Governance System

System Governance

Scope of Policy: This policy applies to all relevant parties as follows:

  • Beneficiaries of the endowment’s programs and projects.
  • Employees of the endowment.
  • Executive partners.
  • Members of the board of trustees.
  • Members of the board of directors and founders.
  • Members of committees stemming from the board of trustees and the board of directors.
  • Executive management.

Purpose of the Policy:

  • Assisting all relevant parties, including employees and beneficiaries of the endowment’s programs and projects, in reporting to the board of directors or the relevant committee any actions or practices committed by the executive management that violate laws, rules, regulations, or contradict the values of the endowment.
  • Providing an atmosphere that ensures the confidentiality of reporting procedures in an easy and secure manner.
  • Offering necessary protection to stakeholders or concerned parties, including the provisions outlined in the conflict of interest policy.
  • Empowering employees to report violations after verification to the highest levels in case these violations are not addressed through the relevant entity.

Scope of the Policy:

Without violating the legislation and laws applicable in the country of operation and the standards governing the operations of endowments and civil society organizations regarding conflict of interest, this policy applies to the leadership bodies within the endowment, all employees, committees, volunteers, endowment partners, as well as executive partners in the regions where the endowment delivers its programs to beneficiaries. This policy covers:

  • All leadership bodies within the endowment, its branches, representations, and higher committees.
  • All full-time employees.
  • All part-time employees.
  • All volunteers involved in endowment activities.

This policy encompasses all operations and programs of the endowment under various circumstances and at all times.

Purpose of the Policy:

The Conflict of Interest Policy aims to manage the interests of various relevant parties by preventing practices that are considered conflicting or may be interpreted as conflicting interests. This includes conflicts related to individuals, related parties, decision-makers, or those influencing decision-makers and the interests of any other individuals with whom they have a personal relationship. This extends to spouses, children, parents, siblings, or other family members up to the third degree.

The Conflict of Interest Policy document is one of the governing documents of the Oweis Al-Qarni Endowment, as it serves to protect the rights system and prevent risks to reputation, investment, or contracts that may be classified or interpreted as conflicts of interest. Therefore, it is a regulatory document governing the relationship of the endowment with entities and individuals working with or for its benefit, including relevant decisions, whether these decisions involve appointments, permanent or temporary employment contracts, partnership agreements, or other decisions.

Scope of the Policy:

All leadership bodies, councils, and committees of the endowment, as well as executive administrations, units, and executive committees of the endowment, fall within the scope of this policy. They are all committed to transparency and disclosure to relevant internal and external parties through authorized disclosure channels without exceeding their authority.

Statement of Transparency and Disclosure Policy:

The Transparency and Disclosure Policy ensures the integrity of procedures and enhances professionalism in all aspects of the endowment’s work. It also promotes accountability and mutual trust between the endowment and all relevant parties.

It is expected that employees of the endowment or those working on its behalf will:

  • Disclose their current positions and their relationships with endowments, organizations, associations, and entities operating in the fields of endowment work.
  • Declare the criteria for tenders, contracts, selections, and any competitive process for endowment services to provide equal opportunities to all.
  • Familiarize themselves with the endowment’s systems, regulations, and anything related to their position in the endowment.
  • Apply standards professionally in all operations without bias or favoritism.
  • Disclose evaluation criteria for programs, activities, and events before implementation to facilitate compliance.
  • Report violations when they occur.
  • Provide documents to relevant parties upon request.

Purpose of the Policy: The purpose of this policy is to achieve the highest level of institutionalism and adherence to best practices at various levels within the Oweis Al-Qarni Endowment through compliance with all policies outlined in this manual, as well as compliance with legislation, laws, and standards adopted by relevant local and regional authorities. This is to ensure the protection of the interests of all stakeholders within and outside the endowment.

References for this Policy:

  • The legislation of the host country.
  • The endowment document (endowment deed).
  • Law No. (23) of 1992 and its amendments by Presidential Decree No. (32) of 2008 regarding Islamic endowments.
  • Decisions of relevant jurisprudential councils.
  • Standards of organized bodies for endowment and humanitarian work in the Arab and Islamic world.
  • Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards.

Scope of the Policy: This policy is governing and comprehensive, thus all levels of the administrative structure, committees, and entities established for the Oweis Al-Qarni Endowment fall within the scope of this policy. It governs the behavior of various entities within the endowment, from the highest organizational hierarchy represented by the Supreme Council of the Endowment and the endowment founder to the Board of Trustees and all entities resulting from the Board of Trustees, including executive, supervisory, or supportive bodies such as the Board of Directors, Audit Committee, Investment Committee, Expert Committee, Oversight Committee, branches, representations of the endowment, or any other supporting or partnering components of the endowment within or outside the host country.

