Strategic Philanthropy

The Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation (AGF) adopts an impact-driven, strategic philanthropy approach to deliver customized and evidence-based education solutions.

The Al Ghurair family has been long involved in philanthropy, supporting education as a powerful tool that can transform the lives of even the most marginalized Arab youth. In fact, the founder of AGF, Mr. Abdulla Al Ghurair built one of the first schools in the Northern Emirates prior to the union of the United Arab Emirates in the early 1970’s. Earlier generations of philanthropists such as Mr. Al Ghurair were silent about their giving. Through the years, the nature of philanthropy changed in the UAE and the region. Discreet giving based on a heartfelt concern for the livelihoods of marginalized and underserved Arab youth gave way to a more strategic philanthropy approach. “My father recognized that times have changed, the challenges have become more complex, and with it, so must our approach to philanthropy.”

H.E. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair is passionate about strategic philanthropy and the role that business leaders can play to address the region’s challenges and ensure that Arab youth have a chance of a better life through a high-quality education.

Inspired by the Al Ghurair family’s legacy of giving and his father’s philanthropic endeavors more than 30 years ago, H.E. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair established the Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund in 2018 to ensure that efforts made are strategic, scalable and sustainable. The Fund, which is administered by AGF, supports high-impact education programs at the secondary, vocational, and tertiary levels of education for refugees and host community youth in Jordan and Lebanon. In the UAE, the Fund supports Arab youth from conflict affected areas.

To date, 20 competitively selected organizations and over 48,000 youth between the ages of 12-30 have benefitted from the Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund.