altruistic inclinations rather than institutionalized corporate philanthropy practices.

For this paper, Khallaff carried out a review of existing data about community foundations worldwide.  Key interviews were also carried out in Egypt with investors and members of the 10^th of Ramadan Investors Association to get their feedback about the community foundation concept and its applicability in 10^th of Ramadan City.  An additional set of key informant interviews were also carried out with community foundation leaders and experts from the USA, Russia, Mexico, Kuwait and Brazil. This paper is a first attempt at putting forward a road map for the establishment of a grant-making endowed community foundation in the 10th Ramadan City.

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