Purpose of the Policy:

The Risk Management Policy aims to deepen institutional work within the Oweis Al-Qarni Endowment, ensuring that its decisions are structured with clear, defined, unbiased standards, and are free from individual influence. To achieve this, the following commitments are made:

Consider the endowment’s goals in all decisions and operations executed directly by the endowment or through its partners. Adhere to the approved and declared pathways of the endowment. Operate according to the regulatory principles governing endowment work. Ensure continuous compliance with laws regulating endowment operations. All endowment committees consider risk management policy in decision-making processes related to creation, investment, or expenditure. Identify anticipated risks before implementing any project or proposed alternatives to acknowledge or prevent them. Disclose risks when they occur. Selection of partners (supporters, implementers) is subject to the policy of due diligence. Organize decision-making processes and voting in accordance with the adopted charters of the endowment’s leadership bodies and the policies of committees derived from them, along with the related procedures in the conflict of interest policy approved in this manual. Organize recruitment processes and selection of beneficiaries and executive partners according to the due diligence policy approved in this manual. Conflict of interest, anti-corruption, fraud prevention, and combating terrorism financing policies are key measures to avoid potential risks. Scope of the Policy:

Without violating the endowment deed (endowment document), legislation, and laws applicable in the host country, and the standards adopted for endowment work, this policy applies to:

All leadership bodies of the endowment. All full-time employees. All part-time employees. All volunteers in endowment activities. Institutions and committees affiliated with or working for the benefit of the endowment in the host country and any other location where these institutions and committees operate.

This policy encompasses all endowment operations, including creation, investment, banking, under various circumstances and at all times.

Scope:

Given the diversity of the endowment’s stages and its specificity, this policy applies to all leadership bodies, committees, employees, contractual or volunteer-related parties, logistics service providers, supporters, and partners of the Oweis Al-Qarni Endowment.

Policy Statement:

This policy outlines preventive measures taken by the endowment to combat money laundering and terrorist financing as follows:

Identifying anticipated money laundering and terrorist financing risks that the endowment may face, studying them, and understanding them. Applying due diligence to mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing related to the endowment’s areas of work, programs, and projects. Enhancing employees’ efficiency and training them on this policy or any activity associated with suspected money laundering and terrorist financing. Developing adopted procedures to improve the quality of customer identification and due diligence procedures. Promoting financial policies that align with the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing policies. Documenting and disseminating internal control procedures and mechanisms in accordance with approved standards, laws, and the endowment’s policy. Identifying the beneficial owner, whether natural or legal, benefiting from the endowment’s programs and projects. Leveraging sanctioned lists through relevant financial institutions. Following a documentation policy and taking appropriate steps to ensure all information regarding the application of the “Know Your Customer” principle specified in the due diligence policy in this manual is documented and continuously updated. All decisions regarding endowment creation, investment, and disbursement operations comply with this policy. All operations are conducted through contracts, agreements, memoranda of understanding, or general framework memoranda containing written terms, rights, and obligations signed with partners (supporters and implementers). Retaining contracts, agreements, and financial records according to legally defined periods, not less than five years. Complying with disclosure and transparency to fulfill all requests for legal information from government entities and relevant authorities.

The scope of this policy defines the general responsibilities of the volunteering process and the specific responsibilities of the parties involved.

This policy applies to all individuals engaged in volunteering teams affiliated with the Oweis Al-Qarni Endowment in various regions.

Policy Statement:

1- The values, mission, and ethical guidelines of the endowment are binding on the volunteering unit in all programs and activities.

2- Activating the potentials of volunteers to achieve the goals of the endowment.

3- Providing a stimulating, safe, and encouraging work environment for volunteers.

4- Assessing the capacities, potentials, and skills to maximize the benefit of volunteers in various regions and projects.

5- Adhering to the endowment’s standards and guidelines when selecting volunteers.

6- Training volunteers in their areas of participation according to the projects.

7- Educating volunteers about the vision, mission, and volunteering policy of the endowment.

8- Committing to honoring and appreciating volunteers’ efforts and highlighting the outstanding ones among them.

9- Encouraging a culture of volunteering in various events and through the endowment’s electronic platforms.

10- Establishing effective communication channels with volunteers and listening to their developmental suggestions and opinions.

Policy Scope:

This policy applies to the governing bodies of the endowment, represented by:

  1. Board of Trustees.
  2. Endowment Board of Directors.
  3. Audit and Oversight Committee.
  4. Investment Committee.
  5. Expert Committee.

It also extends to the endowment’s workforce, including:

  1. Department managers.
  2. Section heads and work units.
  3. Employees.
  4. External supervisors under permanent or temporary contracts.
  5. Volunteer teams.

Policy Statement:

Commitment to Good Governance:

The endowment’s relationship with all relevant parties is independent, aiming to achieve the endowment’s goals and objectives in accordance with the approved policies ensuring the prevention of fraud and corruption, as follows:

  1. Transparency and disclosure as per the needs of internal and external stakeholders of the endowment.
  2. Professional conduct according to established standards and evidence, ensuring fairness and equal opportunities for all parties to access services or contribute to the endowment.
  3. Dissemination of governance principles.
  4. Exercise of due diligence for third parties (supporters, beneficiaries, partners, and logistic service providers).
  5. Dissemination of institutional awareness among the workforce regarding approved policies.
  6. Implementation of training and awareness programs for the workforce to combat fraud.
  7. Obtaining sufficient declarations during recruitment processes to prove the employee’s clean record from any suspicious activities or criminal acts.
  8. Signing of the code of conduct and relevant policies by employees.
  9. Continuous monitoring and evaluation of compliance with policies.
  10. In compliance with legal procedures, the endowment takes all necessary legal actions against those involved or suspected of fraud, following internal procedures.
  11. The Chairman of the Board of Directors is responsible for reporting any fraud incidents or suspicions to the Board of Trustees that may negatively affect the performance of the endowment or its affiliated committees and projects, or in any way impact the endowment’s reputation

Scope:

All departments, units, and committees within the organization fall under this policy, where each entity is responsible for retaining its documents according to this policy without violating the legal obligations specified for the type of documents and their retention periods.

Policy Statement:

  1. Retention Periods: Documents of various types must be retained according to the specified time periods in relevant laws.
  2. All documents related to the organization (deeds, bonds, investment certificates, records, minutes, documents, reports, and other documents) are to be kept at the organization’s headquarters.
  3. Diverse storage methods are employed based on the importance of documents and their frequency of reference.
  4. Copies of documents are kept in both physical and electronic formats on various media.
  5. Without compromising document privacy, copies of documents are stored on the organization’s electronic accounts to facilitate access when needed.
  6. These documents include, but are not limited to:
    • Endowment document (endowment deed).
    • Governance regulations.
    • Internal regulations.
    • Code of professional conduct.
    • Financial reports.
    • Administrative reports.
    • Financial documents.
    • Account files.
    • Financial correspondence.
    • Images of the founder’s documents.
    • Images of the trustees’ documents.
    • Images of the board members’ documents.
    • Employee files.
    • Database of endowers (institutions and individuals).
    • Work models and minutes of meetings of governing bodies and their committees.
    • Internal and external correspondence.
    • Forms, prints, and literature of the organization.
  7. Principle of Permanence: Essential documents of the organization must be preserved.
  8. Documents such as organizational plans, work models, project studies, and closing reports must be retained.
  9. Copies of all printed releases of the organization in Word and PDF formats, in addition to printed copies, must be preserved.
  10. Film materials related to the organization must be preserved with high precision along with their raw materials.
  11. Designs of medals and certificates for contributors must be preserved.
  12. Designs of the organization’s logo and all related visual identity items and their guidebook must be preserved.
  13. Document storage must follow an organized methodology to facilitate retrieval when needed.
  14. Complete indexing of all archived documents is required.

Scope of the Policy: This policy encompasses all relevant parties as follows:

  • Beneficiaries of the endowment’s programs and projects.
  • Employees within the endowment.
  • Executive partners.
  • Members of the Board of Trustees.
  • Members of the Board of Directors and founders.
  • Committees emanating from the Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors.
  • Executive management.

Purpose of the Policy:

  • Assisting all relevant parties, including employees and beneficiaries of the endowment’s programs and projects, in reporting to the Board of Directors or the relevant committee any actions or practices committed by executive management that violate laws, regulations, approved rules, or contravene the values of the endowment.
  • Providing an atmosphere that ensures the confidentiality of reporting procedures in an easy and secure manner.
  • Offering necessary protection to stakeholders or concerned parties, including adhering to the controls outlined in the conflict of interest policy.
  • Empowering employees to report violations after confirming them to the highest levels if these violations are not addressed through the appropriate channels.
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